Yet another empty promise.

This is how civil society organisations (CSOs) describe the recent pronouncement of the Burmese junta on holding a referendum on the draft constitution in May this year and an election in 2010.
Debbie Stothard, coordinator of Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma (ALTSEAN) asserts, “The international community should not be conned into giving the regime another two years to cause more suffering. The regime is notorious for its history of empty promises. Anyone who believes the referendum will be free and fair probably believes in the tooth fairy.”

The pronouncement is largely seen as the junta's attempt to appease world opinion which condemned the brutal crackdown on the so-called Saffron Revolution. The fact that no exact dates have been set for these political exercises is also another reason to be wary of the ruling regime.

Burmese solidarity movements overseas are likewise appalled over the draft constitution's provision which effectively disqualifies Aung San Suu Kyi, a pro-democracy icon and Nobel Peace laureate, from running for presidency because of her marriage to a foreign national. The National League for Democracy (NLD) condemned this move as a “personal and political attack against Suu Kyi.” Han Thar Myint added that the 1974 constitution does not ban Burmese citizens who marry foreigners from entering politics.

Suu Kyi is married to British scholar Michael Aris who died of cancer in 1999. Aris, despite the appeals of then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and Pope John Paul II, repeatedly attempted to obtain a visa to Burma but was always denied.

But the Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) expressed an opinion that the exclusion cause is “not [in] keeping with the times,” according to Singapore foreign minister George Yeo. But in the spirit of ASEAN non-intervention principle, he says, “This is their own country, this is their own history. What can we do about it?”

ASEAN has been under pressure from civil society groups and the global community, who have urged the regional body to take more concrete measures on the human rights situation in Burma. Pressures are also being directed to China and India, the major trading partners of Burma.

In September of 2007, thousands of monks bravely marched through the streets of Rangoon to protest the exponential increase of fuel prices, which have aggravated the already poor condition of Burmese population. The monks also called for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners. But in a matter of days, the Saffron Revolution came to a halt as the junta ordered a brutal crackdown.


References:

Al Jazeera. (2008, February 20). Myanmar bars Suu Kyi from elections. Retrieved on February 27, 2008, from http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/AACAE0E7-2461-4DD6-9E84-D78C54F648F8.htm

Bristow, M. (2008, February 19). UN envoy welcomes Burma's timetable. British Broadcasting Corportations. Retrieved on February 27, 2008 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7252122.stm

Irrawady. (2008, Fbruary 26). NLD condemns attack on Suu Kyi. Retrieved on February 27, 2008, from http://www.irrawaddy.org/print_article.php?art_id=10563>

Statement of ALTSEAN on Burma's announcement of refendum (2008, February 14).