|
YANGON - AUTHORITIES in Myanmar on Tuesday arrested more than 20 activists for campaigning against a proposed new military-backed constitution, which goes to a referendum next month, an opposition party member said.
The activists were held in the western town of Sittwe, said Nyan Win, spokesman for detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party.
'We heard that at least 23 activists were detained as they walked peacefully around Sittwe town wearing T-shirts printed with the word 'No',' he said.
'We cannot confirm how many NLD members participated in this rally, but they started this campaign on Sunday,' he told reporters.
'We heard some were released after being briefly detained, but cannot confirm all detainees were released.'
Monks from Sittwe, in Rakhine state, participated in mass anti-junta protests in September last year, which were violently crushed by the military, killing at least 31 people, the United Nations has said.
The referendum on the charter on May 10 will be the first balloting in military-run Myanmar since 1990, when Aung San Suu Kyi led the NLD to a landslide victory that was never recognised by the junta.
She remains under house arrest.
The regime says the referendum will pave the way for multi-party elections in 2010, but activists say the constitution was drafted with no public input and enshrines the army's role for generations to come.
The NLD and other pro-democracy groups are calling for a 'No' vote, but they have little ability to campaign effectively because the junta has outlawed speeches and leaflets about the referendum. -- AFP
|
