Rudd govt called on to drop support for Burma's dodgy election plans

President of the Australian Coalition for Democracy in Burma and NSW MP John Kaye said: "Today is the nineteenth anniversary of the last Burmese election which was won in a landslide by democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party.
 
"MPs elected in 1990 have never been allowed to take their seats and the repression and abuse of human rights has continued unabated.
 
"New elections are now scheduled to be held next year under the anti-democratic constitution rammed through in 2008.
 
"The military and their collaborators are guaranteed to maintain control no matter which party has the support of the Burmese people.
 
"While the European Union and the USA have rejected the elections, the Rudd government is badly out of step, with ineffectual calls for voting to be 'free and fair'.
 
"Aung San Suu Kyi faces trumped up charges to keep her out of the political life of Burma and another 2,100 political prisoners suffer under appalling conditions.
 
"The Rudd government must accept the reality that no election could be 'free and fair' under this constitution and with many opposition leaders in exile or held as political prisoners.
 
"The Australian government is deserting the Burmese people who have shown their determination to shed the military dictatorship and move to an era of democracy and human rights.
 
"The rally will demand that Australia joins the USA and the EU and reject the Burmese election," Dr Kaye said.
 
Rally details: 12 noon Martin Place, Sydney. Mock ballot forms will be distributed.
 
For more information:  John Kaye 0407 195 455