5 June 2008
Human Rights Now,
On 10 and
24 May, the Myanmar SPDC forcefully carried out a referendum over a new
constitution, and on 26 May, the SPDC announced that the constitution proposed
by the SPDC was approved by 92.48 per cent of favorable votes with a turnout of
98 per cent.
Human Rights Now
has warned that the new constitution would prolong an oppressive structure of
the SPDC rather than promote democratization and protection of human rights,
and stated that the constitution would not be worthy of being labeled a
true democratization process unless all detainees of the pro-democracy
movement are released immediately and the SPDC starts a dialogue with the pro-democracy
movement.
In this process,
the referendum was held in a situation where most Myanmar citizens were not
granted the right to know the contents of the new constitution. Also, the
movement against the constitution was deprived of all freedoms of
expression and assembly during the abnormal circumstances of post-
cyclone Nargis.
There are some
reports that people were ordered to vote for the constitution by the SPDC
without knowing the contents.
Human Rights Now strongly protests
the forcible execution of the process. Moreover, the SPDC informed Aung San Suu
Kyi, a democratization leader in Myanmar, of the extension of her house arrest on
27 May.
According to
military regime sources, the length of the extension is six months but it can
be one year. Human Rights Now expresses strong opposition to the
SPDC’s decision.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s
continued house arrest started in May 2003 after the Depyain massacre. Thus, she
has been under the house arrest for six years due to the decision. (In total,
she has been detained for more
than twelve years since 1989.)
This decision
violates not only international law but also Myanmar national law. Myanmar State
Protection Law Article 10 (b) stipulates that a person who is regarded as a threat
against the security of the state and peace of the people can be placed under
house arrest for up to five years without any prosecutions or trials. Under
this law, the maximum length of house arrest is five years and the deadline had
already come in May 2008, although this law itself is completely unjustified.
Therefore, Myanmar
national law does not allow further extension of Aung San Suu Kyi’s house
arrest and the SPDC’s decision violates the national law
enacted by the SPDC.
This decision has
revealed again to the world that the roadmap, which the SPDC has promoted,
cannot be compatible with true democracy and human rights. The international
community has intensively censured the decision.
On 27 May,
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon expressed regret over the SPDC’s decision
about the extension of Aung San Suu Ki’s house arrest, and leaders and
ministers of U.S., U.K., Indonesia, Australia, France and so forth also
expressed their concern and disappointment over the decision.
However, while the
Japanese government has actively been involved in post-cyclone clean-up and assistance efforts, it has been silent on and has remained noncommittal about the
extension of Aung San Suu Kyi’s house arrest. Such an attitude by Japanese
government can be considered as compliance with the SPDC’s illegal house arrest and
denial of democratization.
Human Rights Now
requests that the Japanese government express a clear message that Aung San Suu
Kyi needs to be released immediately, take initiatives to have her released, demand
the SPDC to release all detainees of pro-democracy movement, and start
dialogue with the pro-democracy
movement and ethnic minorities by employing every possible diplomatic means in
order to achieve democratization.
Human Rights Now