Myanmar president okays plan for constitution referendum

MYANMAR, Feb 11 (agencies): Myanmar's president has given the green light to hold a referendum this year on amendments to the country's military-drafted constitution, two lawmakers said on Wednesday.
President Thein Sein gave his approval late on Tuesday to hold the plebiscite, which could take place as early as May. Myanmar is due to hold a general election towards the end of this year.
"Now that the law has been enacted, the Election Commission is soon expected to name a suitable date for the referendum in May," Thein Nyunt, a lower house lawmaker, told Reuters by telephone.
Upper house representative Aye Maung also confirmed the approval of the referendum on the constitution, which opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been campaigning to amend, primarily because of the extensive powers it grants the military, which ruled Myanmar for 49 years.
Meanwhile: Dozens of protesters marched in Yangon Wednesday against a law giving voting rights to Myanmar's temporary citizens, including hundreds of thousands of Muslim Rohingya, as parliament's speaker referred the fiery issue to a constitutional tribunal.
Controversy over people holding limited citizenship rights in Myanmar's complex national identification system spilled onto the streets after a bill granting them the right to vote in referendums was enacted on Tuesday.
The issue has ignited indignation among some Buddhists in restive Rakhine state, where around half a million Rohingya Muslims are estimated to hold "white cards", a temporary identification document.
"If those given the right to vote don't pay respect to Myanmar's flag, then we will have a failure of sovereignty," said Nyi Nyi Maung, a Rakhine Buddhist who had joined monks and other protesters in Yangon Wednesday.