In Myanmar, what a difference an oath makes
By the CNN Wire Staff
April 26, 2012 -- Updated 2119 GMT (0519 HKT)
Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, center, listens at party headquarters during a meeting in Yangon this week.
· Obstacles to party members taking their seats are "purely technical," Suu Kyi says
· She cites "inconsistencies" in the wording of the constitution
· Party wants wording changed from "protect" to "abide by" the constitution
(CNN)
-- Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi said Thursday that her
party members' refusals to take their seats in parliament to protest the
wording of the 2008 constitution were based on nothing more than a
"technical" obstacle.
"In
regard to the obstacles in the way of taking our places in the National
Assembly, we would like to think that these are purely technical ones,"
she told reporters at her residence in Yangon. "We would not like to
expand them to the point they become a political issue ... and we would
still seek to work in collaboration with the government, particularly
because we believe that (President) U Thein Sein is sincere in his
reform efforts and that he would truly like to see Burma a progressive,
prosperous nation."
Suu
Kyi cited "inconsistencies" in the wording of the constitution and in
election law and party regulations. "This is why this is a technical
matter," she said. "There have to be consistencies when it comes to
law."
She predicted that the nation will face difficulties, but said, "We'll just have to get over them."
Suu
Kyi's comments came three days after she and other members of her party
delayed their parliamentary debuts in an attempt to change the oath
that lawmakers must take.
Her
party, the National League for Democracy, asked the authorities to
adjust the wording of the oath to say that parliamentarians will "abide
by" the constitution rather than "protect" it.
"We want to change that constitution because it's not a democratic constitution," Ohn Kyaing, a spokesman for the party, said Sunday.
Dispute over swearing-in oath in Myanmar
Myanmar looks for economic revival
The constitution assigns 25% of parliamentary seats to unelected members of the military establishment.
On
Monday, the European Union suspended most of the sanctions it had
imposed on the country, citing the "transparent and credible" election
that brought Suu Kyi to office and other reforms.
Suu
Kyi and 42 other candidates from her party, the National League for
Democracy, won seats in by-elections on April 1, a result welcomed by
the United States and Britain as a sign of progress toward democracy in
Myanmar after decades of repressive military rule.
After
the elections, Suu Kyi and other newly elected opposition members were
invited to attend the session of parliament this week in the capital,
Naypidaw.
But they demurred, requesting instead that the wording of the lawmakers' oath be changed first.
The
tension over the oath marks the first public sign of conflict between
the opposition and the reformist government of President Thein Sein
since the by-elections.
Tin Oo, a senior party official, said that Thein Sein had agreed before the elections to amend the oath.
"Whether
Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi enters parliament or not is her decision," the
president said Monday. "She has to decide it. The parliament is all in
favor of her entrance and very welcoming of her."
The
decision by the European Union to suspend most of its sanctions against
Myanmar came Monday at the foreign ministers' meeting in Luxembourg.
Only a ban on arms exports continues, according to the EU.
EU
sanctions against Myanmar, first imposed in 1996, have included limits
on diplomatic contacts and non-humanitarian aid and development
programs, a freeze on the offshore accounts of Myanmar officials and
visa restrictions.
Still,
an expert stressed it will take time for the easing of sanctions to
affect the people of Myanmar, about a third of whom were living in
poverty in 2007, according to the CIA World Factbook.
"On
the day-to-day basis, nothing will change for the average person on the
streets," said Tony Picon, associate director at Colliers
International, a real estate company. "These things take time."
Myanmar's
authoritarian military rulers have begun loosening their grip on power
after decades during which dissent was stifled and freedoms severely
limited.
In
the past 12 months, the government has pardoned hundreds of political
prisoners, secured a ceasefire with Karen rebels and agreed to negotiate
with other ethnic rebel groups.
Myanmar's
leaders have come a long way, but more work must be done, the EU said
Monday in a statement. "The foundation for development is legitimate
government, the rule of law and national reconciliation," the statement
said. "The EU praises the peaceful nature of the process and the
readiness of the parties to work towards the same goals, with a shared
vision for political, social and economic reforms."
Western
governments have applauded this month's by-elections and the other
recent reforms by Thein Sein's government. The U.S. and Australian
governments eased some sanctions on Myanmar last week.
While
control of parliament will not change, despite the opposition's strong
performance, the result nonetheless gives the National League for
Democracy a notable presence.
Myanmar's
legislature has 664 seats, more than 80% of which are still held by
lawmakers aligned with the military-backed ruling party, the Union
Solidarity and Development Party.
Suu
Kyi led her party to a landslide victory in 1990, when Myanmar last
held multiparty elections. But the junta ignored the results and kept
her under house arrest.
After her release in November 2010, Suu Kyi was allowed to travel the country to rally support for her party in the elections
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