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Myanmar unveils draft statute

SINGAPORE: Myanmar’s military rulers on Wednesday unveiled a draft Constitution, prompting pro-democracy activists to call for its outright rejection.

The document is to be put to a referendum, scheduled for an unspecified date next month.

U Win Nyan, spokesman for Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), told The Hindu over telephone from Yangon that the party, instead of boycotting the referendum, would ask the people to say “no” to this draft.

Mr. Win Nyan said: “Sovereignty flows from the [military] commander-in-chief and not from the people in this document. This [draft] constitution is not for the people, not for democracy and not for human rights.” This should be rejected by the people. The draft has been finalised after several years of intermittent deliberations by what the NLD saw as a rubber-stamp National Convention. And, Myanmar’s military ruler, Senior General Than Shwe, is now going ahead with plans for a referendum, ignoring calls by U.N. Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari and major powers, including India, for a truly inclusive exercise.

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