Burmese of Jamaica in front of Jamaica's U.S. Embassy for Burma's humanitarian relief

One Love Reggae- Bob Marley

Monday, February 11, 2008

Burma's announcement of new elections

Burma's regime faced widespread protests last year
(Burma's regime faced widespread protests last year)

The Burmese opposition has described as vague, incomplete and strange the military government's decision to hold a referendum on a new constitution in May.

The generals said a multi-party election would follow in 2010, two decades after they annulled the last election.

The surprise announcement comes just months after the brutal suppression of last September's pro-democracy protests.

Britain said Burmese political leaders had not been consulted, and called for a genuine process of reconciliation.

But Singapore's Foreign Ministry hailed the move by Burmese military government to set a timeframe for a referendum on a new constitution and elections as a "positive" one.

The pro-democracy leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, remains under house arrest, and hundreds of political prisoners are in jail.

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