Following the announcement by the military government of the holding of a constitutional referendum in May and of elections in 2010, our organizations denounced a process that was designed to perpetuate the military dictatorship as well as to appease the international community.
Recent arrests of Burmese political activists advocating for a “No vote” exemplify the climate of repression prevailing in the country and prevents any free debate about the draft. According to Altsean-Burma, in April alone, the regime arrested at least 48 activists including 25 National League for Democracy (NLD) members for campaigning against the SPDC’s constitution. The organization also reported pervasive voting irregularities and voter fraud in the weeks leading up to referendum.
This situation is further worsened by the hit of the cyclone Nargis, which provoked a humanitarian crisis whose exact extent remains unknown due to the denial of the junta to allow entry of foreign humanitarian agencies to all areas affected.
The draft Constitution entrenches the military rule in Burma [1]: One quarter of the seats in Parliament are reserved to the Armed Forces. Restrictions to stand for elections are excessively broad [2]: In practice, such provisions will prevent many members of the pro-democracy movement who had to seek refuge abroad from taking part in the election. The conditions to stand for presidential elections are even more stringent and will exclude Daw Aung San Suu Kyi because her children are foreign nationals.
The Army parliamentary group participates in electing the President and elects one of the three Vice-presidents. The ministers of defence, security/home affairs and border affairs shall be members of the Armed forces and nominated by the President on a list proposed by the Commander-In-Chief. The same process shall apply to their deputy ministers.
The President shall enjoy a total impunity “for any of his actions in the exercise and performance of these powers and functions” vested in him by the Constitution or the law (Chapter V). [3] In addition, in case of state of emergency, the measures taken by any civilian official or member of a military body “to restore security, stability, community peace and the rule of law” shall be legitimate and no legal action shall be taken against them for such measures (Chapter XI). Those provisions blatantly contradict international human rights law by providing blanket immunity for even the most serious international crimes.
Last but not least, amendments to the Constitution will require a majority of more than 75 percent of the Parliament Union. This means that the Army group in Parliament could block any modification (Chapter XII).
“It is obvious that the current draft cannot pave the way to democracy in Burma”, declared Souhayr Belhassen, President of FIDH. “We don’t see, under the current circumstances, how the referendum could be free and fair. It is, in fact, a travesty”, stated Debbie Stothard from Altsean-Burma. The Security Council called last week for “an inclusive and credible process including the full participation of all political actors and respect for fundamental political freedoms”. “This call as well as the October 2007 presidential statement and November 2007 press statement of the Security Council have been ignored by the Junta so far. It is now time for the Burmese military government to comply with those repeated calls”, concluded Souhayr Belhassen.