From MIZZIMA News Group (r)

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Burma pro-democracy activists discuss about the constitution of future
Burma

New Delhi (Dec. 18, 1998)
MIZZIMA News Group 

Burma pro-democracy activists based in India join with their counterparts
in Thai-Burma border in drafting a constitution for their country. A
two-day pre-seminar on constitution for future Federal Union of Burma was
held in New Delhi on 17th and 18th December. About 130 Burma's democracy
activists belonging to 17 different groups based in New Delhi and
Indo-Burma border areas participated in the seminar. During the two day
seminar, the activists discussed on the constitution drafted and proposed
by National Council of the Union of Burma (NCUB). Burma had two
constitutions (widely known as 1947 Constitution and 1974 Constitution)
after it achieved independence from British in 1948 and both were
abandoned one after another by the military governments in 1962 and 1988
respectively. The country is currently being ruled by a military regime
without constitution.

The NCUB, an umbrella organization of anti-government groups, have been
writing a constitution for future Burma since 1995 after succeeding the
task from Democratic Alliance of Burma (DAB) which in fact started the job
in 1989 in a Thai-Burma border area. Debates and discussions among the
exiled pro-democracy activists on the NCUB's proposed constitution for
future democratic Burma are going on. International constitutional experts
have joined with them in four seminars held in Thailand, Germany,
Philippines and Thai-Burma border in the past in drafting the
constitution. 

The fifth international seminar, which will be joined by legal and
constitutional experts from India and abroad for two days, was planned to
hold in New Delhi at Constitution Club from tomorrow. However, the police
commissioner in Delhi informed the organizers this morning that the
seminar cannot be held in the venue as planned. Apparently, the Government
of India does not want embarrassment with the military government in
Rangoon and decided not to allow the seminar. However, the organizers say
that they plan to go ahead with the seminar in a premise of a social
institute in Delhi.


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