Myanmar

The military regime, headed by the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), in 2006 further consolidated its ranks, relocated to a new capital, and at year's end looked poised to wrap up the long-running constitutional assembly and retire control to a loyal successor regime, possibly by 2008. The National League for Democracy (NLD) made a last-ditch effort to gain a role in the transition by offering to recognize the SPDC as the lawful government in return for convening of the elected parliament, while democracy activists abroad celebrated another campaign victory as the UN Security Council adopted Myanmar on its formal agenda. But neither conciliatory gestures nor threats had any apparent effect on the military leaders who seemingly remain supremely confident in their own judgement. With competition for Myanmar 's rich energy resources intensifying, any notion that economic failure could force the military to accommodate demands for reform also appears increasingly implausible. While the regime may change, the prospects for substantive changes in power or policy in the near term look slim

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