Sham in Myanmar

The Hindu

That the military junta in Myanmar continues to canvass what is a discredited draft of a constitution that offers absolutely no democratic promise is yet another disturbing indicator of the uphill nature of the struggle in that country. The outrageous affront to the beleaguered people of Myanmar in proffering this document which does nothing but tighten the grip of the military on politics has been sharply criticised worldwide and particularly by the Association of Southea st Asian Nations (ASEAN). Yet Myanmar’s generals appear unfazed and are pushing ahead with plans to hold a referendum on the draft in early May. The 194-page document, which the junta has called its “road map to democracy,” has several contentious clauses that add up to a mockery of the struggle for democracy. What has been denounced most sharply by the junta’s critics, and rightly so, is a startling proposal to bar from holding public office persons who have enjoyed the rights and privileges of a foreign citizen. It does not take much to guess whom this clause is aimed at. In one stroke the junta could strike out of the running for public office the principal icon of the democratic upsurge in Myanmar, the Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who was married to a British citizen and has two sons who are also British citizens. Keeping Ms Suu Kyi out of power in a potential new administration would be dealing a death blow to the spirit of the democratic movement.

The second outrageous aspect of the sham exercise in “returning power to the people” is the unconcealed attempt by senior general Than Shwe and his colleagues to retain military domination of the political system. They have sought to allot 25 per cent of the seats in the two Houses of Parliament for the armed forces. Another self-serving clause is the proposal to grant immunity to members of the junta from legal prosecution “for any acts carried out as part of their official duties.” There is no question that this draft constitution should be rejected and if indeed there is a free and fair referendum in May on this document, it would be tossed aside with the contempt that it deserves. The main opposition National League for Democracy, led by Ms Suu Kyi, has taken the right stance in calling on the people to reject the draft constitution. Without appearing to interfere in the internal affairs of a sovereign nation, the international community must step up moral pressure on the junta to abandon this farcical exercise and start addressing the democratic aspirations of the people of Myanmar.