FIDH considers this move as mere window-dressing to appease the international community and to actually perpetuate the military dictatorship.
The Junta, ignoring the results of 1990’s election, has pursued since 1993 a National Convention in charge of drafting a new Constitution for the country. Any criticism against the drafting process was considered a criminal offence. The National League for Democracy (NLD) has been excluded from participation and the process has been unanimously criticized as undemocratic, non-participative and opaque. After the National Convention ended its work, a body composed of 54 members selected by the junta, the Constitution Drafting Commission, was appointed to finalize the draft.
According to Supreme Court Chief Justice and Chairman of the Constitution Drafting Commission, Aung Toe, the draft was drawn up with the objective of ensuring a leading role in politics for the military; this means that the military will maintain a strong influence in any future civilian government. Another clause reportedly bars candidates married to foreigners from standing for election, which de facto excludes Aung San Suu Kyi from the electoral process.
The mere fact that the draft was finalized behind closed doors by persons appointed by the junta deprives the resulting draft from any credibility. A Constitution can only be the fruit of an open and participatory process, inclusive of opposition political parties – and in particular the main one, the NLD – as well as representatives of ethnic minorities. Such a process must entail the possibility of an informed public debate on issues that are crucial for the future of Burma. The current extremely repressive climate and the persistence of serious, continued and systematic human rights violations in the country are definitely obstacles to such a genuine process.
The recent arrest, on February 15, 2008, of two journalists, Thet Zin and Sein Win Aung of Myanmar Nation magazine at their office in Rangoon, demonstrates once more the total denial of freedom of expression in Burma. As recently as on 5 February 2008, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burma, Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, stated that "political and human rights activists continue to be arrested, detained and sentenced to prison terms under the security laws".
We hope that your forthcoming visit to Burma will contribute to induce the Burmese government to create the conditions for dialogue and reconciliation by putting an immediate end to the house arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi and by releasing all political prisoners. We also hope that it will foster a genuine process of national reconciliation and democratisation through a meaningful and time-bound dialogue between the military government, the national League for Democracy (NLD) and ethnic representatives.
Sincerely yours,
Souhayr Belhassen
President