The military junta that rules Myanmar plans to hold a referendum this week on a new constitution. The ballot is a sham that offers the long-suffering people of Myanmar no real choice about the future. The outcome must not be accepted by the international community.
The State Peace and Development Council, the official name of the military junta that has ruled Myanmar since it overturned elections in 1990 that gave the opposition National League for Democracy a landslide win, has promised for years to return to democratic government. It developed a "road map" that was to guide the country through the messy business of electing a legitimate government. Integral to that process was development of a constitution that the newly elected government would inherit.
In 1993, the government convened a constitutional convention to draft the new charter. It took 14 years and several iterations for the group to complete its work. In fairness, some of that delay was the product of attempts to find a compromise with the opposition that would allow it to participate in the drafting work.
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