Burma/Myanmar's political parties

The actual groups in opposition vary, of course, with the fortunes of elections
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Sub-title: After three deaths of alleged regime allies in the area, the junta’s armed forces storm villages and open fire on locals
Description: "Regime soldiers opened fire on villages in Sagaing Region’s Depayin Township on Monday after both a former local administrator and the daughters of a current junta-allied administrator were killed by unknown assailants one day earlier. One villager was killed and another was seriously injured in Monday’s attack. On Sunday evening, locals in the Depayin Township village of Kyi found the bodies of two women—Than Than Sint, a school teacher in her 30s, and San, in her 40s—with visible stab wounds near a creek. Their father, Thein Zaw, the village’s administrator under the military regime, fled the area soon after. Junta-run newspaper Kyemon alleged on June 15 that “armed terrorists” were responsible for the women’s deaths. Bo Tint, the former administrator of Inpin village, also in Depayin, was shot in the head on Sunday evening as well. He had been accused of being a military informant regarding anti-coup activities due to his close ties to the army. After the three deaths on Sunday, 16 military trucks were subsequently deployed to villages throughout the township. On Monday afternoon, the junta’s army first opened fire on residents of Satpyarkyin and Boke, two miles west of Kyi. “They stormed the villages for no apparent reason. They used a lot of force,” a Boke resident said. Twenty-one-year-old Boke local Aung San was shot in the chest and died immediately. Thike Htwe, 22 was shot in the abdomen and in the pubic region and is seriously injured. Villagers feared Thike would be arrested and tortured if he were taken to the hospital, so he was being treated in a safe house at the time of reporting, according to residents. Hundreds of soldiers then stormed the villages of Kyi, Inpin, Nyaung Hla and Yin Kyay, reportedly chasing and shooting at locals. At around 6pm on Monday, fighting broke out between the army and the local People's Defence Force (PDF) near Inpin. The clash lasted more than 30 minutes. Two regime soldiers were killed and seven were injured in the fighting, according to the local PDF. On Tuesday morning, around 300 soldiers in 22 military trucks opened fire in Nyaung Hla. Further information about the incident was not available at the time of reporting. Since April, the junta’s troops have been deployed to the Sagaing Region villages where there have been anti-coup activities in Depayin, Yinmabin, Kani, Taze, Ayataw and Mingin townships..."
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
2021-06-16
Date of entry/update: 2021-06-16
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Description: "The Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M) says that the delegation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) currently in Myanmar must uphold its mandate to meet with ALL relevant parties, including the National Unity Government and the democracy movement. On 3 June 2021, an ASEAN delegation – including ASEAN Chair Dato Erywan Pehin Yosuf, Minister of Foreign Affairs II of Brunei Darussalam, and ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi – arrived in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, to engage in dialogue with the military junta. SAC-M reminds the delegation that it has a mandate from the United Nations Security Council, as well as from ASEAN itself, to engage in dialogue with all relevant parties in Myanmar. The relevant parties include the National Unity Government, the Committee Representing the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, the National League for Democracy and ethnic political parties, the Civil Disobedience Movement and the General Strike Committees, as well as the junta. Failure to meet with all relevant parties risks lending legitimacy to the junta and undermines the enormous effort and sacrifice made by the people of Myanmar to resist the junta’s violent and unlawful attempt to seize power. For its part, the junta has repeatedly demonstrated that its sole aim is to ensure and perpetuate its primacy as an undisputed, militarized, dictatorial force. For months it has led a concerted process of killings and terror on a scale deemed necessary to forcibly maintain the most undemocratic form of social political order, but which has only hardened the people’s resolve not to submit to military rule. Despite having taken the lead role amongst the international community in responding to the crisis in Myanmar, ASEAN has so far failed to meaningfully address the situation. By dismissing the consensus reached at April’s ASEAN Leaders Meeting, the junta has treated ASEAN’s previous attempt to engage with contempt. ASEAN’s wavering amounts to it being possibly an accessory to perpetrating the coup d’etat. Together, ASEAN’s vacillation and the junta’s intransigence put the lives of the people of Myanmar in further acute jeopardy, foreseeing the risk of many more deaths to come, which both ASEAN and the junta will be morally, politically and legally accountable for..."
Source/publisher: Special Advisory Council for Myanmar
2021-06-04
Date of entry/update: 2021-06-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: Senior leaders of the pro-democracy party say the move was inconsistent with its stance on the military takeover
Description: "A decision by People’s Party chair Ko Ko Gyi to attend a meeting convened by a junta-appointed election body on Friday has cost the party more than a third of its senior leaders. Seven of the party’s 20 central executive committee members have resigned over the move, according to co-founder Ye Naing Aung, who was among those who stepped down. The two men, who have known each other since the 1988 pro-democracy uprising, were divided over whether to accept an invitation from the Union Election Commission (UEC) to attend the meeting. “I expressed the view that we shouldn’t accept, because it wasn’t in line with the will, desires, or expectations of the people,” Ye Naing Aung told Myanmar Now. “However, a majority decided to attend the meeting. Since I couldn’t accept that decision, I resigned as the party’s secretary,” he said. Aye Aye Khaing, another CEC member, confirmed that she also resigned for the same reason. “Some members of our party have been arrested. Some of my friends have lost their children. I could not turn my back on them and meet with election officials appointed by this junta,” she said. According to Ye Naing Aung, there were also many resignations from the party’s more than 80 township-level branch offices, especially in Mandalay Region. Myo Aung, the secretary of the party’s office in Kayin State’s Myawaddy Township, told Myanmar Now that he simply could not accept Ko Ko Gyi’s justification for the decision. “It is impossible to form a federal union just by cooperating [with the junta]. What they did was unacceptable to the entire country and very evil,” he said, noting that the regime has killed more than 800 people since seizing power on February 1. He added that regional party officials were not given an opportunity to express their views on the subject or even informed about the decision. The meeting on Friday was the second convened by the UEC since the regime replaced all of its members with its own appointees soon after the coup. The People's Party rejected an invitation to the first meeting, held in late February, because the newly formed UEC “did not try to resolve issues related to the results of the 2020 multi-party democratic general election in accordance with the law,” the party said at the time. Ko Ko Gyi acknowledged that party’s current stance was “more dangerous”. "The path we have chosen now is more arduous and more dangerous. We have to act with political courage and political faith,” he told Myanmar Now. He reiterated that a majority of the party’s CEC members were behind the decision to attend Friday’s meeting and added that it would not compromise the party's pro-democracy principles. Ko Ko Gyi did not comment on the resignations of the members, but said that many party members expressed their support on social media. “With other like-minded people, a political party must continue,” he said. Formed in 2018, the People's Party has about 100,000 members. In addition to its township-level branch offices, it has around 400 quarter/village-level offices. The party fielded more than 150 candidates in the 2020 general election but did not win any seats. Ko Ko Gyi contested a lower house seat representing Yangon’s South Okkalapa Township, but was defeated by a candidate from the National League for Democracy (NLD). The NLD went on to win a landslide victory in the election, but was ousted by military before it could begin its second term in power. The military used unfounded allegations of electoral fraud as a pretext for overthrowing the NLD government. Soon after seizing power, the regime reorganized the UEC and appointed former military judge advocate-general Thein Soe to act as its chair. Thein Soe previously served as chair of the UEC during the 2010 election, which most observers regarded as rigged in favour of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). The NLD boycotted that election, but soundly defeated the incumbent USDP government five years later. It performed even more strongly in last year’s election..."
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
2021-05-23
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-23
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Sub-title: While one party courted controversy by deciding to attend, others said they didn’t even consider taking part
Description: "Leaders of most of Myanmar’s major political parties have decided not to attend a meeting with the country’s junta-appointed election body on Friday. The meeting will be just the second held since the military appointed all new members to the Union Election Commission (UEC) in the wake of its February 1 coup, which it staged on the pretext of alleged irregularities in last year’s election. The first meeting, held in late February, was attended by 53 political parties, only 10 of which had won any seats in the November 2020 general election. Major ethnic parties such as the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD), the Arakan National Party (ANP), and the Kachin State People's Party (KSPP) are among those that will not be in attendance on Friday. Also absent will be the Democratic Party for a New Society (DPNS), formed in 1988, and the United Nationalities Democracy Party (UNDP), which was founded in 2019 by former members of the National League for Democracy (NLD). The NLD, which won last year’s election by a landslide, was due to form a new government when it was ousted by the coup. Most of its leaders are now in detention or in hiding. Aung Moe Zaw, the chair of the DPNS, said in a video uploaded to the party’s Facebook page on Wednesday that his party refused to attend the Friday meeting because it rejected the coup regime’s “illegitimate” actions. It also boycotted the previous meeting. “We are a political party that always says we are working for the public. They are killing and arresting members of the public on a daily basis and even threatening us with arrest. I myself have been charged with incitement. I don’t think we should attend the meeting for any reason,” he said. The longtime pro-democracy activist added that the party would continue to boycott the regime until the path to democracy is restored in the country. He also called on other political parties to stand together with the people. The chair of the SNLD, Sai Nyunt Lwin, told Myanmar Now that his party—which won 42 seats in last year’s election—did not even consider attending the meeting on Friday. The SNLD, which is the largest ethnic party in the country, is more concerned with ongoing clashes and the Covid-19 pandemic, he said. The party was also absent from the first junta-led UEC meeting in February. The KSPP and the ANP, which both joined the February meeting, said they decided against attending this time around for a number of reasons. “We were busy with Covid-19 issues and with our plans to relocate our party headquarters,” said KSPP central executive member Jan Hkung, adding that there was no discussion in the party about whether to accept the invitation of the military council’s UEC. Tun Aung Kyaw, the joint secretary of the ANP, said that his party did discuss the possibility of attending the meeting, but decided against it on security grounds. “As we all know, even administrators have been shot in the head. And there have also been explosions,” he said. Naw Ohn Hla, the prominent rights activist who is also vice-chair of the UNDP, declined to comment on the party’s decision not to attend, apart from noting that it made the same choice in February. Most of the parties that attended the last meeting were allied with the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, although a handful of ethnic parties also took part. During that meeting, the junta-appointed UEC chairman announced that the results of last year’s election had been annulled over allegations of voter fraud. In its final report on the election, however, the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) said that “the results of the 2020 elections were, by and large, representative of the will of the people of Myanmar.” The regime has said that it will hold elections again at an unspecified time, but few observers believe that they will be free or fair. “The junta that staged the coup appointed the people who will run the election. How can we trust them to hold a fair election?” said the leader of an ethnic party who spoke to Myanmar Now on condition of anonymity. One of the few parties not directly connected to the military that decided to attend the meeting was the People’s Party, whose chair, Ko Ko Gyi, has been a well-known political figure since the 1988 pro-democracy uprising. Ko Ko Gyi declined to speak to Myanmar Now about the decision, but in a recent interview with the BBC, he said that most of the party’s members agreed with the move. “The majority of members think we should attend the meeting to officially express the party’s political stance and our views,” he said. However, a number of senior party members, including the party’s general secretary and Ko Ko Gyi’s longtime associate Ye Naing Aung, have resigned over the decision. The party did not send representatives to the UEC meeting in February..."
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
2021-05-21
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-21
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Description: "Myanmar's junta-appointed election commission will dissolve Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy Party (NLD) because of what it said was fraud in a November election, news outlet Myanmar Now said on Friday, citing a commissioner. Myanmar Now said the decision was made during a meeting with political parties that was boycotted by many parties including the NLD. The election fraud conducted by the NLD was illegal "so we will have to dissolve the party's registration", the chairman of the junta-backed Union Election Commission (UEC), Thein Soe, was cited in the report as saying. "Those who did that will be considered as traitors and we will take action," said Thein Soe. A spokesman for the junta and for a pro-democracy national unity government, which includes ousted members of the NLD, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesman for the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party said it had representatives at the meeting, which was still going on, and he was not aware of the outcome. Myanmar's army took power alleging fraud in a November election that was swept by the party of Suu Kyi, who fought for democracy for decades before tentative reforms began a decade ago. The electoral commission at the time had rejected the army's complaints. The security forces have killed more than 800 people since a wave of protests broke out after coup, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners activist group says. Fighting has also flared between the security forces and ethnic minority guerrilla groups. The turmoil has alarmed Myanmar's neigbours and the broader international community, but the generals have shown no sign of any intention of seeking a compromise with the pro-democracy movement. Since her arrest hours before a Feb. 1 coup, Suu Kyi has been held in detention and faces numerous charges filed in two courts, the most serious under a colonial-era official secrets act, punishable by 14 years in prison. Suu Kyi, 75, has been permitted to speak with lawyers only via a video link in the presence of security personnel. Her co-defendant is Win Myint, the ousted president. Opponents of the military have formed a National Unity Government, which operates under cover or through members based abroad. It has announced it is setting up of a People's Defence Force to challenge the junta. Japan, a major donor to Myanmar, will have to rethink its aid provision to Myanmar if the situation in the Southeast Asian nation does not improve, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said in Tokyo..."
Source/publisher: "Reuters" (UK)
2021-05-21
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-21
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Sub-title: After over a month of daily protests, anti-coup demonstrators continued to adapt with creative tactics in response to military’s campaign of terror
Description: "The Myanmar military continued to terrorize peaceful anti-coup demonstrators with lethal force across the country on Monday, killing at least three protesters and severely injuring many others. The attacks came after soldiers and police came out in force in Yangon on Sunday night in anticipation of another day of mass protests. Security forces stationed themselves inside hospitals, pagoda compounds and universities in Yangon and other major cities. Gunfire and stun grenade explosions were heard at night in numerous Yangon townships in what appeared to be a bid to terrorize the city’s population. But anti-military demonstrators still took to the streets on Monday morning, rallying around yet another call for a general strike, this time to coincide with International Women’s Day. At a women-led anti-coup demonstration in Sanchaung township, protesters used htameins as flags. Many superstitious soldiers believe that walking beneath the sarong-like garment - or anything else worn by a woman below the waist - diminishes a man’s power. Protesters have been hanging htameins above roads to delay the advance of security forces, a strategy that uses the military’s own misogyny against them. At many protest sites in Yangon, security forces broke up demonstrations using teargas and stun grenades. Protesters once again avoided confrontations with a cat and mouse strategy, retreating when security forces approached but gathering again whenever they had the chance. Elsewhere in Myanmar, things were more violent. Two were shot dead by security forces in the Kachin capital of Myitkyina, residents and a protest organizer said. The two victims have been identified as 63-year-old Ko Ko Lay, also known as Cho Tha, and 23-year-old Zin Min Htet. They were both shot in the head. Security forces also used stun grenades and tear gas while attacking protesters in front of the Saint Francis Xavier Catholic church. “They died on the scene in front of the church. Both of their heads were crushed by bullets,” the protest organizer told Myanmar Now. The funeral for Ko Ko Lay will be held on Sunday afternoon in accordance with Islamic tradition, while Zin Min Htet’s body was brought to his house, said Lamai Gum Ja from the Peace-talk Creation Group, a local volunteer organization. At least ten people were arrested and five severely injured in the attack, he added..."
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
2021-03-09
Date of entry/update: 2021-03-09
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Description: "China is willing to engage with “all parties” to ease the crisis in neighbouring Myanmar and is not taking sides, the Chinese government’s top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, said on Sunday. Beijing has said the situation in Myanmar, where the military seized power last month, was “absolutely not what China wants to see” and has dismissed social media rumours of Chinese involvement in the coup as nonsense. “China is ... willing to contact and communicate with all parties on the basis of respecting Myanmar’s sovereignty and the will of the people, so as to play a constructive role in easing tensions,” Wang told a news conference on the sidelines of China’s annual gathering of parliament. While Western countries have strongly condemned the Feb. 1 coup, China has been more cautious, emphasising the importance of stability. China nonetheless agreed to a United Nations Security Council statement that called for the release of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other detainees and voiced concern over the state of emergency. “China has long-term friendly exchanges with all parties and factions in Myanmar, including the National League for Democracy (NLD), and friendship with China has always been the consensus of all sectors in Myanmar,” Wang said. The NLD is Suu Kyi’s party. Its landslide November victory in national elections has been ignored by the junta. “No matter how the situation in Myanmar changes, China’s determination to promote China-Myanmar relations will not waver, and China’s direction of promoting China-Myanmar friendly cooperation will not change,” Wang said. On Saturday, an Israeli-Canadian lobbyist hired by Myanmar’s junta told Reuters that the generals are keen to leave politics after their coup and seek to improve relations with the United States and distance themselves from China. Some of the protests against the coup, which have drawn hundreds of thousands of people onto the streets, have taken place outside the Chinese embassy in Yangon, with protesters accusing Beijing of supporting the junta..."
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Source/publisher: "Reuters" (UK)
2021-03-07
Date of entry/update: 2021-03-08
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Description: "WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden called Monday (Feb 1) on Myanmar's military to relinquish power immediately and ordered a review to consider reimposing sanctions lifted due to the nation's transition to democracy. "The international community should come together in one voice to press the Burmese military to immediately relinquish the power they have seized," Biden said. "The United States removed sanctions on Burma over the past decade based on progress toward democracy," he said in a statement, using Myanmar's former name. "The reversal of that progress will necessitate an immediate review of our sanction laws and authorities, followed by appropriate action." "The United States will stand up for democracy wherever it is under attack."..."
Source/publisher: Agence France-Presse (AFP) (France) via "CNA" ( Singapore)
2021-02-02
Date of entry/update: 2021-02-02
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Sub-title: Lawmakers to hold first meeting on Monday amid new threats of army takeover over alleged poll fraud.
Description: "Myanmar’s newly elected parliament is scheduled to meet for the first time on Monday against the backdrop of a threat by the military to stage a coup over unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud in the November 2020 election. On Thursday, the military’s commander-in-chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing plunged the country into its greatest political crisis since the transition to democracy began in 2008 by threatening to abolish the constitution. “The constitution is the Mother Law. We have to follow the constitution. If the law is not respected or followed, we must abolish it. Even if it is the constitution, we must abolish it,” he said in a speech quoted by the military’s Facebook page. After two days of uncertainty, the military released an official statement on Saturday, apparently backtracking. “The Tatmadaw will defend the 2008 Constitution and only act within the boundary of existing laws,” it said, accusing the media of taking Min Aung Hlaing’s comments out of context. The incident came after a months-long campaign to discredit the November election, despite no firm evidence of wrongdoing. The military’s electoral proxy, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), has demanded a new election supervised by the military, filed nearly 200 complaints, and took the issue to the Supreme Court. Min Aung Hlaing’s comments sent shockwaves through Myanmar, which emerged only from decades of military dictatorship in 2010 and held just its second democratic election in November last year. In both 2015 and 2020, the National League of Democracy (NLD) won landslide victories that delivered it a clear majority in parliament, despite the military automatically receiving 25 percent of the available seats..."
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Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
2021-01-30
Date of entry/update: 2021-01-31
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Sub-title: Unusual 2019 rule change means party won’t accept lawmakers’ resignations until after 2020 election, so they can’t join rival parties
Description: "Arakan National Party politicians who are not allowed to resign from the party because of an usual new rule will likely contest seats as independent candidates after receiving the blessing of the Union Election Commission. Commission member Thet Tun said earlier this month that party members who have not been allowed to resign would be breaking the law if they ran for a rival party. “However… running as an independent candidate to maintain their chances of being elected cannot be considered as an infringement,” he said, responding to a question from ANP lawmaker Ba Shein at a parliamentary meeting. Upper House representative Htoot May says she will run independently to contest the Rakhine Ethnic Affairs minister’s seat. “I’m a bit upset that the ANP isn’t letting me resign,” she told Myanmar Now. “This is a transition period when everyone should be negotiating and having discussions. The party is unable to do that internally. And the entire Rakhine public will be watching this,” she said. Nine lawmakers have applied to quit the ANP. They are: Dr Aye Maung, Kyaw Kyaw, who has since died, Khin Maung Latt, Htoot May, Wai Sein Aung, Aung Thaung Shwe, Kyaw Zaw Oo, Kyaw Lwin and Khin Maung Htay. Khin Maung Latt and Kyaw Zaw Oo also say they are likely to run independently. “From the Union Election Commission’s response to U Ba Shein’s question, it seems like we’re in a position to run,” Kyaw Zaw Oo said. The ANP is the biggest of the three main political parties in Rakhine. The Arakan League for Democracy (ALD), and the Arakan Front Party (AFP) were founded or relaunched by people who quit or were removed from the ANP. The ANP decided at a meeting in May 2019 that members who have applied for resignations will not be allowed to leave until the end of the current parliamentary term. Although Htoot May’s resignation was rejected, she rejoined the ALD, while other Hluttaw representatives are cooperating with the AFP. The ALD, which was the winning party in Rakhine in the 1990 general election, merged with the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party before the 2015 poll to form the Arakan National Party..."
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Source/publisher: "Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
2020-07-24
Date of entry/update: 2020-07-25
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Description: "The ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) on Thursday unveiled its candidate list for the upcoming election. The lineup consists largely of the party’s sitting lawmakers and current chief ministers, but also includes more women than in 2015 and two Muslim candidates. Myanmar will hold a general election on Nov. 8. With less than three months to go before the election, the party announced its list of candidates on Thursday afternoon, right after finalizing its selections. Of the more than 1,000 candidates listed by the party, 80 percent are sitting lawmakers who won parliamentary seats in the previous general election held in 2015. The NLD won a sweeping victory in 2015, defeating the then ruling, military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and taking office in 2016. In a video message to the selected candidates, NLD Chairwoman Daw Aung San Suu Kyi acknowledged on Thursday that there were few new faces on the list of candidates. Based on the lessons it has learned since the 1990 election, she said, the party prioritized “loyalty” and “experience” when selecting candidates. “We look at the applicants’ loyalty to the party’s policies,” she said. “We pay special attention to those who will faithfully support the aspiration of democratic federalism and who will walk along with us [in the long term].” Party Vice Chairman Dr. Zaw Myint Maung said on Thursday that 20 percent of sitting NLD lawmakers who had performed poorly in Parliament and had not adhered strictly to party discipline and implementing party policies were excluded from the candidate list. All current state and regional chief ministers except Yangon’s U Phyo Min Thein were re-selected to run in the election. U Phyo Min Thein has previously said he won’t run in the election due to poor health..."
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Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
2020-07-23
Date of entry/update: 2020-07-24
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Sub-title: Ex-NLD lawmaker criticizes Suu Kyi for lack of democracy within ruling party
Description: "Some lawmakers who have grown disgruntled with Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy are adding to Myanmar's political landscape in a way that could give the dominant party something to think about ahead of elections scheduled to take place on Nov. 8. The NLD maintains a lead over military-affiliated and small ethnic parties but now also has to worry about its left flank as some pro-democracy politicians splinter away. The NLD is led by State Counselor Suu Kyi, the country's de facto leader. Her party won 80% of the seats in the 2015 general election with a promise of breaking away from military rule. But Suu Kyi's clout has been partially diminished, although few people doubt the NLD will win most of the contested seats. Suu Kyi's waning influence is evidenced by the fact that the People's Pioneer Party, or the PPP, will participate in the general election. Among the PPP's three founders is Thet Thet Khine, a female entrepreneur, lower house lawmaker and formerly of the NLD. In an interview with Eleven Media in early July, Thet Thet Khine criticized Suu Kyi and other NLD leaders. "There is no democracy inside the party," she said. "It's leaders are not loyal to the democratic system." The PPP has been criticizing the NLD's handling of the government since it took power in 2015, including the slow pace of economic reforms and deteriorating press freedoms. The preelection registration period for new candidates began on Monday. Ko Ko Gyi, former leader of the 1988 democratic uprising, also known as the "8888 uprising," has established the People's Party. He could not win an endorsement from the NLD in 2015. Ex-general and former Lower House Speaker Shwe Mann, who had been close to Suu Kyi, has also set off on his own, having formed the Union Betterment Party. The new parties are small but could grab votes from the NLD in single-seat districts. In most constituencies, the NLD will be challenged by the military-affiliated Union Solidarity and Development Party, the country's largest opposition party, as well as several ethnic parties..."
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Source/publisher: "Nikkei Asian Review" (Japan)
2020-07-21
Date of entry/update: 2020-07-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: History shows pandemics can lead to profound political change in Myanmar
Description: "Covid-19 lockdowns and internal travel restrictions have been lifted across Myanmar but that doesn’t mean its virus crisis is over – far from it. Myanmar has officially confirmed only 316 Covid-19 cases and six related deaths, figures that many observers doubt are an accurate portrayal of the nation’s underlying viral situation. But even if Myanmar’s Covid-19 figures are unrealistic, economic, social and political fallout from the health crisis is nearly certain. Myanmar’s economic growth is projected to drop from 6.8% in fiscal 2018-2019 to just 0.5% in 2019-2020, according to World Bank estimates released on June 25. That assessment, considering the impact of lockdowns on the nation’s already impoverished population, could understate the human suffering to come. Economic distress, meanwhile, is impacting politics as the country gears up for November 8 elections that will pit State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi’s ruling New League for Democracy (NLD) against the rival military-aligned Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). The NLD is widely expected to win another five-year term, but observers in the commercial center Yangon wonder if military authorities will impose Covid-related restrictions on rallies and potentially use social controls to tilt the electoral playing field more in the USDP’s favor..."
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Source/publisher: "Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
2020-07-07
Date of entry/update: 2020-07-08
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Sub-title: The party won the third largest share of the national vote in 2015 and is confident Rakhine nationalist sentiment will secure similar results this year
Description: "The Arakan National Party (ANP) has said it is confident it will maintain its dominant position in Rakhine in this year’s general election despite the campaign challenges posed by conflict in the state and Covid-19 related restrictions. Aye Nu Sein, an ANP spokesperson, told Myanmar Now the party would be bolstered by widespread ethno-nationalism. “When the 2020 election takes place, our party is very hopeful that we’ll win in Rakhine as long as the Rakhine nationalism of the people doesn’t waver,” she said. The party enjoys widespread support in northern and mid-Rakhine, where the Rakhine language and culture is more prominent and many harbour grievances against the Bamar dominated central government and military. The National League for Democracy (NLD) holds most seats in southern Rakhine, which has closer cultural ties to central Myanmar. The election commission has announced that voting will take place on November 8. Rakhine’s political parties say they are concerned that the conflict and restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of Covid-19 will hamper their campaigns. “People are fleeing their villages left and right in masses,” Aye Nu Sein said. “Their safety is compromised. Even in cities, people feel unsafe. This poses a lot of challenges for the campaigns,” Hla Myint, a spokesperson for the Arakan League for Democracy (ALD), said the clashes in at least six townships in Rakhine meant it would be challenging to hold elections there. In the last election in 2015, the ANP won 22 out of 35 seats in Rakhine’s regional legislature. They also secured 22 seats in the national parliament: 10 in the lower house and 12 in the upper house..."
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Source/publisher: "Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
2020-07-03
Date of entry/update: 2020-07-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: Following NLD’s lead, the military-aligned party says it will select candidates from lists from township constituencies
Description: "The Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) said it is ending its long-standing practice of favouring retired military generals as MP candidates and opening the selection process up to more local input. In previous elections, the military-aligned party’s central executive committee would generally choose recently retired generals to run as MPs. The party is now handing some of that decision making power to township officials, USDP spokesperson Nandar Hla Myint told Myanmar Now last week. “The party’s top leaders will not direct any general or colonel to run in any constituency,” he said. “If they want to represent the USDP, they will have to win over their local constituency." Nandar Hla Myint said USDP constituencies in each township will make a list of candidates then send it to the central executive committee to select from. It is unclear how many potential candidates township constituencies can put on that list. The new policy mimics changes the incumbent National League for Democracy (NLD) recently made to its candidate selection process. The USDP was founded as a political party in June 2010, five months before that year’s elections - the first in the country’s ongoing transition from military dictatorship toward civilian democracy. The party was largely a rebranding of the Union Solidarity and Development Association - the junta government’s propaganda wing..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
2020-07-01
Date of entry/update: 2020-07-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Myanmar’s election commission announced last week that general elections would be held on 6 November 2020–––the third since political reforms were initiated in 2010. Over 90 political parties are likely to contest a total of 1,171 seats in both houses of union parliament and in the state/regional legislatures. Discussions on the upcoming election have so far focused on the two major political parties–––the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) and the opposition Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP)–––around issues on whether the NLD would be able to retain power or if the military-backed USDP would be able to make a comeback. Even as the NLD and the USDP are likely to remain the two largest parties in post-November elections, there is a sense in some quarters that neither may win enough seats to form government and this may throw up opportunities for smaller political and ethnic parties to decide who forms the next government in Myanmar. Three factors are key for the smaller political and ethnic-based parties to turn the elections in their favour. First, this will be more a function of the performance of NLD and USDP. Second, emergence of new parties and alliances and how they will affect the performance of the two major parties and lastly, electoral strategies ethnic-based parties..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Observer Research Foundation (ORF)" (India)
2020-07-06
Date of entry/update: 2020-07-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Myanmar's Union Election Commission (UEC) has announced the constituencies for the 2020 general election. According to the announcement late Monday, there are 330 constituencies for the House of Representatives (Lower House), 168 constituencies for the House of Nationalities (Upper House), 644 constituencies for state or region parliaments and 29 constituencies for ethnic minority in state or region parliaments. The date of 2020 general election will be announced based on the control of the COVID-19 outbreak as Myanmar is trying to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19, UEC Chairman U Hla Thein told a meeting with the political parties. There are 97 registered political parties at present to run campaigns for parliamentary seats nationwide in the 2020 election. Myanmar's previous general election was held in November 2015, in which Aung San Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy (NLD) won the absolute majority of parliament and ran the government since April 2016. The five-year term of the incumbent NLD government will end in March 2021..."
Source/publisher: "Xinhua" (China)
2020-06-30
Date of entry/update: 2020-07-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: The nationwide vote is seen as a test for Aung San Suu Kyi and her party National League for Democracy.
Description: "Myanmar will hold its next general election on November 8, the election commission has announced, in a vote seen as a test for the country's fledgeling democratic government led by Aung San Suu Kyi. In a statement on Wednesday, Hla Thein, chairman of the union election commission, said a "multi-party general election for the parliament" would be held on that day. The Myanmar Times said a total of 1,171 national, state and regional seats would be up for grabs in the election, with polling set to take place in all townships, including areas considered conflict zones and self-administered regions. Analysts see the polls as an important test of Myanmar's transition away from direct military rule. Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel laureate, won power in a landslide in 2015 that ended decades of military rule. But her administration has come under pressure internationally over a military crackdown that drove hundreds of thousands of Rohingya into Bangladesh in 2017. She personally appeared at an international tribunal in The Hague to defend the army against the allegations of rape, arson and mass killing in the campaign, which rights groups have said was tantamount to genocide..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
2020-07-02
Date of entry/update: 2020-07-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: The Union Election Commission (UEC) on June 29 announced that 1171 national, state and regional seats would be up for grabs in the general elections scheduled for November
Description: "The UEC added that elections would be held in all townships, even those considered conflict zones and self-administered regions. It said 330 seats will be contested in the Pyithu Hluttaw (Lower House) and 168 in the Amyotha Hluttaw (Upper House), or 12 for each state and region. The polling body said that 644 regular seats and 29 for ethnic minorities would be contested in state and regional parliaments. Although the UEC has not announced the date of the elections, it said they would likely be held in November. Political analysts said that as the election date nears, the UEC will likely suspend voting in some constituencies in conflict zones. U Sai Nyunt Lwin, vice chair of the Shan National League for Democracy (SNLD), said, “In 2015, they announced (election suspensions) one month before the date." The UEC also has yet to form election commissions in self-administrative zones like Mine Lar and Wa regions, which are run by ethnic armed groups. There are also worries about the continued fighting between the Tatmadaw (military) and Arakan Army in Rahine and Chin states. The Tatmadaw is also fighting ethnic armed groups in Shan State, such as the Ta'ang National Liberation Army, Kachin Independent Army, and Restoration Council for Shan State. Rakhine and Shan are two of the biggest political territories in the country, where ethnic groups make up most of the population..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
2020-07-01
Date of entry/update: 2020-07-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: The National League for Democracy’s ostensibly bottom-up candidate selection process should not be mistaken for the real party decision-making ahead of this year’s election.
Description: "Political parties have begun making preparations for the general election planned for November, even though the Union Election Commission has yet to announce the election date and the deadline for submitting candidates’ names. As parties focus on candidate selection, there has been criticism of the process used by the ruling National League for Democracy. Many members and non-members of the party have sought to be selected as NLD candidates because, in many constituencies, this is considered a virtual guarantee of a parliamentary seat. The NLD plans to contest every constituency and is widely expected by political analysts to secure another victory, though opinions differ about the likely margin. In the 2015 general election, the NLD won 79 percent of the seats in the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, meaning that for every 10 of the party’s candidates about eight were elected. Those wishing to vie under the NLD banner were asked to submit applications at township party offices in early June. Applications were then judged by NLD township executive committees, joined by five so-called town elders who the party had appointed to advise the process in each township. If consensus was not reached on a preferred nominee and a runner-up for each relevant seat in the Union and regional parliaments, they were chosen by secret ballot. This township-level process has already been completed, though the NLD leadership has not confirmed the final list of candidates..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
2020-06-29
Date of entry/update: 2020-06-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "In 2005, Lieutenant Colonel Ye Htut was assigned to Myanmar’s Ministry of Information, where he later played an active role in General Thein Sein’s 2011-16 regime. He became deputy information minister in 2012, spokesman for the president in 2013 and the minister of information from 2014-16. Hence, he was both an actor and a witness to the country’s political transition to democracy. Ye Htut provides rich detail on the interplay between the president’s office, the military’s Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and the civilian National League for Democracy (NLD). His book profiles the main actors, their motivations and the frictions between the legislature and the president during the troubled passage to civilian power-sharing. The book does not dwell on the painful mass uprisings of 1988, or why the junta allowed the transition in the first place. Nevertheless, writing a tell-all book is a brave errand when many powerful players remain alive and involved in politics..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "South China Morning Post" (Hong Kong)
2020-06-27
Date of entry/update: 2020-06-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: Thirty political parties have asked to meet with the Union Election Commission to discuss the ruling National League for Democracy’s (NLD) use of the word “town elders,” which they say is misleading people.
Description: "The NLD has appointed a group of what it called “town elders” in every township to select its candidates for the November elections. In a statement released on June 16, the 30 political parties objected to the use of “town elders” and called on the NLD to stop using it. They also urged the UEC to order the NLD to stop using the term in election campaign materials. Among those that signed the statement were the opposition Union Solidarity Development Party, New National Democracy Party, National Unity Party (NUP), National Development Party, Democratic Party (Myanmar), and National Democratic Force. "They use ‘town elders’ to promote the party,” said U Thein Nyunt, chair of New National Democracy Party. The November polls will be a crucial test of the public’s trust and confidence in Daw Aung Suu Kyi and the NLD, which has ruled the country since its landslide electoral win in 2015, the first free elections in the country after more than a half-century of military rule. The State Counsellor and President U Win Myint will lead the NLD in this year’s political battle. Myanmar’s political scene burst into life last week after the UEC announced that the elections would proceed as scheduled in November despite the COVID-19 pandemic..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
2020-06-18
Date of entry/update: 2020-06-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: Japan Beverage Giant Pledges to Address Human Rights Concerns
Description: " Japan-based Kirin Holdings Company, Ltd. should end its partnership with Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd. (MEHL) because of its connections to Myanmar’s abusive armed forces, Human Rights Now, Human Rights Watch, Japan Volunteer International Center, and Shapla Neer said today. The organizations wrote to Kirin on May 22, 2020, urging the global beverage company to terminate its partnership with the military conglomerate, and the company responded on June 12. “Kirin is putting money right into the pockets of Myanmar’s military, which is responsible for countless atrocities against the Rohingya and other ethnic minorities,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director. “Kirin should repair its damaged reputation by disentangling itself from the Myanmar military’s business conglomerate and its abusive armed forces.” Kirin currently owns a majority stake in Myanmar Brewery Ltd. (MBL) and Mandalay Brewery (MDL) in partnership with the military-owned MEHL. In 2015, Kirin bought 55 percent of Myanmar Brewery Ltd, 4 percent of which it later transferred to the military-owned firm. In 2017, Kirin acquired 51 percent of Mandalay Brewery in a separate joint venture with the firm. Myanmar’s armed forces, known as the Tatmadaw, have long been responsible for grave violations of human rights and the laws of war against the country’s ethnic minority populations. These abuses culminated in the August 2017 campaign of ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, including killings, sexual violence, and forced removal, against the ethnic Rohingya population in Rakhine State..."
Source/publisher: "Human Rights Watch" (USA)
2020-06-18
Date of entry/update: 2020-06-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "The chief minister of Myanmar’s commercial capital Yangon, seen as a possible successor to Aung San Suu Kyi, told RFA on Monday that he will not contest elections in November because of a “health condition,” dismissing reports he had filed papers to run. Phyo Min Thein had been nominated by the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party to run again for his current Yangon regional parliamentary seat. He won the seat in the NLD’s landslide victory in the 2015 general elections, and serves as a local MP concurrently with his job as chief minister of Myanmar’s biggest city. “I have informed the party that I can no longer serve as an MP [member of parliament] due to my health condition, so I will not contest in the upcoming election,” Phyo Min Thein told RFA’s Myanmar Service during an exclusive interview. He said local media reports saying that he had submitted a candidate application were false. Phyo Min Thein, 51, who underwent heart surgery four years ago, did not elaborate on his health condition. “I will keep contributing to the party’s works and nation-building efforts,” he added. Phyo Min Thein emerged several years ago as a strong candidate to succeed State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi after impressing her and other top NLD officials with his willingness to take on tough infrastructure and transportation challenges in Yangon. The former Rangoon was the commercial and political hub of British Burma and the country’s capital until 2006. A former political prisoner like Aung San Suu Kyi and many of her followers in a decades-long struggle against military rule, Phyo Min Thein began his ascent in 2012, when he joined the then-opposition NLD and won a seat representing Yangon in a by-election..."
Source/publisher: "Radio Free Asia (RFA)" (USA)
2020-06-15
Date of entry/update: 2020-06-17
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: " Hiding from Myanmar’s police, journalist Aung Marm Oo refuses to conceal his anger with the civilian government led by Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi as his country prepares for an election later this year. “Democracy is already dead,” the 37-year-old editor-in-chief of Development Media Group (DMG) told Reuters from a location he asked to keep secret. “They blocked media, restrict media agencies, banned news, punish journalists. Media is the lifeblood of democracy in the country. Without media, how can democracy survive?” When Suu Kyi was released from house arrest by a military junta in 2010, Aung Marm Oo was a student activist living in exile. Her release helped persuade him to return home and enter journalism. The 2016 election that brought Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) to power ended half a century of military rule. But the generals retain strong influence under a constitution that reserves sweeping powers for the military, and 25% of seats in parliament for its appointees. Aung Hla Tun, deputy minister for information, said the government had revoked some oppressive laws and was drafting both a right to information law and a hate speech law. Expectations of the first democratic government were “very high and very unrealistic” given “accumulated bad legacies and challenges our predecessors had left us”, he said. “We’re not capable of changing all these things drastically in three or four years,” he said in an email, adding that there was a need to promote trust and cooperation between the media and the pillars of power..."
Source/publisher: "Reuters" (UK)
2020-06-12
Date of entry/update: 2020-06-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "After 58 years of military rule, Myanmar’s parliament will today close debate on how to amend its third and current constitution, which was written in 2008. In a lightly reported step, on February 20, the Burmese parliament approved a joint military-civilian committee to debate constitutional changes. The negotiations arise from the barring of Myanmar’s powerful National League for Democracy’s Aung San Suu Kyi from the presidency due to foreign family ties. Myanmar’s constitution privileges the military with a special status by reserving 25% of parliament and several key national executive appointments for military officers. The Burmese military had curtailed foreign influence in the domestic economy and political statecraft with six decades of absolute power, but as the country transitions to civilian rule, the ruling officers do not want to see their influence over Myanmar’s future dissipate. Having already stated their acceptance of a reduced role in Burmese politics, the military is looking to maintain a say in Myanmar’s statecraft. With a population expected to reach 65 million by 2050 and an economy quadrupling to $200 billion by 2030, the constitutional negotiations will determine whether Myanmar will transition to a stable civilian rule or retain an outsized military influence. Wake up smarter with an assessment of the stories that will make headlines in the next 24 hours. Download The Daily Brief..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Foreign Brief"
2020-03-05
Date of entry/update: 2020-03-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: The United Wa State Party (UWSP) will cooperate with the Union Election Commission (UEC) to ensure the success of the November elections in the four townships in the Wa self-administered division, a party spokesperson said.
Description: "A UEC delegation led by its chair, U Hla Thein, came to Panghsang, the capital of the Wa region in Shan State, to meet with Wa leaders on the elections last week, said U Nyi Rang, UWSP spokesperson. “In the poll, we will help the UEC, though we cannot say yet whether voting would be held in the four townships. We need to hold more talks,” he added. Of the six townships in the Wa region, four are controlled by the UWSP and two by the government. In the 2010 and 2015 general elections, the UEC did not hold voting in the Wa-controlled townships of Pangwaing, Mine Maw, Panghsang and Narhpan. U Hla Thein urged the leaders of the Wa state government to work together with the poll body in the 2020 elections. He talked about the right to vote and to elect poll representatives. The UWSP submitted eight demands to the UEC, but U Nyi Rang refused to provide details. Xiao Mingliang, vice chair of the UWSP, said the Wa government hopes Daw Aung San Suu Kyi would visit the Wa region, which has often invited the State Counsellor to visit..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
2020-03-04
Date of entry/update: 2020-03-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: Members of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw are preparing to vote on a series of amendments to the constitution but it is unlikely that any of them will be approved.
Description: "PROPOSALS to amend the 2008 Constitution are finally being discussed in the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw and the debate has been lively. There have been heated exchanges between members of the politically dominant National League for Democracy and unelected military MPs and lawmakers from the Union Solidarity and Development Party, who oppose the NLD’s proposals for charter reform. Debate has been so robust at times that the speaker has directed that some outbursts be expunged from the parliamentary record. After its landslide victory in 2015, the NLD waited until January 2019 – almost three years after taking office – to begin implementing its election campaign pledge to reform the constitution. The NLD took a similar approach to that adopted by Thura U Shwe Mann in his capacity as speaker of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw during the USDP government, and appointed a constitutional amendment joint committee, which was tasked to prepare a draft bill to amend the charter. The unelected Tatmadaw MPs objected to the 45-member committee as being unlawful. While the NLD was trying to draft a constitutional amendment bill that incorporated the opinions of all parties in the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, USDP and Tatmadaw MPs submitted five of their own amendment bills. In early February, the NLD-controlled joint bill committee finalised two amendment bills and sent them to parliament for debate alongside the five USDP and military bills. One bill contains changes that would also require approval at a national referendum, while the other contains those changes that only require Pyidaungsu Hluttaw approval. We can learn from these seven bills about the changes sought to the constitution by the NLD and ethnic parties on one side, and by the Tatmadaw and USDP lawmakers, on the other..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
2020-03-04
Date of entry/update: 2020-03-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Topic: Myanmar, Burma, political economy, reform, democratisation, Murdoch School
Topic: Myanmar, Burma, political economy, reform, democratisation, Murdoch School
Description: "In 2010, the first elections were held in Myanmar after 22 years of direct military rule. Most Western observers had decided in advance that the polls would be a travesty. The regime had been sanctioned and isolated following its refusal to transfer power to the winner of elections held in 1990, the National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Aung San Suu Kyi. Instead the regime had pursued its own, visibly flawed “roadmap to democracy.” The 2008 constitution was largely designed by the military and was imposed through an implausible “referendum” – a 93.8% “yes” vote on a 98% turnout – in the middle of a major natural disaster, Cyclone Nargis. The NLD boycotted the 2010 elections, though smaller opposition parties did participate. Unsurprisingly, the militarybacked Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) secured approximately 60% of the seats in both houses of parliament and captured all but one of the regional assemblies, while the military took 25% of the seats in both national-level assemblies and one-third in all the regional assemblies, as mandated by the constitution. Little change was expected from what appeared to be a purely superficial exercise. Yet, one year later, major reform was underway. The NLD had triumphed in byelections in April 2012, bringing Aung San Suu Kyi into parliament. Peace talks had begun with ethnic-minority insurgents. Peaceful gatherings and trade unions had been legalised. Internet censorship eased..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Journal of Contemporary Asia
2013-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2020-03-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 174.47 KB (27 pages)
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Description: "The Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) has expanded its senior management in a move the party says will facilitate its preparations for the 2020 general election. The military proxy opposition party has appointed two vice-chairs and three additional members to its central executive committee, the party said at a press conference on Friday. “The election is drawing near, and as we need to campaign on a wide scale, we have reinforced with two vice-chairpersons,” said USDP spokesperson Dr. Nanda Hla Myint. The new vice-chairs are former national police chief U Khin Yi and former Minister of the President’s Office U Hla Tun. U Hla Tun facilitated the transfer of power from the previous government, led by the USDP, to the current National League for Democracy (NLD) government following the 2015 election. Dr. Nanda Hla Myint said the USDP has appointed U Hla Tun as vice-chair in the hope that he will facilitate the process again if the USDP wins the election. U Hla Tun is also a retired major general and served as an ordnance director before the USDP government leadership appointed him minister of the President’s Office. U Khin Yi was the chief of the Myanmar Police Force and is a retired brigadier general of the Myanmar military. He served as the Union minister for immigration and population in the USDP government..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
2020-02-24
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "In the wake of the Cold War authoritarian regimes around the world adapted to the new political climate by embracing the form – though not necessarily the substance – of democracy. The outcome has been an increase in electoral authoritarian regimes, in which political positions are filled through multiparty elections. The defining feature of these regimes is that they hold regular elections that are not entirely free, fair, and competitive. On the contrary, the playing field under these regime is often tilted in favor of the ruling party (Schedler 2002b:3). These “hybrid regimes” defy simple classifications, challenge existing theories of democratization, and call into doubt some of the basic premises of the classic transition paradigm, which primarily revolves around elite-level bargaining (O’Donnell and Schmitter 1986). The global rise of these regimes has triggered a wave of scholarship interested in explaining how such regimes fully democratize, how ruling parties are defeated at the ballot box (Levitsky and Way 2002; Bunce and Wolchik 2010), and whether the repeated holding of elections leads to further democratization (Staffan 2006; 2009). The central puzzle revolves around the following key questions: Why do elections serve to stabilize certain electoral authoritarian regimes yet undermine others? How do they matter? And how do elections stabilize or liberalize political regimes? This article contributes to this ongoing debate by exploring the case of Myanmar. As a case study, Myanmar helps us to identify further contextual factors and broaden our existing knowledge on electoral authoritarianism. Up till now, the fate of electoral authoritarian regimes has primarily been discussed with the help of statistical analysis and probability tests. Additionally, certain paradigmatic cases such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Mexico have been highlighted. By using the case of Myanmar, I am following Morse's lead of employing case studies to add more analytical leverage for theory building (Morse 2012). Myanmar’s long- standing military regime has seen impressive political changes since it held its first elections in 2010 after 22 years of direct military rule..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Southeast Asia Research Centre (Hong Kong)
2016-05-00
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf
Size: 429.24 KB (36 pages)
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Sub-title: Nation building processes in tumultuous times
Description: "The study of the role historiography and public memory play within nation-building processes in Southeast Asia continues to see a steady rise of interest with scholars, governments and in growing numbers also the public eye. In face of continuous local resistance towards national integration, the struggle to define a national identity by converting multiple pasts into a single national narrative remains crucial to authoritarian and post-authoritarian regimes alike. The question of belonging to one nation has yet to be resolved by various communities throughout the region (Aung-Thwin M. , 2012). Especially Myanmar’s challenged government tries hard to create a general Myanmar identity that includes not only the Bamar majority, but also all of the people living on Myanmar territory – with the current exclusion of the Muslim Rohingyas. 1 This nation-building attempt is naturally on terms of the government. The streamlining of regional or ethnic histories and narratives poses new threats and worries to the already suspicious minorities amidst the pacification and reconciliation attempts of Naypyitaw. Successive regimes and leaders have tried to both exploit the ideological groundwork laid in the dynastic, colonial and independence eras and to develop innovative new strategies to convince Myanmar’s inhabitants to overlook what divides them and prioritize what they have in common (Metro & SalemGervais, 2012)..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Dr. Martin Großheim
2015-02-00
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-17
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 1.21 MB (47 pages)
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Description: "Myanmar President Win Myint on Thursday warned the country’s powerful military to limit its involvement in politics, citing a mandate issued decades ago by independence hero General Aung San, during a ceremony inaugurating a new statue of the general and father of leader Ang San Suu Kyi in the capital Naypyidaw. Touching on a sensitive fault line in Myanmar politics as the country prepares for year-end elections, Win Myint said that Aung San issued a directive that members of the armed forces should refrain from participation in government administration, politics, and political party activities. “I have read that he issued guidelines for the Burmese revolutionary military that they were not to interfere in the administration or in politics, while the military officers and soldiers were not to interfere in political parties and administrative activities,” he said in a speech marking what would have been Aung San’s 105th birthday. “They are to work on the unity of the state,” Win Myint added. Myanmar’s military known as the Tatmadaw, ran the country for five decades after a 1962 coup. Its political power is enshrined in the 2008 constitution drafted by the then ruling military junta, and efforts to amend the charter remain an uphill battle. Military lawmakers who are appointed, not elected, control a quarter of the seats in parliament and retain a critical veto over proposed constitutional amendments. The military also controls three security and defense ministries..."
Source/publisher: "RFA" (USA)
2020-02-13
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "The current government, led by the National League for Democracy (NLD), is not the first to attempt to amend the undemocratic 2008 Constitution. In 2013, its predecessor, led by the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), gave it a try. But the USDP’s two-year attempt—widely viewed as lacking the will for genuine reform—ultimately proved fruitless, failing to amend even a single article of the Constitution. Since it was launched early last year, the NLD’s push for constitutional reform has faced strong resistance from unelected military lawmakers and their allies in the USDP. Despite strong public support for charter change, the success of the NLD’s effort is far from guaranteed. The main hurdle for constitutional reform is the effective veto wielded by the military, for which the Constitution reserves 25 percent of Parliament seats. Under Article 436, proposed changes to the charter require the support of more than 75 percent of lawmakers, meaning no change is possible without military approval. Let’s look at the differences between the USDP and the NLD’s approaches to charter change. On July 25, 2013, the then-ruling USDP established a joint committee with 109 members from all parties in Parliament to examine the country’s Constitution and consider changes to it..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
2020-02-14
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Civil Society: Civil Society is defined broadly as the space between the family and the state, but does not include political parties, professional unions and associations, private businesses, and Ethnic Armed Organisations (EAOs). For the purpose of this Discussion Paper, research was directed predominantly, but not entirely, to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and civil society organisations (CSOs) at Union and sub-national level and their emerging networks. Research also included ethnic literature and culture associations. It is important to note that many people “wear several hats” in Myanmar, meaning that the affiliations of individuals are not always limited to one organisation. The roles of as key stakeholders often change roles over time. Due to their importance in Myanmar, faith-based networks are also included in civil society. Civil society is not synonymous with communities. It is inherently heterogeneous; its diversity relates to a range of different ethnic, linguistic, religious, gender, and class identities among which ethnicity stands out as a particularly prominent marker of identity in Myanmar. Social cohesion: A cohesive society is one that works towards the wellbeing of all, creates a sense of belonging, promotes trust, and offers everyone the opportunity to prosper and advance peacefully. Peacebuilding: Peacebuilding is defined as initiatives that foster and support sustainable structures and processes that strengthen the prospects for peaceful coexistence and decrease the likelihood of the outbreak, reoccurrence, or continuation of violent conflict.1 Within this Paper, civil society engagement in peacebuilding refers to civil society-led initiatives that seek mitigate inter- or intra- ethnic, faith, and communal tensions and promote social cohesion. Peace process: For the purposes of this research, the ‘peace process’ is defined as the national tri-lateral negotiations related to the ethnic armed conflict. Peace process architecture relates to government-led initiatives since 2011, spanning bi-lateral ceasefires, the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), the Union Peace Conferences (UPCs), Joint Monitoring Committees (JMCs), and the national dialogue process. For the purpose of this Paper, participation in the peace process has been categorised into direct participation (contribution to decision-making and supporting roles within peace architecture), and indirect contributions, which are equally critical, that lie outside of the peace process and political structures. Gender: The socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities, and attributes that determine our understanding of masculinity and femininity. The question of gender difference and the construction of masculine and feminine is not universal, but culturally specific and strongly influenced by other factors such as ethnicity, religion, race, and class.2 Youth: Myanmar’s National Youth Policy defines young people as between the ages of 15-35. The United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2250 considers young people to fall between 18-29 years..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Paung Sie Facility
2018-10-18
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
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Description: "Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi said Wednesday that the country’s unresolved political problems are the root cause of failure to end hostilities between the government military and ethnic armed groups as Myanmar continues to strive for permanent peace. “The governments of the successive periods have tried their best to put an end to the armed conflicts and restore peace to our motherland, but have not yet achieved the goals of peace,” she said in her capacity as chairperson of the Central Committee for the Development of Border Areas and National Races at the 73rd Union Day ceremony in Panglong, also known as Pinlon, in Myanmar’s southern Shan state. As state counselor, Aung San Suu Kyi has made ending Myanmar’s armed conflicts and forging peace the cornerstone of her administration, but the peace process has been stymied by ongoing fighting between Myanmar forces and rebel armies in outlying ethnic regions and by the Rohingya crisis in Rakhine state. Her civilian-led government has held three sessions of the 21st-Century Panglong Conference attended by delegates from the government, military, and ethnic armed organizations..."
Source/publisher: "RFA" (USA)
2020-02-12
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: NLD government has prioritized graft-busting but the business-minded military is still immune
Description: "Myanmar was widely viewed as one of the most opaque and mismanaged countries in the world throughout decades of abusive and unaccountable military rule. That was supposed to change with the transition to democracy in 2015, with Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party resoundingly voted into power on a promise of change and reform. Now, as Myanmar enters a new election season pitting her NLD against the military-aligned Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), the NLD’s anti-corruption record is expected to feature on the campaign trail. Certain international measures are on the NLD’s side. Global graft watchdog Transparency International’s latest Corruption Perception Index saw Myanmar move up two positions, from 132nd in 2018 to 130th out of 180 ranked countries in 2019. That ranking has slowly but steadily improved since Suu Kyi assumed electoral power in 2016, when Myanmar ranked 136th on the index. That’s quantifiable international recognition of her government’s anti-graft battle, a campaign of new laws, high-profile arrests and sackings, and improved collaboration on graft issues with the private sector..."
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Source/publisher: "Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
2020-02-11
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "In Taunggyi, the capital of Myanmar’s ethnically diverse Shan State, students, nurses and marching bands lined the streets to welcome State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi on her way to to celebrate the 73rd anniversary of Union Day on February 12. This was the day, in 1947, that Suu Kyi’s father General Aung San signed the Panglong Agreement, a preliminary accord with several ethnic groups (but crucially, not all) that has since been viewed as a touchstone of betrayal among Myanmar’s minorities toward central government rule and its unmet promises of federalism. Since taking power in early 2016, Suu Kyi has reformulated Union Day and its associated Panglong “spirit” as a vehicle for uneven ethnic peace-building and unification based on ethnic Burman domination. At this year’s event, the government fused military-era propaganda with Suu Kyi’s iron-discipline homilies and vague appeals to peace, “genuine Democratic Federal Union” and protecting the youth from the evils of drugs, crucially “(t)o strive with the collective strength of all ethnic nationals for rule of law, a fair justice system and the security and safety of all citizens.” Suu Kyi’s concept of “unity”, it appears, is to celebrate ethnic diversity by commodifying and controlling it, not by seeing ethnic communities as equals or granting political concessions, economic equality and ending entrenched discrimination..."
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Source/publisher: "Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
2020-02-12
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-13
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Description: "Because of its geostrategic position and whatever the system of government in place, Myanmar must cope with a series of key security challenges.1 The country is sandwiched between two emerging giants with global ambitions, China and India. It boasts a 2,000km-long coastline opened to the Indian Ocean, through which a large part of the world’s seaborne commerce transit. It offers a gateway to, and from, continental Southeast Asia. In the twenty-first century, this peculiar geographical situation may present considerable opportunities for regional growth and future development in a country long kept away from global flows and Asia’s economic boom.2 But it can also contribute to increased concerns among Burmese ruling elites, starting with the armed forces (or Tatmadaw), over the potential sway neighbouring states, global powers and international institutions may seek to gain in a region known for its abundance of underexploited natural resources.3 In March 2011, the junta formed after the last coup d’état staged by the Tatmadaw in 1988 was disbanded. A startling transition to a semi-civilian administration followed.4 The five-year presidency of ex-general Thein Sein (2011–2016) marked a first phase in this post-junta transitional moment. Under the impetus of a handful of retired high-ranking military officers, Myanmar started to liberalise its polity, returned to a parliamentary form of elected government, allowed its pro-democracy opposition forces to join the political game, and gradually re-engaged with the world, particularly the West. After years of diplomatic isolation and international condemnations led by the United States and the European Union, most sanctions imposed against the country since the 1990s were suspended, then lifted, between 2012 and 2016. Even more, the landslide victory of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) in the legislative polls held in November 2015 and the subsequent formation of an NLD government further rekindled hopes for a gradual, yet palpable, democratisation..."
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Source/publisher: Renaud Egreteau
2017-11-08
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Myanmar’s election authority has announced that political parties will continue to be barred from campaigning inside military cantonments ahead of this year’s election, and that —in a departure from previous elections—military personnel and their family members will have to cast their votes outside military barracks. Union Election Commission (UEC) spokesman U Myint Naing said at the commission’s press conference in Naypyitaw on Thursday that “it is still impossible to campaign inside cantonments” due to security reasons. He also reaffirmed that polling stations will not be operated inside military barracks in the November election. In October last year, the UEC submitted draft amendments to electoral bylaws to the Union Parliament. The commission proposed a provision to mandate that polling stations for military personnel and their family members be placed outside the barracks, for them “to be able to cast votes together with civilian voters and to be transparent, where candidates, observers and party representatives can freely enter and monitor.” Military spokesperson Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun told The Irrawaddy that electoral campaigning will not be allowed inside barracks due to the constitutional provision that civil servants must be free from party politics..."
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Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
2020-02-07
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Workers and farmers say they will contest the 2020 general election as independent candidates in order to better promote and protect their rights. Ten civil society organizations, including the Confederation of Trade Unions of Myanmar (CTUM) and Myanmar Infrastructure, Craft and Service (MICS), as well as labor rights defenders held a press conference in Yangon on Wednesday to unveil the election campaign. The independent candidates will contest seats in both houses of the Union Parliament and in Hlaing Tharyar Township in the Yangon regional parliament. The township houses the largest industrial zone and migrant population in Myanmar, according to CTUM president U Maung Maung. The National League for Democracy had largely ignored the rights of farmers and workers in amending labor and farmland laws since taking office in 2016, said U Maung Maung. And lawmakers had not done enough to improve their constituencies, he said. “It is important that lawmakers take the lead role in improving their constituencies, bearing in mind the requirements of their constituents. Those who are committed to labor issues will contest the election,” he said..."
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Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
2020-02-06
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: 2020 elections will show how much damage has been done to leader’s reputation as a democratic reformer
Description: "A new huge billboard recently erected at a major intersection in Myanmar’s commercial capital of Yangon portrays the nation’s nominal leader with a message of support: “We stand with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.” Such billboards are not unique in Myanmar and appeared well before Suu Kyi headed to The Hague’s International Court of Justice in December to defend her nation against charges of genocide, a stand that was widely panned by foreign media but cheered by nationalist groups at home. But the new signboard’s existence and message are noteworthy all the same. “Five years ago, it would not have been necessary,” says a local community worker who requested anonymity. “Then everybody in Yangon supported her and no-one had to be reminded of that.”..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
2019-12-29
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
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