Myanmar opposition wants review of constitution

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The party of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi urged Myanmar’s ruling junta on Monday to set up a committee to review the military-backed constitution, saying it was «approved by force» in a referendum earlier this year.
The terms of the charter perpetuate the military’s influence over politics and bar Suu Kyi from public office.
«The majority of the people do not accept the constitution which was illegally approved by force,» said a statement by Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, charging that the authorities used coercion, intimidation, deception and misrepresentation to get voters’ approval. Myanmar’s ruling military junta claimed the constitution received the approval of more than 92 percent of voters in May.
The party’s statement said the government should set up a «Constitution Review Committee» of elected members of parliament from the 1990 general election, the military, ethnic representatives and constitutional experts.

It said the constitution was not written by elected representatives but «unilaterally drawn up by the delegates hand-picked by the authorities. Myanmar’s generals had billed the referendum that led to the adoption of the constitution as an important step in their «roadmap to democracy.» It offered the first chance for voters to cast ballots since 1990. The country had been without a charter since the current junta seized power in 1988 and threw out the last constitution.
A general election was held in 1990, but the military refused to recognize the landslide victory of Suu Kyi’s party. Suu Kyi, who won the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, has spent more than 12 of the past 19 years in detention and is currently under house arrest in Yangon.

Posted on September 23rd, 2008 under Daily News • RSS 2.0 feed • Both comments and pings are currently closed