Authority Invites Muslim Religious Leaders for Referendum

Narinjara News
Authorities from Maungdaw, a western border town of Burma, invited many Muslim religious leaders yesterday from all villages in Maungdaw Township to mobilize them to support the upcoming referendum, said Abdul Malit, a religious leader in a Muslim community in the township.

Abdul said, "The authority invited at least three religious leaders from each village in Maungdaw to attend a pro-referendum discussion meeting that was held at the town hall in Maungdaw city."

Nearly 500 Muslim religious leaders attended the meeting and many district level officials, including District Chairman U Hla Win, and the Maugndaw delegate to the National Convention, U Mya Maung, delivered speeches to the attendees.

"They explained to us how the military government has given the opportunity to the Muslim community in Burma because there is no chance for monks and other religious leaders to cast votes in the upcoming referendum - only Muslim religious leaders will get the chance to cast votes in the upcoming referendum. So, they said Muslim religious leaders need to cast "yes" votes during the referendum," he said.

However, the religious leaders at the meeting did not offer much in the way of replies to the officials about the referendum, and they did not promise to cast "yes" votes, said one attendee.

The Maungdaw district authority will hold another meeting with Muslim religious leaders in Buthidaung today, and many religious leaders have been invited to attend the meeting.

Reports from inside Burma indicate that the military authority is now trying many ways to gain victory in the upcoming referendum, and this meeting was just another part of the campaign by the government to win approval of its draft constitution.

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