Activists Take “Vote No” Campaign to Countryside

By VIOLET CHO
The campaign to persuade Burma’s voters to reject the government’s draft constitution in next month’s referendum is gaining momentum as members of the main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), take the “Vote No” message to the country’s rural communities.

Nyan Win, a leading NLD member, said party campaigners were now active in the Mandalay and Magway areas.

The NLD last week took a stand on the referendum in a statement urging people to vote against the proposed constitution. The party complained that the constitution broke the basic principles of democracy by excluding representatives of the people from the drafting process. It also charged that the proposed constitution failed to give assurances on democratic values and human rights.

A Rangoon-based student organization, Generation Wave, is also urging voters to reject the draft constitution in the referendum, while also calling on students and other young people to make the “Vote No” message known by inscribing a cross sign on school buildings and in other public places.

The single word “No” is appearing on the streets of Mandalay and on roads leading to Sagaing in central Burma.

Campaigners in Pa-an, Karen State, are handing out information about the referendum to local people. The information pamphlets claim the proposed constitution is unjust and will only bring benefits to the ruling junta.

The regime, meanwhile, continues to harass and arrest campaigners. Nyan Win confirmed that an NLD member was arrested in Arakan State, western Burma, on Sunday for distributing appeals to vote “No” in the referendum.

The Thailand-based organization Burma Partnership said it knew of seven activists who had participated in a demonstration against the referendum on Burma Armed Forces Day in late March.

The government newspaper The New Light of Myanmar reported that an NLD member had been arrested for allegedly taking part in "explosives courses in neighboring countries.”