Burma must start a true talk, not a ploy
By Zin Linn Jul 24, 2011 10:30PM UTC
Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi will meet with Labour Minister Aung Kyi, the first rare meeting between the Nobel laureate and the new army-backed government, quoting an official Reuters News said on Sunday.
At the behest of namesake Burma civilian government, Burma’s Nobel laureate would meet on Monday with Labour Minister Aung Kyi, who stands for the ruling generals in earlier talks with the democracy icon.
However, the Burmese government has warned pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) to end “illegal activities”, including its agitation and opposition to the newly elected legislative body.
A letter signed by the Home Minister and send to Suu Kyi’s party in June said the NLD had been officially dissolved in September last year. Because, the NLD preferred to boycott election held in last November while Suu Kyi and two thousands political prisoners were in prison.
The 30 June state-owned newspaper raised the issue in a commentary under the caption of “Right to make choice still in the hand” by a ghost-writer.
In one paragraph, the commentary says, “From the point of law, NLD is defunct. The Union Election Commission issued Announcement (18/2010) dated 9-4-2010 reminding the 10 political parties that still met Article 25 of Political Parties Registration Law at that time that they could apply within 60 days for continued existence as political parties. However, only five of them did so. It is common knowledge that the five political parties did not include NLD.”
It also underscored that the NLD has been removed from the list of political parties and has been dissolved according to Announcement 97/2010 dated 14-9-2010 by the Union Election Commission.
The home minister’s letter also spotlighted that the government was deeply worried that if Aung San Suu Kyi makes political tours to rural parts of the country, there may be anarchy and unrest, as experienced by prior incidents in 2003.
It is not known whether the meeting will be a flexible gesture in stance by the latest government, which is led by members of the junta that controlled the country for decades. The ex-generals in this government were strongly opposed to Suu Kyi and her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD).
A government official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters the meeting would take place early Monday afternoon at a state guesthouse close to Suu Kyi’s residence. In his former part as liaison officer for the junta, Aung Kyi met Suu Kyi 10 times while she was under house arrest.
According to one NLD spokesman, the party has had no knowledge of the meeting, but welcomed the government’s move to engage with Aung San Suu Kyi.
In frequent media interviews, Suu Kyi expressed her aspiration to hold talk with the new government to press for some changes to help people of Burma. The government did not act in response.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday called on Thein Sein government to free political prisoners, address non-proliferation concerns and start a dialogue with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Clinton, speaking at a regional security forum of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Bali, said Burma (Myanmar) was a major challenge to the regional group and would have to be addressed.
Aung Kyi is regarded as a moderate minister in military-dominated government, and this will be his first meeting with the democracy icon as labour minister in the new government.
Analysts say it is expected Burma’s rulers are aware of Suu Kyi’s influence on the international community and realize her involvement as a necessity to do away with Western sanctions since 1988.
Some analysts also concerns about the meeting on Monday as they have experienced in the past that the consecutive military regimes typically arrange such show to mislead the international community. http://asiancorrespondent.com/60777/burma-must-start-a-true-talk-not-a-ploy/
By Zin Linn Jul 24, 2011 10:30PM UTC
Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi will meet with Labour Minister Aung Kyi, the first rare meeting between the Nobel laureate and the new army-backed government, quoting an official Reuters News said on Sunday.
At the behest of namesake Burma civilian government, Burma’s Nobel laureate would meet on Monday with Labour Minister Aung Kyi, who stands for the ruling generals in earlier talks with the democracy icon.
However, the Burmese government has warned pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) to end “illegal activities”, including its agitation and opposition to the newly elected legislative body.
A letter signed by the Home Minister and send to Suu Kyi’s party in June said the NLD had been officially dissolved in September last year. Because, the NLD preferred to boycott election held in last November while Suu Kyi and two thousands political prisoners were in prison.
The 30 June state-owned newspaper raised the issue in a commentary under the caption of “Right to make choice still in the hand” by a ghost-writer.
In one paragraph, the commentary says, “From the point of law, NLD is defunct. The Union Election Commission issued Announcement (18/2010) dated 9-4-2010 reminding the 10 political parties that still met Article 25 of Political Parties Registration Law at that time that they could apply within 60 days for continued existence as political parties. However, only five of them did so. It is common knowledge that the five political parties did not include NLD.”
It also underscored that the NLD has been removed from the list of political parties and has been dissolved according to Announcement 97/2010 dated 14-9-2010 by the Union Election Commission.
The home minister’s letter also spotlighted that the government was deeply worried that if Aung San Suu Kyi makes political tours to rural parts of the country, there may be anarchy and unrest, as experienced by prior incidents in 2003.
It is not known whether the meeting will be a flexible gesture in stance by the latest government, which is led by members of the junta that controlled the country for decades. The ex-generals in this government were strongly opposed to Suu Kyi and her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD).
A government official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters the meeting would take place early Monday afternoon at a state guesthouse close to Suu Kyi’s residence. In his former part as liaison officer for the junta, Aung Kyi met Suu Kyi 10 times while she was under house arrest.
According to one NLD spokesman, the party has had no knowledge of the meeting, but welcomed the government’s move to engage with Aung San Suu Kyi.
In frequent media interviews, Suu Kyi expressed her aspiration to hold talk with the new government to press for some changes to help people of Burma. The government did not act in response.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday called on Thein Sein government to free political prisoners, address non-proliferation concerns and start a dialogue with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Clinton, speaking at a regional security forum of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Bali, said Burma (Myanmar) was a major challenge to the regional group and would have to be addressed.
Aung Kyi is regarded as a moderate minister in military-dominated government, and this will be his first meeting with the democracy icon as labour minister in the new government.
Analysts say it is expected Burma’s rulers are aware of Suu Kyi’s influence on the international community and realize her involvement as a necessity to do away with Western sanctions since 1988.
Some analysts also concerns about the meeting on Monday as they have experienced in the past that the consecutive military regimes typically arrange such show to mislead the international community. http://asiancorrespondent.com/60777/burma-must-start-a-true-talk-not-a-ploy/
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