NEWS - More Excuses and Scheme by t

[Rangoonp@xxxxxxx]

Subject: NEWS - More Excuses and Scheme by the junta

Myanmar Admits Drafting of Constitution Very Slow

            Xinhua
            13-NOV-98

            YANGON (Nov. 13) XINHUA - The Myanmar government
            has admitted that the pace of drafting the new constitution
is
            very slow, but said it dares not to impose a deadline,
            according to an official information document issued here
            Friday. 
        >>They are dragging their heels and are very disorganized. <<

            These remarks were made by Lieutenant-Colonel Hla Min,
            general staff officer of the Bureau of Strategic Studies of
the
            Myanmar Defense Ministry, in an interview with a reporter of
            the Asian Wall Street Journal recently. 

            He said that Myanmar is working on the most sensitive and
            serious chapter, which is the sharing of power between the
            central government and the states and divisions. Myanmar
            began the National Convention process in January 1993 to
            draft a new state constitution. 

      >>They want dominering control over all non-burmans !<<

            On the issue of when another parliamentary election will be
            held, Hla Min quoted Senior-General Than Shwe, chairman
            of the Myanmar State Peace and Development Council, as
            saying that "once we resolve power-sharing, it will take
            about three years to finish elections and everything,"
            indicating that the last 1990 multi-party general election
            becomes invalid. 

            Asked whether former Indonesian president Soeharto's
            downfall in May alters Myanmar's interest in an Indonesia
            political model, he denied that Myanmar is carbon-copying
            the Indonesian constitution. 

      >>That is not what they said before.<<

            "Twenty-five percent of the seats in the parliament will be
            given to representatives appointed by the
            commander-in-chief of the defense services," he said. 

            He stressed, "If the military is not involved in national
affairs,
            there is no guarantee that we will not have to go back to
            square one, fighting all the ethnic groups again." 

      >>It was Ne Win and tatmadaw that started all this.  The
non-burmese groups are only defending their homes and rights.  This all
started when Ne Win staged his coup so many years ago !!<<

            The sessions of the National Convention to lay down
            fundamental principles for drawing up a new state
            constitution have been in recess since March 1996 after
            working out detailed principles for six chapters out of the
15
            to be included in the constitution. 

            The six chapters cover the Fundamental Principles,
            Structure of the State, Head of State, the Legislation, the
            Executive and the Judiciary. 

            The holding of the convention is a follow-up of the 1990
            multi-party general election participated in by 93 political
            parties, in which the opposition National League for
            Democracy won 396 parliamentary seats out of 485. 

            The 1990 general election, sponsored by the Myanmar State
            Law and Order Restoration Council, now the State Peace
            and Development Council, was regarded by Myanmar and
            the world as a free and fair one.