Vote 'no' on charter, says Suu Kyi's party

This handout picture shows supporters and members of Myanmar's National League For Democracy (NLD) campaign against the upcoming referendum on the new constitution in Yangon on March 27, 2008. Leaked copies of Myanmar's new constitution show the military will receive sweeping powers that ensure its dominance even after elections. Photo: AFP

Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition party urged voters on Wednesday to reject a military-backed draft constitution, saying it was undemocratic and drafted under the junta's direct control.
The National League for Democracy said people should participate "without fail" in a referendum next month on the proposed constitution and vote against it.
It is the first time the party has taken a clear position on the referendum since it was announced by the junta in February, although it has previously criticised the proposed charter. No exact date has been set for the May vote.
"We urge the people from all walks of life, ethnic nationalities and their organizations to go to the polling stations without fail and to decisively cast a 'no' vote," the party said in a statement.
It said the draft constitution was drafted unilaterally by a group hand-picked by the military government, not by elected representatives, and did not guarantee the democratic and human rights strongly desired by the people.
Critics of the proposed constitution, which is supposed to lead to general elections in 2010, say it aims to perpetuate military rule.
Other opponents of the junta also have urged a rejection of the charter, including the 88 Generation Students group and the All Burma Monks' Alliance, which were instrumental in organizing mass pro-democracy protests last year.
The leaders of the two groups are mostly under arrest or in hiding, so much of the campaign against the constitution has been conducted underground, with leaflets being left at public places.
A referendum law issued by the junta says anyone who distributes leaflets or makes speeches against the referendum can be imprisoned for three years.
The text of the proposed constitution has not been publicly released, but according to a copy obtained by The Associated Press, it enshrines the military's dominant role in politics, bars Suu Kyi from public office, and protects members of the ruling junta from prosecution for past actions.
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.
In the last elections in 1990, the military refused to hand over power to the National League for Democracy when it won a landslide victory. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi, who is currently under house arrest, has been in detention without trial for more than 12 of the past 18 years.