Why we do not accept the 2010 election? What we need to do it?

By Htun Aung Gyaw

We do not accept the 2010 election sponsored by the Burmese regime because we have a strong reason to believe that it will not give freedom and liberty to our people including the soldiers who are working under the generals’ command. Everyone knows that 2008 Constitution is far away from democratic norms and principles. Instead of the Constitution below facts will proved that we have the reasonable doubt about the coming election.

1. Potential political leaders and many political prisoners are still in various prisons or detentions.
2. Current political parties have no right to call for party convention, organizational trips, and reopen their offices which have been forced to close down for years.
3. Newspapers and radio stations are totally control and run by the regime, there are no single independent newspapers, radio station or TV station existed in Burma.
4. There is no freedom of speech, assembly, travel, and publication.
5. Still formations of new political parties are pending.
6. Even though the regime made an announced in early 2009 that they will sponsor free and fair election in 2010, still election date and election laws are not announced yet now February is approaching.
7. Still formation of independent student’s Unions, Workers’ Unions, Peasants’ Unions, Monks’ Unions are not allowed to form officially.
8. 1990 election winner political party NLD proposed a sensible path for national reconciliation by starting a dialogue and need to change the 2008 constitution into a democratic constitution which guaranteed the human rights.
9. Civil Society has shrunk under military rule, without strong Civil Society there is no possible way Burmese people can get freedom even the opposition win the election in 2010, it will slip back in the hands of power abusers.

All the nine points need to solve before the election. If the SPDC regime does not have a will to solve it, the election will not be free and fair.

The UN, US and John Hopkin’s Professor Karl D Jackson who recently discussed with the Burmese regime needs to understand that above nine points are crucial for the election if not it will not be a recognizable election at all.

Democratic opposition needs to unite as one force, one voice, and fight for our freedom for one country not for one state or one division. We need to forget about which race we belong to or what bitter experience that we had in the past. We all need to know and understand that we all are oppressed under the military dictatorship, every ethnic race including majority Burmans are living under military boots not only one race or one ethnic group. US President Obama said, “There is no Red States or Blue States, no Republicans or Democrats, we need to think as One”. It is true, we need to think as one not one race against another. We need to see the clear picture that we are fighting the system that oppressed us not one race oppressed another. If we pick one race to blame for our suffering, we cannot unite as one strong force. As a result, we are not strong enough to fight our oppressor. Do you want to fight back and win? Try to see the clear picture. It is time to UNITE!

Htun Aung Gyaw
Always a freedom fighter and a critic
607-339-6054

PS: The author, Htun Aung Gyaw is the Patron of Burma Democratic Concern (BDC) and the prominent students’ leader in the 1988 mass uprising. Students spearheaded the public and successfully toppled the General Ne Win’s authoritarian regime.