Vote goes ahead in Myanmar, but aid still held back

YANGON, Myanmar — The military junta forged ahead Saturday with a constitutional referendum intended to cement its power after a campaign of arm-twisting and intimidation, even as it continued to restrict foreign-aid shipments to survivors of the devastating May 3 cyclone.

The junta is refusing to grant entry to foreign-aid workers who relief officials say are crucial to preventing further deaths from disease among an estimated 1.5 million victims.

By Saturday, the military had not released two U.N. World Food Program aid shipments that arrived Friday, according to a spokesman for the program. Several aid flights have landed in Yangon or are en route, the spokesman said, and supplies from other countries were also on the way.

But the aid amounted to about one-tenth of what is needed, along with a major logistical operation, said Paul Risley, a spokesman for the World Food Program.

The military junta focused on the referendum for a constitution that is designed to legitimize and perpetuate military rule. Residents said the vote followed a campaign of coercion mixed with propaganda.

In Datgyigone, a farming village 35 miles north of the capital, a precinct captain burst into laughter when asked if he thought most people would vote for the constitution.

"Everyone will vote yes," he said after he had controlled himself. "Of course yes. Hundred percent."

But he said most of the voters had no idea what they were voting for, and that neither he nor most people he knew had actually read the proposed constitution.

"The government says vote, so we vote," he said with a shrug. He spoke openly, but asked that his name not be used for fear of government retribution.

Most villagers, when asked about their votes, declined to speak. A man selling batteries, combs and flip-flops from a small pushcart hurried off when he was asked about the referendum. "I cannot speak about this," he said over his shoulder. "I'm afraid."

There were a number of reports of "preballoting," in which employees of enterprises or government offices were required to vote ahead of time under the eye of their supervisors.

The product of a 14-year stop-and-start convention, the referendum is intended to lead to a multiparty election and a nominally civilian government. But it allots 25 percent of parliamentary seats to the military, gives the military control of key ministries and allows the military to seize control in a time of emergency. It would also bar Aung San Suu Kyi, an opposition leader whose party won a general election in 1990, from public office. She has been under house arrest for 12 of the past 18 years.

The U.S. was preparing to send in its first aircraft with relief supplies Monday.

The International Committee of the Red Cross sent its first aid flight to Myanmar on Saturday, loaded with pumps, generators, water-treatment material and medical equipment.

Relief officials warned of an epidemic of cholera and said there was generally a 10-day window after a disaster before the death rate rose steeply.

There is so much worry about measles outbreaks that the government has begun vaccinating children in some of the hard-hit Irrawaddy delta townships and also in temporary shelters in other parts of the region, the World Health Organization reported Saturday.

Health officials are also concerned about the potential for cholera, typhoid and dysentery, which can be spread by dirty water and contaminated food.