Grassroots Members Question NLD’s Stance on Referendum

By MIN LWIN
The Irrawaddy News
www.irrawaddy.org

March 18, 2008 - Several grassroots members of the National League for Democracy (NLD), elected members of parliament and the Committee Representing the People’s Parliament (CRPP) have openly rejected the constitutional referendum to be held in May, according to Aye Thar Aung, secretary of the CRPP.

However, Aye Thar Aung criticized the NLD’s ambiguous stance toward the referendum. “The NLD should tell people whether they should go to the polling stations and vote ‘No’ or boycott the process entirely,” he said, adding that the NLD was the key player in the Burmese political arena.

Rangoon-based observers said that the grassroots NLD members were raising serious concerns and there would be more pressure on the NLD leaders to identify their policy regarding the constitutional referendum.

The observers said the NLD grassroots members will continue to condemn the regime's draft constitution, rejecting the government’s Road Map and advocating a “Vote No” campaign.

An NLD member from Kyaukpadaung in Mandalay Division said that members of the NLD’s divisional levels met recently in Mandalay to discuss the referendum. However, he could not provide further details of the meeting.

A source close to the NLD told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday: “Most NLD members want the current NLD leadership to remain at the forefront of the democracy movement.

“However, the fact that the monks led the September uprising is an indication that the NLD was not playing a leading role,” he added.

NLD spokesman Nyan Win reportedly said that the party didn't think the referendum was the final fight.

“We will probably release a specific statement later about the constitutional referendum,” Nyan Win told The Irrawaddy by phone on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Burmese intellectuals continue to debate and second guess the NLD’s dilemma. A five-page pamphlet written by a leading Burmese academic is being distributed among Burma observers inside and outside the country. The pamphlet examines the NLD leadership’s role with regard to the constitutional referendum.

Last week, Ludu Sein Win, a prominent journalist and former political prisoner, addressed a recorded message to Burmese both inside and outside the country, totally rejecting the referendum. He said that neither dialogue nor the UN Security Council would help the political situation.