Although they have discovered the elephant in front of them, EU and ASEAN have been suggesting the unfortunate people to be patient to find out the foot-print of the creature. The EU-ASEAN Joint statement seems to be a proper letter and it may not deter the elections-at-the-gunpoint in Burma. The consequences may throw the nation into a fresh all-out civil war.

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Burma's military regime sponsored the 1990 General Elections because of the continuous domestic and international demands in the name of democracy. Although its leader Aung San Suu Kyi was in custody, National League for Democracy won a landslide victory by 82 percent of the parliamentary seats on 27 May, 1990. The election result upset the apple cart of the junta.

Later, the junta refused to honour it and Aung San Suu Kyi has been under detention for scores of years till now. Besides, thousands of students, NLD members and supporters have been thrown into prison as well. There are approximately 2200 political prisoners still in various prisons throughout the country. By refusing to honour the results of the 1990 election, the military regime made it clear publicly that they will not respect people's votes at all. The stupidity of the generals is that they have poor knowledge about the people's ballots. The results of the people's votes or election result will remain valid until Members of Parliament themselves agreed to end the assembly.

The nastiest is that without honouring the 1990 election result, the head of the junta has been planning to launch another election in this 2010. It's a kind of immoral act insulting the whole nation and its people by deleting the 1990 people's ballots. The majority of the population who want genuine change cannot forget the immorality of the generals. The junta's shortsightedness toward the future of Burma visibly starts a civil strife in the poverty stricken country since the unjust election laws released.

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Currently, Burma is at a crucial political crossroads. While the military regime wants to keep up its power via sham 2010 elections, the people, who long for genuine change, are demanding basic human rights such as freedoms of expression and association. But the junta seems as stubborn as a mule and no mood to allow civil liberty.

The military regime has intentionally barred pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from running in upcoming elections and forced her party to expel her under a new election law unveiled on March 10. This is causing serious political mayhem in the military-ruled country.

The Political Parties Registration Law, published in official newspapers, prohibits anyone convicted by a court of law from joining a political party and thereby disqualifies them as candidates. It also instructs parties to oust members who are "not in conformity with the qualifications to be members of a party," a clause that could force Suu Kyi's exclusion. Parties that do not register automatically come to an end, the law says.

Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides that the will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government. It follows that in any nation, the will of the citizens should be reflected in the Constitution that forms the groundwork of government. The process of making the Constitution must be free, fair and all-inclusive, and reflect the will of the people.

According to vigilant lawyers, Burma's Constitution-making process was controlled by the ruling military junta with totally paying no attention to the peoples' contribution. Under existing law in Burma, the people are prohibited from participating in the Constitution-making process; infringement of this law is punishable by five to 25 years' imprisonment. This directly opposes the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Despite that, many people are rallying in support of the "Shwegondine Declaration" issued on April 29, 2009, by the National League for Democracy, which set two conditions for its participation in the 2010 election. One is that provisions in the 2008 Constitution which are not in harmony with democratic values be amended. Two is that an all-inclusive, free and fair poll be held under international supervision.

During his May 9-10 two-day visit to the military-ruled country, US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Mr Kurt Campbell met several government ministers and opposition leaders, including detained democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi,. He said following his talks that the United States was 'profoundly disappointed' in the junta's measures for the forthcoming elections and wanted 'immediate steps' to address fears that they would lack legitimacy.

According to Burma's chairman of the 2010 election commission, the country has no need for foreign observers to monitor its first elections in two decades, state media reported on 10 May, despite international concerns that the polls will be deficient in legitimacy.

"International watchdog groups do not need to come, " the chairman of the country's election body Thein Soe told the visiting US envoy, according to the New Light of Myanmar newspaper.

In his Rangoon statement, Campbell said the US government outlined a proposal to the Burmese officials "for a credible dialogue' for all concerned parties to agree on how to conduct the upcoming poll, but he said the regime had instead moved forward unilaterally without consulting opposition and independent voices.

Subsequently, in its resolution of 20 May 2010 on the situation in Burma, European Parliament expresses disapproval of the holding of elections under utterly undemocratic conditions and on the basis of rules which bar the main democratic opposition party and deprive hundreds of thousands of Burmese citizens of their right to vote and stand for election, in a clear attempt to exclude the country's entire opposition from the ballot.

European Parliament also urges the junta to take without delay the steps needed to ensure a free, fair and transparent electoral process, including the participation of all voters, all political parties and all other relevant stakeholders in the electoral process. And it also urge the junta to allow the presence of international observers; calls for the electoral laws published in March 2010, which make the holding of free and transparent elections impossible, to be repealed. In addition, it calls on the authorities of Burma to heed the appeals of the international community to allow Aung San Suu Kyi and all other prisoners of conscience to participate in the political process.

After the 18th ASEAN-EU Ministerial Meeting in Madrid on 26 May, the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations called on Burma's military rulers to make sure that this year's planned election is credible, transparent, democratic and inclusive.

In a joint statement, the EU and ASEAN ministers said they believed that the early release of those under detention, including the main opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, would contribute to making the election more inclusive and help bring about a peaceful political transition. The EU and ASEAN ministers also encouraged the Burmese regime to continue to engage in a meaningful manner with the international community.

But, in view of people of Burma, the said EU-ASEAN Joint statement is just a castle in the air. Both regional groups look as if supporting the junta's sham constitution and namesake election in 2010. In fact, they must condemn and warn the junta in order to repeal its unjust and undemocratic constitution. The EU and ASEAN ministers should also put a word of warning in the joint-statement that the election will not be legitimate if it is not all-encompassing one. The key question is that the junta's constitution and election laws not only allow the participation of main opposition parties but also ignore the ethnic people's political aspirations.

Although they have discovered the elephant in front of them, EU and ASEAN have been suggesting the unfortunate people to be patient to find out the foot-print of the creature. The EU-ASEAN Joint statement seems to be a proper letter and it may not deter the elections-at-the-gunpoint in Burma. The consequences may throw the nation into a fresh all-out civil war.

Without recognizing the 1990 election result, the military junta has been planning to launch another questionable election in near future. It's a brazen transgression toward the nation and its people. On the contrary, supporters of the NLD led by Aung San Suu Kyi around the nation gathered respectively on 27 May to mark the 20th anniversary of their dissolve unrecognized victory in the country's last elections. They will also mark the 7^th anniversary of the Dapeyin Massacre or assassination plot of the Lady on 30 May 2003 done by the head of incumbent military regime.

As a result, the political scenario of Burma after 2010 elections looks gloomier then ever.

Authors Bio:

Zin Linn was born on February 9, 1946 in a small town in Mandalay Division. He began writing poems in 1960 and received a B.A (Philosophy) in 1976.

He became an activist in the High School Union after the students' massacre on 7th July 1962. He then took on a role as an active member in the Rangoon Division Students' Union. He Participated in a poster-and-pamphlet campaign on the 4th anniversary of 7 July movement and went into hiding to keep away from the military police. He was still able to carry out underground pamphlet campaigns against the Burmese Socialist Programme Party ( BSPP). However, in 1982, he fell into the hands of MI and served two years imprisonment in the notorious Insein prison.

In 1988 he took part, together with his old students' union members, in the People's Democracy Uprising. In November of that year, he became an NLD Executive Committee Member for the Thingangyun Township and later became superintendent of the NLD Rangoon Division Office.

In 1991, he was arrested because of his connections with the exiled government, the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB), and sentenced to 7 years imprisonment in the notorious Insein Prison. In last week of December 1997 he was released.

Zin Linn was an editor and columnist and contributed articles to various publications, especially on international affairs, while in Burma.

He fled Burma in 2001 to escape from military intelligence and worked as information director for the NCGUB from 2001 to 2012. He is also vice president of the Burma Media Association which is affiliated with the Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontiers. Zin Linn is still writing articles and commentaries in Burmese and English in various periodicals and online journals on a regular basis.