Rangoon – A veteran teacher said she was advised by the head of the high school where she teaches to vote 'yes' during the referendum. Otherwise, she would be sent to a remote school or be sacked from her post.
"I don't want to water the poisonous plant for my son," the 40-year-old said, explaining her inclination reject the military junta's draft constitution.
She is not alone in her beliefs. Many other Burmese say they don't believe that the draft constitution, scheduled for a nation-wide vote on Saturday except in cyclone-stricken areas, would result in a meaningful democracy.
If they vote 'no,' they fear the junta will take another 14 years or more to draw up another constitution, ruling the way they have since they seized power in 1962.
But many would-be 'no' voters may find it had to vote their conscience. They fear the voting process may not be secure, and authorities will be able to learn how they cast their votes. Many civil servants fear that if they vote against draft constitution, they will be demoted or sacked.
In addition, people are not allowed by law to talk against the referendum. About 10 people who spoke against the referendum at a teashop were reportedly arrested and detained, according to several Rangoon residents. The government has not released them.
According to random interviews with people in the city, a majority of those questioned said they were ready to vote against the draft constitution, which would ban opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from being a candidate in multi-party elections slated for 2010.
But pro-junta groups and others, including some media CEOs, are campaigning across the nation, urging voters to approve the constitution.
One university lecturer said, "If all the USDA [Union Solidarity and Development Association] members vote 'yes,' what can we do? We common people can't be the majority."
According to a government announcement, the USDA has more than 30 million members, more than half of the country's population of 56 million.
Witnesses of last year's bloody crackdown on peaceful protesters said the members of USDA helped the junta's security troops in beating and killing demonstrators. The United Nations said at least 31 people were killed and thousands left injured.
Dr. Nay Win Maung, CEO of Living Color magazine and The Voice Weekly news journal, is propagating the draft constitution. He says some points can be amended after a civilian government is elected. Having the constitution, he argues, is better than nothing and is the only way out of prolonged political deadlock.
However, one journalist who asked not to be named gave the opposite view. "The junta's thoroughly drawn constitution makes it extremely impossible to amend, since 25 percent of the seats in parliament are for the military."
According to the draft constitution, an amendment can only be made when 75 percent of the members of parliament approve.
"In my view," one observer said, "the constitution would be ratified even if a majority of the people vote no. Convincing the international community that the referendum is totally unfair is the only and one way we can make."
But that will be difficult without international observers for the poll. The junta rejected a proposal by the UN special envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, to bring in a team of UN observers.
"It shows that the referendum would be unfair and unsafe," one elderly man said.
