 Image by Getty Images via @daylife |
| Riding a tri-cycle to work in Yangoon, Myanmar (Burma) on Sunday |
I wanted to post this but very important post from the BBC regarding this past weekends National Election in Myanmar (aka: Burma).
I have followed the developments of this country day in and day out for the past three plus years. It is an outrage that this country is allowed to get away with this in this day and age. I hope President Obama will take action and get the good people of Burma a new lease on life. Obama is over in India and Asia for the next week, and I pray that he will be able to use his power and "star appeal" to turn Burma into a true "Democracy!"
My "brother" Martin is here from Burma...and my heart breaks for the people of this nation.
Let Freedom Ring!
Randy Economy
Western powers have dismissed Burma's first general election for two decades, describing it as neither free nor fair.
From the BBC
During a visit to India, US President Barack Obama said "for too long the people of Burma have been denied the right to determine their own destiny".
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said Sunday's election would "mean the return to power of a brutal regime". Two parties linked to the military are expected to dominate the poll. The largest opposition group boycotted it.
Some voters told the BBC they could not vote in private, while opposition groups alleged that many state employees had been pressured to vote in advance for the main pro-military party.
Reports from Burma's largest city, Rangoon, suggest turnout was low.
Burmese voters last got a chance to cast their ballots in 1990, when they overwhelmingly backed the National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Aung San Suu Kyi (seen above).
But the ruling generals never allowed the NLD to take power and detained Ms Suu Kyi.
A new constitution enacted in 2008. The election was the culmination of the generals' stated aim to create a "discipline-flourishing democracy" that will return Burma to civilian rule. However, critics say they are a sham.
A quarter of seats in the two new chambers of parliament will be reserved for the military.
Any constitutional change will require a parliamentary majority of more than 75% - meaning that the military will retain a casting vote. Key ministerial posts will be held by serving generals.
The two main parties contesting the polls - the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and the National Unity Party (NUP) - also have close ties to the military, with both led by former generals who have given up their ranks.
The NLD was forcibly disbanded after it said it was not participating because of laws which banned Ms Suu Kyi from taking part.
President Obama, speaking on Sunday during a visit to India, said the elections would "be anything but free and fair".
"For too long the people of Burma have been denied the right to determine their own destiny."
In a statement released by the White House afterwards, Mr Obama said the vote had not met "any of the internationally accepted standards associated with legitimate elections", and called for the immediate release of Ms Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners in Burma.
The UK said the election results were "already a foregone conclusion".
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