Following massive peaceful protests and a brutal, much-publicized government response, Myanmar’s military-run government has finally set a date for its long-promised elections. It’s not clear, though, whether the 2010 election would be contingent on the adoption of an army-drafted constitution, set for a public referendum in May.
While any kind of public input is a step forward in Myanmar, there are serious concerns about the military junta’s free hand in shaping Myanmar’s national document, and its willingness to step aside. Just a few weeks ago, a well-known love poet was arrested for allegedly coding the message “power crazy senior general Than Shwe.” into a romantic poem, a reference to the junta’s leader for 16 of its 19 years in power. The poem ended with a call for solidarity: “millions of people who know how to love, please clap your hands of gilded gold and laugh out loud.”
Scheduling the constitutional referendum for this May makes it difficult for the junta’s critics to mount a campaign against it, particularly because most of the country’s leading pro-democracy activists are in jail […]”
Burma/Myanmar is a bit of a soft spot with me - expect updates here as the referendum approaches.
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