BANGKOK -- Myanmar's "roadmap for democracy" announced by its new prime minister, General Khin Nyunt, has been dismissed as a sham by analysts who said it will not bring detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi any closer to freedom or a role in the country's political future.

In his inaugural speech Saturday, five days after he was appointed, Khin Nyunt laid out a seven-point plan for a transition to democratic rule, including "free and fair elections" under a new constitution, AFP reported. But the plan was met with intense skepticism in Myanmar's capital, where diplomats and observers said it was merely a rehash of the junta's often-stated intentions to pursue a gradual transition to "disciplined democracy."

"It's an old formula reprocessed," said one Yangon analyst, adding that the call for new elections was a blow for the opposition National League for Democracy's demand that the junta honor its 1990 election victory. "There is going to be no accommodation of the NLD," the analyst said. "It is very clear now that the military government intends to go ahead with its own plan concerning moving toward democracy."

A member of Aung San Suu Kyi's NLD, whose entire leadership has been in detention for the past three months, said it did nothing to improve the situation of the party's leader.

"We don't see any change in the political scenario at this point," he told AFP on condition of anonymity. "And I don't expect Aung San Suu Kyi to be released in the immediate future," he added. "All these rumours about Aung San Suu Kyi being released are just that -- rumors." One Asian diplomat also said that any hopes the "roadmap" could see an early release for the Nobel peace laureate were "wishful thinking."

Aung San Suu Kyi was taken into custody on May 30 after her followers were ambushed by a pro-junta mob during a political tour of northern Myanmar, in clashes that are feared to have left dozens dead.

In his policy speech, Khin Nyunt said the regime intended to reconvene a national convention to draft a new constitution, which the NLD abandoned in 1995 partly because the junta demanded it contain a clause on a political role for the military.

He said the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) also planned to hold a public referendum on adopting the document before holding elections, but offered no timetable for the process.

Myanmar has been ruled for the past four decades by the military, which has long promised to pursue a gradual transition to democracy but has produced little evidence it is working toward that goal.

Khin Nyunt confirmed analysts' doubts that the regime was genuine in its plans for reform when he warned it would brook no rivals to its grip on power, especially opposition groups supported by outside forces.

"As long as this political force continues to maintain a negative attitude or refuses to change its methods, it will result in a situation where the golden land that we all hope for will remain in the distance," he said.

"We tried to work hand (in) hand with the NLD and guide it toward political change," he said. "However, the NLD turned away from the national political path and took the attitude that it would do whatever it liked. "Because of this, democracy, which was almost at hand, has become distant again."

Khin Nyunt was responsible for a UN-sponsored reconciliation process with Aung San Suu Kyi that began in October 2000 but completely collapsed in May after months of stagnation and the democracy icon's arrest.

The NLD leader's detention -- her third since taking up the political cause in 1988 -- has caused outrage in the international community and triggered tough news sanctions from the United States and the European Union.

Analysts believe that the appointment of Khin Nyunt, considered a moderate in the regime, and the announcement of the "roadmap" are merely attempts to deflect some of the intense criticism.