Myanmar pro-democracy party calls for international observers at constitution vote

YANGON (AP - IHT), Myanmar: Myanmar's main opposition party called Thursday on international observers to take part in the country's referendum on a new constitution that critics say would perpetuate military rule.

Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party said the May 10 referendum "cannot be free and fair" because the rules are stacked against the military regime's opponents.

The United Nations, which has been trying to promote democratization in Myanmar, urged the country's ruling junta Thursday to make the referendum "inclusive and credible."

The NLD statement said the military government is allowed to campaign openly and without restriction in favor of the proposed constitution, while the party and pro-democracy activists are denied freedom of speech and face restrictions and harassment.

It charged that physical assaults on party members created an "intimidating atmosphere."

For people to cast their ballots without fear and to obtain credibility among the international community, "it is now urgently needed to permit international observers, including from the United Nations," it said.

Junta officials rejected the idea of international observers when it was proposed to them by United Nations special envoy Ibrahim Gambari in a meeting last month. State media said it was decided there was no precedent for it and it infringed on Myanmar's sovereignty.

State media also reported that the junta turned down Gambari's offer to have the U.N. provide technical expertise for the vote, with the government saying it could hold the polls on its own.

The NLD has urged voters to reject the proposed charter because it was drafted under the junta's direct control, without any input from the country's pro-democracy movement.

The draft constitution will be adopted if more than half of eligible voters approve it.

The document bans anyone who enjoyed the rights and privileges of a foreign citizen from holding public office. This would keep Suu Kyi out of government because her late husband, Michael Aris, was a Briton and their two sons are British.

Suu Kyi, who is currently under house arrest, has been in detention without trial for more than 12 of the past 18 years.

The proposed charter allots 25 percent of the seats in both houses of Parliament to the military. It empowers the president to transfer legislative, executive and judicial powers to the military's commander in chief for a year if a state of emergency arises.

It also stipulates that no amendments to the charter can be made without the consent of more than 75 percent of lawmakers, making changes unlikely unless supported by military representatives in Parliament.

The constitutional referendum is supposed to be followed by a general election in 2010.

U.N. deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe said Wednesday's announcement by Myanmar authorities that the referendum will be held on May 10 confirms the timeframe announced by the government in February.

"What is more important for the United Nations and the international community is that the government honors its stated commitment to a free and fair process," Okabe told reporters at U.N. headquarters.

"In this regard, the United Nations once more urges the authorities in Myanmar to ensure that conditions will be put in place that are conducive to making the referendum inclusive and credible," she said.

Myanmar has been without a constitution since 1988, when the current junta took power and scrapped the previous charter after violently quashing mass pro-democracy demonstrations.

Suu Kyi's party won the last general elections in 1990, but the military refused to hand over power, instead stepping up its repression of dissidents.

The junta has been under strong international pressure to make democratic reforms, especially since it violently quashed pro-democracy protests last September. The U.N. estimates at least 31 people were killed in the crackdown and thousands more were detained.