Myanmar nationalists demonstrate against Suu Kyi presidency bid

About 500 Buddhist nationalists gathered in the commercial capital Yangon wearing white-shirts bearing the slogan "We support section 59 for the country's future."

Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy won a landslide election in November, has been in negotiations with the outgoing military administration to repeal or suspend article 59 (f), which outlaws anyone with foreign family memebers from taking the post. Suu Kyi's late husband was British, and their two sons are British citizens.

"Someone who chose his or her spouse without emphasising the culture and religion of the country should never become the head of the state," said lawyer Win Paing, one of the organisers.

"Please stop any effort against the will of Myanmar army," Win Ko Ko Lat of the Myanmar National Affairs Network, which organised theprotest, told supporters. "We don't want a military coup again."

The demonstrators said they would never accept the suspension or amendment of a constitutional clause for the benefit of a specific person or organisation.

- DPA