Myanmar junta cracks down on "vote no" campaign (Roundup)

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Yangon - Myanmar's junta is systematically terrorizing opposition politicians who are urging the public to vote no in a national referendum on May 10 that is expected to institutionalize the military's dominant role in politics, the opposition said Friday.

The National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, issued a statement Friday evening citing numerous cases in which authorities have beaten NLD members and in one case arrested and tortured 20 for urging the public to reject a military-drafted constitution in next month's referendum.


'It shows the government wants to crush the 'NO' campaign and the government is making voters fear to vote NO,' said the NLD in a statement made available to the press.

The NLD won the 1990 general election by a landslide, but has been blocked from power by the military for the past 18 years on the argument that Myanmar needed a new constitution before civilian rule could take place.

The military has also kept NLD leader Suu Kyi, winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, under house arrest for 12 of the past 18 years.

Meanwhile, the junta has launched its own billboard campaign nationwiude urging people to vote yes in the referendum.

The billboards, which started going up in the former capital of Yangon on Thursday, urge people to approve the newly drafted constitution with such exhortations as 'To approve the State Constitution is a national duty of the entire people today,' and 'Let's cast 'Yes' vote in the interest of the nation.'

Others, reflecting the xenophobia for which Myanmar's military regime is notorious, read, 'Let us all who are equipped with ardent patriotism, who cherish genuine independence, who aspire perpetuation of sovereignty, who loathe foreign interference and manipulation, and who oppose puppet government with strings of colonialist, vote 'Yes' for ratification of the Constitution.'

The military-sponsored constitution took 14 years to draft.

Although eligible voters will be allowed to vote yes or no for the new constitution, previous government statements, and now billboards, have made it clear that the junta sees the referendum as a means of 'approving' the new charter.

In February, the junta issued a new law threatening anyone who publicly criticized the referendum with three years' imprisonment and a fine.

The new constitution will essentially legitimize the military's dominant role in any future government.

Under the draft charter, 110 members of 440-seat lower house, or People's Parliament, and 56 members of the 224-seat upper house, or National Parliament, will be selected by the military.

This 25 per cent control over both houses will effectively bar amendments to the charter that might threaten the military's dominance, observers have noted.

For an amendment to pass, it would require over 75 per cent support of parliament.

Despite government pressure on the Myanmar people to approve the draft constitution on May 10, there is a growing campaign to vote against it, led by the National League for Democracy (NLD) opposition party which is headed by Suu Kyi.

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