The activist group, calling itself the 'All Burma Democratic Front General Strike Committee' (ABDFGSC), said confrontation is the sole option for the people of Burma to free themselves from military rule and that the time is ripe for all groups to join hands in this common cause.
"We cannot wait for the junta to conduct a referendum on its draft constitution…we are now planning our first move and we will carry on until there is a tripartite dialogue," the ABDFGSC spokesperson, who is also secretly organizing the groups activities, told Mizzima from his hideout.
He added that the group's movement will have three phases and will continue until the junta recognizes the 1990 election results and comes to the negotiation table.
"Of course we anticipate there will be a lot of bloodshed, but we cannot allow future generations to be under the rule of the military," added the spokesperson.
The ABDFGSC also urges activists in exile to put their focus on confronting the junta's plans by supporting movements inside Burma. Diverse opinions and voices, the group believes, weaken opposition attempts to reject the junta's plans.
"So, we request activists and forces outside Burma to support our statement or otherwise to remain silent and stop urging the people to go to the polling stations," the ABDFGSC stipulated.
Burma's ruling junta in February announced that it will hold a referendum on a draft constitution in May and hold a general election in 2010 as part of its seven-step roadmap to democracy.
The announcement attracted a wave of response from opposition groups, including exiled Burmese political organizations and activists. The responses, however, varied from urging a total boycott of the junta's referendum to a vote of 'No'.
Meanwhile, junta-backed groups in Burma are also reportedly campaigning for people to vote 'Yes' in the upcoming poll, claiming that this is the only chance the people of Burma have to exercise their rights.
So far, the National League for Democracy, the main opposition political party led by detained Nobel Peace Prize winner Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, has made no clear statement on the junta's announcement.
