Regime cracks down on anti-constitution activists

More than 50 human rights activists have been arrested in Burma over the past three months for urging people to vote against the regime-proposed constitution in the national referendum planned for May, writes Edward Loxton for The First Post. Pro-government thugs have attacked and beaten up several other activists, including a Rangoon district leader of the opposition National League for Democracy, 74-year-old Myint Hlaing.

At the same time, the regime is paying its supporters to attend evening training sessions in crowd control methods. "They are instructed how to crack down on crowds if protests occur," said one Rangoon resident who attended one of the sessions.

A nationwide campaign to persuade the electorate to reject the draft constitution in the May referendum is gaining momentum as details of the regime-drafted document emerge. Most important, the draft guarantees the continuation of a leading role for the military in running the country.

After weeks of silence on the issue, the National League for Democracy, Burma's main opposition party, led by pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, finally took a stand this week and urged the electorate to vote 'No' in the referendum.

The regime has warned it will crack down harshly on any attempt to disrupt the referendum or prejudge its result, but it’s unclear how it will respond to the NLD. Aung San Suu Kyi is disenfranchised because she is being held prisoner in her own home, and the draft constitution also excludes her from standing for office in any future Burmese government.

Apart from continuing arrests, secret trials are being held at which participants in the anti-government demonstrations last August and September are receiving heavy terms of imprisonment. One of the first to be arrested when people took to the streets last August to protest against steep price rises was sentenced this week to life imprisonment under a section of the criminal code outlawing “acts intended to destabilise the government.” The accused, Ohn Than, had already served eight years for his part in the 1988 national uprising.

Amnesty International and the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners-Burma say at least 700 people arrested for participating in last September’s mass demonstrations are still behind bars. The number of political prisoners in Burma has now risen to more than 1,800, they report.

FIRST POSTED APRIL 4, 2008