The Journal Gazette, 600 W. Main St., Fort Wayne IN

YANGON, Myanmar – Myanmar’s military rulers have barred pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from running in upcoming elections and may force her own political party to expel her under a new election law unveiled Wednesday.

The Political Parties Registration Law, published in official newspapers, prohibits anyone convicted by a court from joining a political party, making them ineligible to become a candidate.

It also instructs parties to expel members who don’t meet the qualifications, a clause that could force Suu Kyi’s expulsion from her National League for Democracy party. Parties that don’t register automatically cease to exist, the law says.

"It is very unfair that a party member serving a prison term for his or her political convictions has to be expelled from the party. This clause amounts to interfering in party internal affairs," said Aung Thein, a lawyer who has defended activists in the country.

He said the provision would exclude many pro-democracy individuals who have been imprisoned for their beliefs.

Human rights groups said the junta has jailed about 2,100 political prisoners.

Hours after the potential blow to Suu Kyi’s party, the junta offered a carrot: It began to reopen several NLD offices in Yangon, by removing red wax that had been sealed over their padlocks since 2003, said party spokesman Nyan Win.

He said he did not know how many of the party’s 35 Yangon offices had been reopened.

"Maybe they want to show some flexibility," said Nyan Win, noting the move could be tied to a provision that requires political parties to register within 60 days of Monday.

Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace laureate who has spent 14 of the last 20 years in detention, was convicted last August of violating the terms of her house arrest by briefly sheltering an American who swam uninvited to her lakeside residence.

Just as an old sentence was about to expire, she was handed a new term of house arrest that is to end this November.

The sentence was seen as a way to keep Suu Kyi locked up during the election campaign. Last month, the Supreme Court dismissed her latest appeal for freedom.

The new election law was immediately criticized by Suu Kyi’s party and by the United States and Britain.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said Suu Kyi should be released from house arrest so she can "play an active role in the political life of the country going forward."

The date of the elections has not been announced, and Suu Kyi’s party has not said whether it will contest the balloting.

The government announced in 2008 that elections will take place sometime in 2010. The last elections in 1990 were won overwhelmingly by Suu Kyi’s party, but the military refused to hand over power.

Her party says the new constitution of 2008 is unfair and gives the military controlling say in government.