Mizzima News

Even as UN Special envoy Mr. Gambari tours Japan, protests have broken against the Burmese military junta's draft constitution.

The protesters made it abundantly clear that they would accept only the 1990 general election results. They also stated that they would not accept the draft constitution unilaterally drafted by the military regime. The protests were staged in front of the UN office in Tokyo.

"We expressed our desire to meet Mr. Gambari during his Japan tour before he meets the Burmese regime the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). We will give our letter of appeal to Mr. Gambari," Ko Lynn Aung, Vice-Chairman of the National League for Democracy (NLD) Japan branch, told Mizzima.

The protesters chanted slogans holding aloft portraits of detained political leaders -- Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Shan ethnic leader U Khun Tun Oo, and 88 generation student leaders.

"Burma's issues for the future can be resolved easily only through a tripartite dialogue with the 1990 election winning party the NLD, ethnic leaders and the SPDC. It is a political issue and must be resolved by political means," Lynn Aung added.

UN special envoy Mr. Gambari is on a diplomatic tour of China, Indonesia, Singapore and Japan to seek international support for political reforms and a transition to democracy in Burma. He is likely to reach Burma in March.

Phone Myint Aung, a member of All Burma Federation of Students Union (ABFSU), said, "We protest against holding a referendum without implementing the 1990 general election results. We call for the realization of genuine people's aspirations. So we call for a more punitive resolution under the supervision of the UN."

There are about 20,000 Burmese people residing in Tokyo, Japan, working in restaurants, shops, construction sites and as domestic helps.