Myanmar junta criticized for proceeding with vote

By Martin Petty

BANGKOK (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.