Myanmar junta criticised for proceeding with vote

(Updates with new death toll, edits)

By Martin Petty

BANGKOK, May 5 (Reuters) - Critics of Myanmar's military rulers slammed the junta on Monday for pressing ahead with a May 10 constitutional referendum a week after a powerful cyclone left nearly 4,000 dead and thousands more missing.

In a typically brusque statement, the regime said it would "keep striving to hold hands with the people" to see its seven-step democracy roadmap through to completion.

It also added that the former Burma's 53 million people were "eagerly looking forward to voting" on the army-drafted constitution.

Many of those in the storm-blasted Irrawaddy delta and Yangon might differ as they pick through what is left of their homes looking for missing possessions and loved ones.

"They should not go ahead under these circumstances," Nyan Win, a spokesman for the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), told Reuters. "It's is absolutely inappropriate."

The party, led by detained Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, is campaigning for a "no" vote.

"They should show their goodwill toward the people by cooperating with the international community, but we have seen no sign of that goodwill."

The army-drafted charter is a key step on the planned road towards multiparty elections in 2010, although critics say the constitution is unacceptable as it allows the army to retain too much power.

The former British colony has been under military rule since a 1962 coup.

State media said nearly 4,000 people were dead and nearly 3,000 missing from Cyclone Nargis, which tore through the Irrawaddy delta on Saturday before slamming into Myanmar's largest city of Yangon. The death toll is likely to rise.

Disaster zones have been declared in five states with a total population of 24 million people.

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Myanmar exiles criticised the government for prioritising the referendum, and suggested the cyclone could have been a blessing in disguise for the junta.

"This is unbelievable. They don't care their own people are suffering," said Win Min, who fled Myanmar after a 1988 pro-democracy crackdown in which an estimated 3,000 people were killed.

"People are preoccupied by survival. They won't say no to the constitution. The military can go house to house, intimidate people to vote in favour. They'll help the homeless and tell them to support their constitution."

Thailand-based Myanmar analyst Aung Naing Oo said the junta could use the cyclone to manipulate the vote and delay the announcement of the result.

"We're dealing with a very authoritarian regime," he said. "They're immune to criticism and they're so proud. They won't ask for foreign help and risk compromising the referendum. It's their baby and they're ready to go ahead with it."

On Monday, Yangon was without electricity and running short of clean water. Candles and batteries were hard to find and many sturdy buildings were without roofs.

"We are completely preoccupied with the struggle for daily survival," said one Yangon shop owner. "We can't find time and money to mend the roof. Don't ask me about the referendum." (Additional reporting by Aung Hla Tun in Yangon; Editing by Ed Cropley)