AP

Posted: 2008-03-09 05:09:47

MANILA, March 9 (Kyodo) – The Philippines urged Myanmar on Sunday to reconsider a proposal by the United Nations to allow foreign observers to monitor its constitutional referendum set for May.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said in a statement foreign observers would not “threaten any nation’s sovereignty” and would help show the world the voting is credible.

“It is not too late for the government of Myanmar to accept the proposal by the U.N. It is a small but modest step toward democratization that is long overdue in Myanmar,” she said.

Arroyo described Myanmar’s rejection of the U.N. proposal as a “sad day for democracy and our region.

“A central pillar of democracy is a free and fair election,” she said, adding, “Outside observers are not a threat to any nation’s sovereignty.”

Rather, she said, the participation of outside election observers “is a sign of strength.”

“These observers help show the world the credibility of the election process itself, as we have long done in the Philippines,” she said.

She did not, however, refer to other electoral reform proposals made by U.N. special envoy to Myanmar Ibrahim Gambari, among them, the inclusion of the pro-democracy opposition in its plans for the constitutional referendum in May and multiparty elections in 2010.

Arroyo has consistently called on Myanmar to accelerate its path to democracy by engaging in dialogue with and releasing from detention or house arrest National League for Democracy leaders, including Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.