By SAW YAN NAING
March 12, 2008 - The Burmese regime is ordering local authorities in Rangoon to persuade residents to support the national referendum in May, according to informed sources in the former capital.
Local authorities in Rangoon, such as the Township Peace and Development Council and the Ward Peace and Development Council, were officially asked earlier this week by the chairman of Rangoon Division Peace and Development Council, Brig-Gen Hla Htay Win, and Home Minister Maung Oo to lobby local residents to vote “Yes” at the national referendum, said the sources.
However, it was unclear how and when the process to lobby residents would be implemented.
Meanwhile, in Rangoon and Mandalay, pro-democracy activists, including monks, have recently launched an anti-referendum campaign, distributing leaflets criticizing the referendum and urging people to vote “No” in May, according to sources.
Within the last two months, the authorities have issued temporary citizen identity cards to local residents in several townships in Rangoon and asked for their support in the upcoming referendum on the state’s draft constitution.
The temporary citizen identity cards have been issued in townships such as Hlaing Tharyar, North Dagon and Kyeemyindine in Rangoon.
Burma’s military government announced on February 9 that a national referendum would be held in May and multi-party elections in 2010.
The regime also enacted a new law calling for up to three years imprisonment and 100,000 kyat (US $91) fines for offenders who distribute statements, posters or who make speeches against the referendum. The law also bans monks and nuns from voting.
Meanwhile, Burmese authorities are campaigning residents in Kawthaung Province in southernmost Burma to vote “Yes” in May’s national referendum, said local residents.
The residents in Kawthaung said that local authorities and the Ministry of Immigration and Population have been compiling a list of voters—over 18 years old— since early March and have been trying to persuade local residents to support the national referendum.
Maung Tu, a resident in Kawthaung told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday, “The authorities asked us to gather in their offices or schools and collected our names. They also asked us to vote ‘Yes’ in the referendum.”
According to Kawthaung residents, the authorities also told locals that they would only issue citizen cards to residents who vote ‘Yes’ in the referendum.
Some residents have said that they would do what the authorities asked, because they want identity cards from the authorities, said Maung Tu.
A woman in Kawthaung said, “I would vote ‘Yes’ in the national referendum if I were forcibly asked to by the authorities, because our daily survival is more important than anything else.”
She added that she expected many residents would follow the authorities’ instructions even though they were unclear about the draft constitution and the voting system.
Earlier this month, the Burmese authorities issued temporary citizen cards to ceasefire groups: the Kachin Independence Organization and its military wing, the Kachin Independence Army; the United Wa State Army; the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army; and the New Mon State Party, according to ceasefire sources.
Residents in Mandalay, Myitkyina and Arakan State also reported that local authorities there were collecting family registration information.
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