TOKYO, Nov. 7, 2010 (Kyodo News International) -- Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara said Sunday that parliamentary elections in Myanmar ''cannot be said complete and fair,'' citing the exclusion of pro-democracy icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) Aung San Suu Kyi.
Speaking to reporters in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Maehara also said, ''Before deciding on whether to resume full-fledged official development assistance to Myanmar, I will closely monitor the political situation in the country. I'd like Myanmar to move steadily toward democratization.''
Military-ruled Myanmar on Sunday held its first parliamentary elections in 20 years. But the main opposition party, the disbanded National League for Democracy of detained Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi, boycotted the polls.
About 800 people, including Myanmar pro-democracy activists living in Japan, gathered in front of the Myanmar Embassy in Tokyo on Sunday in a protest against the elections, shouting, ''The Japanese government should not recognize the unfair elections.''
While raising photos of Suu Kyi, the participants also chanted, ''The Myanmar military government should stop the violation of human rights of the Myanmar people,'' and, ''No more military government.''