Channel Newsasia
YANGON - Myanmar's prime minister said next month's referendum on a new constitution, which gives sweeping powers to the armed forces, was not designed to benefit the military, state media said Sunday.
"The referendum is not for one person, the Tatmadaw (the military), one party and one association, but for seeking unanimous approval for a constitution," the prime minister, General Thein Sein, said.
He told the official New Light of Myanmar newspaper the proposed basic law "is instrumental for building a new democratic nation that people long for."
"The emergence of the state constitution is the duty of all citizens of Myanmar," he added.
Myanmar, ruled by the military since 1962, has been without a constitution since the government seized power after crushing a pro-democracy uprising in 1988.
The government said the new charter will pave the way for democratic elections in 2010, but it would bar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from running.
The Nobel peace prize winner, who has been under house arrest for 12 of the last 18 years, led her National League for Democracy (NLD) party to a landslide victory in 1990 elections, but was never allowed to take office.
The new constitution would also reserve about 25 percent of the parliamentary seats for serving soldiers, while giving the military sweeping powers to declare a state of emergency and seize direct control of the government.
The NLD and other democracy activists are urging voters to reject the constitution, which has not been released for public review. - CNA/vm
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