Myanmar's military government has rejected a UNs offer of observers for May's constitutional referendum and elections in 2010, redoubling concerns about the freedom and fairness of both polls.
"Holding the referendum for the constitution is within the state sovereignty," newspapers yesterday quoted referendum commissioner Thaung Nyunt as telling visiting UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari.
"Arrangements have been made for the eligible voters to cast their votes freely," he said, squashing any hopes of the international community that independent observers would be allowed in to monitor the plebiscite.
He also spurned Gambari's offer of UN "technical assistance," saying the military had enough experience with running elections.
The last time it did so, in 1990, it ignored the result when opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party won more than 80 percent of the vote.
The latest rejection was not unexpected, but diplomats said it signaled the end of whatever small desire the generals had to compromise amid worldwide outrage at September's bloody crackdown on the biggest pro-democracy protests in 20 years.
"It shows the regime has lost its appetite for cooperating with the UN," said an Asian diplomat, who did not want to be named.
The junta announced its plans for a referendum and elections last month as part of a seven-step "roadmap to democracy" that most Western countries have dismissed as a blueprint for the generals keeping their grip on power.
Gambari, who is making his third trip to the Southeast Asian nation since the September protests, also held his second meeting with Myanmar Information Minister Kyaw Hsan yesterday.
Gambari's visit had already run into trouble on Friday when Kyaw Hsan accused him of bias in favor of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Gambari arrived on Thursday aiming to push the junta to include Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) party in May's referendum on the new constitution and the 2010 elections.
The constitution would bar Aung San Suu Kyi from elections because of her marriage to a foreigner, while a new law limits the NLD's ability to campaign by criminalizing public speeches and leaflets about the referendum.
The Nigerian diplomat and UN troubleshooter was granted a rare, 90-minute meeting on Saturday with Aung San Suu Kyi, but details of their discussions have not been revealed. Gambari is not expected to visit the new capital, Naypyidaw, to see junta supremo Than Shwe.
The New Light of Myanmar carried an editorial labeling anyone who opposed the constitution as "internal axe-handles" and "national traitors."
It briefly mentioned Gambari's meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi, but gave no details.
The Nobel peace prize winner has spent 12 of the last 18 years under house arrest, and is allowed little contact with the outside world.
Meanwhile, adding her weight to Gambari's efforts, Philippine President Gloria Arroyo urged Myanmar to permit observers as a "small but modest step" toward democracy.
"It is a sad day for democracy and our region that Myanmar has rejected the proposal put forward by the UN for outside observers to the May election," she said in a statement.
"A central pillar of democracy is a free and fair election," she said. "Outside observers are not a threat to any nation's sovereignty. Rather, the participation of outside election observers is a sign of strength."
Kehinde Sanni spends his days smoothing out dents and repainting scratched bumpers in a modest autobody shop in Lagos. He has never left Nigeria, yet he speaks glowingly of Burkina Faso military leader Ibrahim Traore. “Nigeria needs someone like Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso. He is doing well for his country,” Sanni said. His admiration is shaped by a steady stream of viral videos, memes and social media posts — many misleading or outright false — portraying Traore as a fearless reformer who defied Western powers and reclaimed his country’s dignity. The Burkinabe strongman swept into power following a coup in September 2022
‘FRAGMENTING’: British politics have for a long time been dominated by the Labor Party and the Tories, but polls suggest that Reform now poses a significant challenge Hard-right upstarts Reform UK snatched a parliamentary seat from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labor Party yesterday in local elections that dealt a blow to the UK’s two establishment parties. Reform, led by anti-immigrant firebrand Nigel Farage, won the by-election in Runcorn and Helsby in northwest England by just six votes, as it picked up gains in other localities, including one mayoralty. The group’s strong showing continues momentum it built up at last year’s general election and appears to confirm a trend that the UK is entering an era of multi-party politics. “For the movement, for the party it’s a very, very big
ENTERTAINMENT: Rio officials have a history of organizing massive concerts on Copacabana Beach, with Madonna’s show drawing about 1.6 million fans last year Lady Gaga on Saturday night gave a free concert in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career. “Tonight, we’re making history... Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The Mother Monster, as she is known, started the show at about 10:10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary. Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show. Lady Gaga
SUPPORT: The Australian prime minister promised to back Kyiv against Russia’s invasion, saying: ‘That’s my government’s position. It was yesterday. It still is’ Left-leaning Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday basked in his landslide election win, promising a “disciplined, orderly” government to confront cost-of-living pain and tariff turmoil. People clapped as the 62-year-old and his fiancee, Jodie Haydon, who visited his old inner Sydney haunt, Cafe Italia, surrounded by a crowd of jostling photographers and journalists. Albanese’s Labor Party is on course to win at least 83 seats in the 150-member parliament, partial results showed. Opposition leader Peter Dutton’s conservative Liberal-National coalition had just 38 seats, and other parties 12. Another 17 seats were still in doubt. “We will be a disciplined, orderly
RSS