Junta does not have support from the people.

August 6, Irrawaddy - 88 Generation urges Burma to spurn junta's new
constitution - Htet Aung

The pro-democracy 88 Generation Students group urged all Burmese people to
reject a forthcoming constitution based on new guidelines being finalized by
the country's National Convention, according to a statement released by the
group in advance of the 19th anniversary of the 1988 democracy uprising on
August 8. "Preventing the negative consequences of another disempowered and
detrimental State Constitution will be the duty of all people of Burma," the
statement said. "We are seriously concerned about the new constitution and
issued this statement to urge the people to demand their rights," Pyone Cho,
one of the 88 Generation student leaders, told The Irrawaddy on Monday.
Burma's National Convention reconvened for its final session on July18 and
is tasked with completing new guidelines for a draft constitution as part of
Burma's so-called "road map" to democratic reform. The convention will be
followed by a referendum to adopt the constitution, though the junta has
offered no details about when this might happen. Pyone Cho said that looking
back to the past, the 1974 constitution, which adopted a one-party system
and didn't fulfill the will of the people, ended in the 1988 democracy
uprising. He added that the 88 Generation Students believe any constitution
that grants the rights of the people and represents their will is going to
succeed and endure. The people of Burma, Pyone Cho said, will show their
true desire toward the new constitution when a referendum is held to ratify
it, and their desire will follow the example of the 1990 election, which saw
a landslide victory for Burma's opposition party the National League for
Democracy. To mark the anniversary of the 1988 uprising, the 88 Generation
Students will participate in a wazo robe offering at the Tharthana Theippan
monastery in Chauk Htat Kyi (Six Stories) Pagoda in Bahan Township to honor
the students, monks and citizens who lost their lives when Burma's ruling
junta brutally suppressed the uprising.

The group urged all Burmese to join the ceremony, regardless of
whether they received a formal invitation. Meanwhile, a group of
unidentified individuals riding motorbikes with no license plates have begun
harassing members of the 88 Generation Students in the last few weeks. The
harassers are thought to comprise police intelligence agents and members of
the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Association Pyone Cho said
the harassment has decreased since the opposition group threatened to stage
a public speech to residents in areas where they have been harassed if the
motorbike thugs did not stop troubling them.




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