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Is referendum a first step to democracy in Myanmar?
ON May 10, the people of Myanmar (in 1989 the military leaders changed the name of Burma to Myanmar) voted on a referendum for a new constitution that military leaders claim is a "road map for democracy." The 75-year-old military strongman, Than Shwe, heads the regime.
The constitution, as the military leaders assert, is the centerpiece of the beginning of democracy in Myanmar, but critics see little of democracy in it. Critics say that a constitution endorsed by a popular vote will provide formal legitimacy to their power, seized twenty years ago.
Some 27 million of the country's 57 million people were eligible to vote, although balloting was delayed for two weeks in the areas hardest hit by the May 3 cyclone. The constitution requires a simple majority of total eligible voters.
State TV said on May 15 that the constitution was approved by 92.4% in the referendum held on May 10.
On the other hand, a spokesman of Aung San Suu Kyi's party, National Democratic League (NLD), reportedly said that the referendum "was full of cheating and fraud across the country." On May 17, it was reported that NLD had rejected the outcome of the referendum.
David Mathieson, a spokesman for Human Rights Watch in Bangkok, reportedly said: "This is really insulting to the people of Burma. There is simply no way that 92% would have voted 'yes' on a document that they knew very little about, and most had never read."
Referendum under adverse circumstances
The referendum came just one week after Cyclone Nargis reportedly left more than 100,000 people dead or missing. The UN estimates that at least 1.5 million people have been severely affected. There was a call for the referendum to be postponed because of the devastation caused by the cyclone on May 3. However, the Myanmar government thought that if the referendum was postponed, it would delay the roadmap of democracy in Myanmar. Some critics say that the Myanmar government would see postponement as a victory for outside elements who were trying to destablise the country. Even as a million homeless cyclone survivors fought for their lives, the cheerful young crooners on Myanmar's state television were urging the country to forget the catastrophe and march to the polling stations. State television repeatedly showed a video of a group of smiling and dancing young women, singing a tune of praise to the military regime. "Let's go to cast a vote ... with sincere thoughts for happy days," the women sang. Thousands of civil servants in the new capital, Naypyidaw, voted on the referendum -- and they were required to identify themselves in writing on their ballots to ensure their compliance. The regime announced on May 11 that the referendum was held successfully with massive turnout of the citizens. Provisions of the constitution
The referendum seeks public approval of a new constitution, which the generals say will be followed in 2010 by a general election. The referendum on the new constitution is an essential element of what the military leaders believe is the process of democracy in the country. The proposed constitution, according to media, guarantees 25% of parliamentary seats to the military and allows the president to hand over all power to the military in a state of emergency, and no president could be chosen without consulting the military. These provisions, critics say, defy the professed commitment of military leaders to democracy. It also barred Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, the detained leader of the country's pro-democracy movement, from public office under a provision barring anyone with a foreign spouse. (Her husband, now deceased, was a British citizen.) Myanmar's opposition says that the referendum on a new constitution was marred by fraud and intimidation. They allege voters were threatened with imprisonment if they voted against the constitutional changes the military rulers wanted to introduce. Others allege people had voted in their name without their consent. Military rule
Myanmar has been ruled by military regimes since 1962. Eighteen years ago, Burma was renamed Myanmar by its military rulers, who seized power in 1988 and threw out the country's last constitution. The military refused to honour the results of the 1990 general election won by the National League for Democracy party. Critics argue the military regime's greatest weapon is its utter indifference to domestic or foreign opinion. It cared little when it was vilified around the world for killing dozens of protesters in the streets of Rangoon last fall. It ignored international condemnations of its military crackdown and its arrest of hundreds of Buddhist monks. It refused to allow a United Nations human-rights expert to enter the country. And it has snubbed a UN envoy who tried to mediate between the regime and the weakened opposition. Myanmar's geopolitical strength
Myanmar is richly endowed with natural resources. It is potentially a rich country, and has timber, gemstones, and has large deposits of oil and gas off-shore. It is self-sufficient in rice. The country is about four and half times the size of Bangladesh, with only 57 million people. The country is strategically located facing the Indian Ocean. Its geopolitical importance is not lost to China, that feels encircled by the US and its allies. China has lent great support to the Myanmar regime. China reaches the Indian Ocean through Myanmar's Coco islands, and is building highways to Myanmar. It is also gradually integrating Myanmar's economy with its own, developing mines and other natural resources, and counts on Myanmar's vast reserves of oil and gas for its growing economy. It is reasonable to say that, given the regional security environment, China does not want Myanmar to fall under the influence of Japan and India. The new constitution will be what the military leaders call a "developed, disciplined and flourishing democracy" in which civilians together with the military will run the country for stability and peace. However, critics say that civil-military cooperation is nothing but a disguise for the continuation of military rule. Unless the opposition leader Suu Kyi is freed and can contest the election, the image of Myanmar will continue to be negative in international arena.
The referendum came just one week after Cyclone Nargis reportedly left more than 100,000 people dead or missing. The UN estimates that at least 1.5 million people have been severely affected. There was a call for the referendum to be postponed because of the devastation caused by the cyclone on May 3. However, the Myanmar government thought that if the referendum was postponed, it would delay the roadmap of democracy in Myanmar. Some critics say that the Myanmar government would see postponement as a victory for outside elements who were trying to destablise the country. Even as a million homeless cyclone survivors fought for their lives, the cheerful young crooners on Myanmar's state television were urging the country to forget the catastrophe and march to the polling stations. State television repeatedly showed a video of a group of smiling and dancing young women, singing a tune of praise to the military regime. "Let's go to cast a vote ... with sincere thoughts for happy days," the women sang. Thousands of civil servants in the new capital, Naypyidaw, voted on the referendum -- and they were required to identify themselves in writing on their ballots to ensure their compliance. The regime announced on May 11 that the referendum was held successfully with massive turnout of the citizens. Provisions of the constitution
The referendum seeks public approval of a new constitution, which the generals say will be followed in 2010 by a general election. The referendum on the new constitution is an essential element of what the military leaders believe is the process of democracy in the country. The proposed constitution, according to media, guarantees 25% of parliamentary seats to the military and allows the president to hand over all power to the military in a state of emergency, and no president could be chosen without consulting the military. These provisions, critics say, defy the professed commitment of military leaders to democracy. It also barred Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, the detained leader of the country's pro-democracy movement, from public office under a provision barring anyone with a foreign spouse. (Her husband, now deceased, was a British citizen.) Myanmar's opposition says that the referendum on a new constitution was marred by fraud and intimidation. They allege voters were threatened with imprisonment if they voted against the constitutional changes the military rulers wanted to introduce. Others allege people had voted in their name without their consent. Military rule
Myanmar has been ruled by military regimes since 1962. Eighteen years ago, Burma was renamed Myanmar by its military rulers, who seized power in 1988 and threw out the country's last constitution. The military refused to honour the results of the 1990 general election won by the National League for Democracy party. Critics argue the military regime's greatest weapon is its utter indifference to domestic or foreign opinion. It cared little when it was vilified around the world for killing dozens of protesters in the streets of Rangoon last fall. It ignored international condemnations of its military crackdown and its arrest of hundreds of Buddhist monks. It refused to allow a United Nations human-rights expert to enter the country. And it has snubbed a UN envoy who tried to mediate between the regime and the weakened opposition. Myanmar's geopolitical strength
Myanmar is richly endowed with natural resources. It is potentially a rich country, and has timber, gemstones, and has large deposits of oil and gas off-shore. It is self-sufficient in rice. The country is about four and half times the size of Bangladesh, with only 57 million people. The country is strategically located facing the Indian Ocean. Its geopolitical importance is not lost to China, that feels encircled by the US and its allies. China has lent great support to the Myanmar regime. China reaches the Indian Ocean through Myanmar's Coco islands, and is building highways to Myanmar. It is also gradually integrating Myanmar's economy with its own, developing mines and other natural resources, and counts on Myanmar's vast reserves of oil and gas for its growing economy. It is reasonable to say that, given the regional security environment, China does not want Myanmar to fall under the influence of Japan and India. The new constitution will be what the military leaders call a "developed, disciplined and flourishing democracy" in which civilians together with the military will run the country for stability and peace. However, critics say that civil-military cooperation is nothing but a disguise for the continuation of military rule. Unless the opposition leader Suu Kyi is freed and can contest the election, the image of Myanmar will continue to be negative in international arena.
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