YANGON, Myanmar- The official daily New Light of Myanmar on Wednesday called for the US-led western sanctions against Myanmar to be lifted.

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The article carried in the newspaper also criticised the National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Aung San Suu Kyi, which argued in a recent statement that the sanctions only hurt the military leadership but not the people.

The article maintained that the sanctions brought impact on Myanmar's economy but  never changed the country's determination to develop on its own way and never met the target expected by the West.

The official article also refuted the US charge that Myanmar poses threat to the international security, saying that Myanmar has no motive and capability to do so.

The article added that Myanmar government has worked hard on a self-reliant basis for national development.

Myanmar has entered a new era and a new civilian government is to emerge after the Nov 7, 2010 general election under its seven- step roadmap to democracy, it said.