_ reported by Tin Tin Win (Moethaukkye)
On the morning of 26.04.2008, thousands of expatriate Burmese in Japan converged on Burmese embassy in Tokyo and waited patiently holding their red Burmese passports, to get a chance to cast their vote on Burmese military junta’s pro-military constitution for Burma. Virtually all of them said they intended to vote NO.
But for some mystical reasons Burmese embassy refused to open its doors to the eager voters. Instead, the embassy made a false alarm to the Japanese police that mobs are taking the embassy under seige. And the naive Japanese police were duped into using their riot gears to disperse the waiting voters by force.
After the ordinary voters (who want to vote NO) were dispersed, embassy staff took some of their selected YES voters to a mobile voting station in a people carrier car and made them cast their votes (YES votes) under supervision (see photo above).
But those dicriminated and disallowed oridinary voters on the next day got a chance to vote in a voting station in front of Tokyo Burmese embassy (arranged by elders of expatriate Burmese community in Japan) and they overwhelmingly cast their “NO” votes.
Then they tried to deliver the votes into Burmese embassy, but embassy refused to accept them; so they just delivered the envelopes of votes and vote results through the mailbox of the embassy.
April 27th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
Only I can say “Vote to No for Junta in Burma.
April 28th, 2008 at 6:45 am
human right organisation must carry this propblem, inside and outside Burma; that violation of civil rights cannot happen whitaut international take position against
April 29th, 2008 at 8:04 am
who command for japan police of over number at burma embassy..that showed japan police also liked & planned to break the unity of burma guys in japan & listening why of media..trying…
May 10th, 2008 at 11:06 am
Action speaks louder than words in a country where NO means YES and YES means YES. As for the Cyclone hit area, it will be rehabitlitated in a short time. Trust me. Why the generals are dragging their feet now is, they are waiting for the population to vanish by itself rather than using their own men to wipe out the people. The area will then be re-populated with soldiers and Chisese. The land will than be leased to big foreign companies with the generals having shares of their own. ….Singhnoi