Jakarta attacks Burma’s draft constitution

By John Aglionby in Jakarta and Amy Kazmin in Bangkok

February 21, 2008 - Indonesia became the first big developing country on Thursday to criticise Burma’s draft constitution, which entrenches military rule by banning leading opposition activists from politics, including Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel prize-winning democracy advocate.

Hassan Wirajuda, Indonesia’s foreign minister, said the constitution should be revised before being put to a national referendum in May, to ensure that the interests of opposition and minority groups were protected.

His comments were made days after Burma’s military rulers publicly clarified that Ms Suu Kyi, now a widow, would be prohibited from contesting Burma’s planned 2010 elections because she had married a foreigner.

“We hope that in the period between now and May, a process of consultation will take in input from these groups so that the draft constitution which will be voted on will be comprehensive, meaning that it will accommodate their interests,” Mr Hassan told the Financial Times.

The Burmese junta insists its charter will lay the foundation for a “disciplined democracy” suitable for Burma’s multi-ethnic ­population.

But opposition groups have denounced it as an attempt to legalise military rule, while Ms Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy has complained that the army’s “unilateral” referendum plans “did not support meaningful political dialogue or the national reconciliation process”.

Under the proposed constitution, 25 per cent of parliamentary seats will be reserved for the military, while the army chief can appoint key ministers, and declare a state of emergency, seizing widespread powers. Protection of basic rights and civil liberties will be highly conditional, and easily curbed by the military.

The constitutional provisions governing election eligibility also make it clear that political dissidents can easily be excluded from running for public office.

“It’s already rigged,” said Aung Naing Oo, a Burmese political analyst in exile. “Anyone who has been an active campaigner for democracy, or has been against the military at some point, or has the potential to do so, will be disqualified.”

The charter bars from office anyone married to a foreigner, or whose spouse or children have foreign citizenship, as well as Buddhist monks and other religious figures. It also bars political prisoners and civil servants, except for soldiers.

Parliamentary candidates must have lived in Burma for 10 consecutive years.

Source: Financial Times