A group of activists staged a rare protest in front of the Rangoon headquarters of the National League for Democracy (NLD) on Thursday, calling on Burmese citizens to vote against a proposed constitution which will give sweeping powers to the country’s armed forces.
A member of the NLD said that more than 30 protesters wearing T shirts emblazoned with the word “No” gathered at the party’s headquarters as hundreds of others came to attend a ceremony marking Burma’s Armed Forces Day.
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| Protesters in front of the National League for Democracy headquarters in Rangoon. |
“They shouted slogans against the junta’s constitution and called on people to vote ‘no’ at the polling stations,” the NLD member told The Irrawaddy on Thursday, adding that some members of the party joined in the protest.
The rare show of defiance lasted just 30 minutes and attracted the attention of security forces stationed around the NLD’s headquarters, who photographed the protesters.
According to witnesses, the demonstrators also distributed pamphlets calling on voters to go to the polls and vote against the constitution. Under a new law enacted in February, it is illegal to publicly criticize the referendum or the constitution. Violations are punishable by fines and three-year prison sentences.
Meanwhile, sources said that a signboard with the words, “Never Deceive the Nation,” appeared today in front of the home of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
“The signboard has the words and a portrait of [Burmese independence hero and father of Aung San Suu Kyi] Aung San, painted by Suu Kyi,” said a member of the NLD.
IRRAWADDY NEWS
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