Speak out against the SPDC’s unjust activities against the people’s will In order to gain approved ballots in the Palaung region
Posted By admin on July 4, 2008
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“Palaung Working Group Against SPDC’s Referendum” of Report…
We published the “Ballots against People’s Will” report in order to let people know that the referendum result of SPDC was not a legitimate result, and that it is instead a violation of genuine will of the people. This illegitimate ballot was held by Burmese military regime on May 10, 2008.
The Palaung Working Group consists of Palaung State Liberation Front (PSLF), Palaung Youth Network Group (PYNG) and Palaung Women’s Organization (PWO). These organizations oppose the SPDC’s referendum and as a result, carried out the “Vote No Campaigns” and also conducted a Referendum Watch in towns of Numshan, Lashio, Kyauk me, Maingou, Thipaw, Mantong, Namtu, Kutkai, Nankham and Muse Tsp where Palaung people live with the help of responsible patriotic men, women, and youth.
Without any international presence on the referendum, the SPDC was able to control the entire referendum process unfairly. This includes no free and fair concepts of the SPDC’s referendum to ratify the constitution, forced collection of approved ballots, collection of pre-ballots and cheating in ballots. The SPDC also conducted all of the counting of the ballots. The Palaung Working Group is publicizing the unjust conduct of the junta. This report is based on the information which we observed through 57 polling booths, as well as interviews with the local people and polling booth guards.
SPDC exercised dishonest actions in different polling booths and different areas. In some polling booths, even if not all of dishonest means were applied, there were at least four or five methods of dishonesty used in the ballots. It was found that even in some supposedly “free polling booths” at least three methods of dishonest means were applied to get “yes” ballots.
One of the polling booth guards from the Palaung region said, “There were only about 30 percent of eligible voters who could come to the polling booths and have a chance to vote by themself. They wore the Palaung traditional dress and voted, but it was just for show, like fake voting. The rest of the people were included in the list of pre-voting and voting as representatives”.
As an order from the top military regime and according to referendum conducting procedure of the commission, the regime insisted that almost of the ballots had to be ‘yes” votes, even though some urban and defiany citizens have voted “No”.
Therefore we the Palaung Working Group oppose the referendum procedure and urge the people, political forces inside and outside Burma, cease-fire organizations, political parties inside and outside Burma, members of the ASEAN and international community to protest against it as well. We also urge these groups to find a proper solution to the political problem of Burma because the result of the referendum is illegitimate and was gained by cheating the people’s will. It will only lead the country to continue under a dismal and corrupt dictatorship.
Palaung Working Group Against SPDC’s referendum
PSLF, PWO, PYNG
July 3, 2008
Contact: (66) 084 8072 900, (66) 083 3302 304 (66) 085 1075 851
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