"NAYPYIDAW — A new bill that would repeal Burma?s controversial 1950 Emergency Provisions Act was submitted to the Lower House of Parliament on Monday; the move was met with divergent opinions from lawmakers. The bill, which proposes the abolishment of the 66-year-old law, was drafted and submitted to the Parliament by the Lower House Bill Committee. Tun Tun Hein, committee chair, argued that the Emergency Provisions Act had been used by previous governments to stifle political dissent. ?It is not safe for citizens as long as this act exists. We therefore propose annulling the act for the sake of public security,” Tun Tun Hein told the reporters after the parliamentary session. ?This act was [initially] applied for military purposes, but then it was also applied for political purposes,” he said. ?All the governments—from Anti-Fascist People?s Freedom League to the Revolutionary Council to the previous government—have applied this act, allowing the government to arrest a person quite easily,” he claimed, referencing independent Burma?s first government, Ne Win?s military regime, and the Union Solidarity and Development Party?s (USDP) quasi-civilian administration. ?The NLD government is now [in office] and we want to change this,” Tun Tun Hein added..."