Myanmar 's attempt to hold a constitutional referendum may be running into problems thanks to the lack of a video cassette. At a meeting held yesterday between Mon State' Commission for Holding Referendum and the headmen of the Ye township Peace and Development Council (TPDC) a video cassette was shown to the headmen explaining the process of casting votes for the referendum to be held on 10th May this year.

However, when a copy of the video was asked for, the headmen were told by the commission that they had just one copy and could not part with it.

"The commission wanted us to explain the process of casting votes to villagers along the guidelines given in the video. But when we wanted a copy of the video, the authorities were unable to provide us with one,'' said a village headman of Ye township who wished to remain anonymous. "This leaves us with a bit of a problem," he said, making plain his dissatisfaction with the way the meeting went.

Both the military government and as well as activists in Myanmar are campaigning for the referendum.  However, while military and government staffs are in favor of an approval of the constitution, activists are  against it. At a recent meeting in Pa Nga village in Thanpyuzayart township Major Gen Ohn Myint even urged people to vote in favor of the constitution if they wanted democracy.

The Ye township headmen were told, a positive referendum will bring about an approval of the draft constitution formulated over the last 14 years. An approval would mean the end of military rule, they were told.

Unfortunately, by the look of things, local people in Ye township are not particularly interested in the referendum, said the village headmen. No one knows much about the draft constitution and it is rarely seen in the villages of the township, he said.