“The Draft Constituation was
centralized; the State Supreme
Legislative Body has no power to do legislation”
=================================================================
Some of the voice of a representative at the Burmese
Military
Government National Convention
These Questions and Answers were written by a representative
who
attended the Burmese Military
Government National Convention as an
ethnic national representative. He
wrote about his experience and sent
it to the Independent Mon News Agency
in his own handwriting:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Question: Oldest brother, you are so smart to come back from
the
National Convention (NC).
Answer: Sure… Why not?.
Q: How was the food and place to stay in Nyaung
Hnit Pin?
A: Very, very good. The cooks prepared many different kinds
of food,
not too fat, and if you caught a
little bit of a cold and cough, they
carefully treated you very
special and great.
Q: TV had a presentation on the store, restaurant,
playground and
sport facilities in Nyaung Hnit Pin.
A: Yes, everything you could have.
Q: What did you play there and what presents did you buy
from there?
A: I bought nothing, but people who can afford it could, and
play
golf. We had to pay for everything.
I think we could do business with
the National Convention and get a
contract for business.
Q: Which party, oldest brother,
invited you as a representative?
A: I was invited as an ethnic representative.
Q: How was it organized?
A: The State Union Solidarity Development Association (USDA)
led the
group, a former state administer
joined as vice group leader and
others are members. That is our
state organization.
Q: Who pays the expense?
A: The Township Peace and Development Council (PDC) paid
10,000 kyat
for expenses for the trip to the
National Convention. They paid 20,000
kyat to other Township PDC trepresentatives, but they did not pay for
the trip back. When we took the
trip back the group leader paid for us.
Q: Some people said the government would give each
representative a
car and a telephone. Is it true?
A: I heard about that before I joined the NC. When I came
back here,
many people asked me about that; a
car, a phone, also a house in
Q: How do you think the government will give it to you?
A: Sometimes I thought about that in my imagination. I told
about it
now because of you.
Q: If they give it, will you accept it?
A: Hey, Hey. Why not. If the
government will give it, all these NC
representatives are people who
would like to have it.
Q: What do you think these representatives can do for the
people and
country in the NC?
A: We have no right to do anything. We can change nothing of
the 1996
decision. They only allowed us to
criticize, analyze and suggest about
it. But not to
change it.
Q: The 1996 constitution draft was for a one state, one
country
system. That will not end the civil
war, you told us many times and
regularly. At this NC did you you strongly criticize it or not?
A: I will explain it to you. In this NC 633 for ethnic
nationalities I
attended, If we count the number of
representative, we would be very
satisfied. But, of a hundred of
these representatives, only about five
are interested in politics. Of
these five representatives it is
difficult to have one who
understands about the constitution. Most of
these representatives are
government employees, retired employees,
Union Solidarity and Development Association members and
people who
shared investments with military
leaders. They gave us the 1996 draft
constitution. They told us to
report comments or suggestions
(monograph) based on the draft
constitution. In addition, our report
has to be given to the convening
committee. If the committee accepts
it, we can have a chance to read it
in the NC. If the NC does not
accept the report, we have to rewrite
it again. It must be what they
like.
Q: Does your report have to be rewritten?
A: No. Our group agreed on the draft. We just changed
some words that
did not change the meaning of the
words used in the draft constitution.
Q: Did you discuss with your group the points that you did
not agree
on?
A: No.
Q: It means you agreed with the draft.
A: Not like that. Some points I would have liked to change,
but our
group leader denied it and said
that is not good. If we put in some
changes the report will not be
finished and we would have to rewrite
it. It would keep us busy, the
group leader said. That is why nobody
cared or seriously discussed it.
Q: Did the report from the representative groups have to be
rewritten?
A: Yes. The 13 cease-fire groups' report had to be
rewritten. The
committee denied some points. The
convening committee let the cease-
fire groups ignore it and the
cease-fire groups had to ignore these
points. And the cease-fire groups
were not allowed to read it out in
the all-representative meeting.
Q: The government said the draft constitution in this NC
described the
power given the state better than
the constitution written in the
previous government, and that the
government was willing to share
power with ethnic state
governments. What do you think?
A: I recognized and cared about one point, the Union of
State
Constitution would influence the state constitution if the
state
constitution written by a
state supreme legislative body were
opposite to the
a state constitution meaningless
and gave no power to the State
Supreme Legislative Body. Another
point was the state prime minister
is appointed by the Union of State
president, and if the state cannot
prove their prime minister clearly
does not have enough ability to run
the state, they have no power to
change the state prime minister
although the state prime minister
was not elected by state people. It
made clear it was centralized.
However, the government gave many
reasons.
Q: Is it right that people say government authorities in the
NC were
very clever in using words when
they presented it to the NC?
A: Although they used very great words in presenting it,
they made
selfish decisions and it was only
for propaganda. There were no
presentations of what the people
wanted and it barred their right to
present them. That’s why this NC
has no credibility.
Q: Why did you attend the NC?
A: They invited me.
Q: Although they invited you why didn't you refuse to
attend?
A: Because… one of the Military Intelligence (MI) came to my
home, but
he did not meet me and left a form
to fill out about my biography with
my family. The people in my home
worried about me, why MI asked me to
fill out the form. When I arrived
home, I filled it out because I had
enough experience (to know) that I
had to do what they wanted. On the
next day MI took it. A week later,
a Township Peace and Development
Council member came to my home and told me to go to the
Military
Division Command office tomorrow. I
went to the office. Ten people
were there, most of them Union
Solidarity and Development Association
(USDA) members. The military did
not talk to all of us together. They
talked one by one. When they called
my name, I entered the room. The
Military Division Command commander and two colonels sat
inside. When
I sat down, they started telling me
that our country was not suitable
to be a federation; if changed to
federal, the country would become
uncontrollable. He said it himself.
I made no reply. And they asked me
about my health, my personality and
was I able to work for two months.
They asked if I could go on a tour to meet people to get support? I
shortly replied and they said it
was OK. I left the room and returned
to my home. About 10 days later, an
invitation letter reached me to
attend the NC. All of the people I
met in the commander's office were
invited. I asked a person invited
who I know, "What did you imagine to
present in the NC?" He replied
that he would go to present nothing. He
would just do as a chameleon who
nods his head to mean yes. Do not say
anything, although you want to you
can’t, he replied to me. That’s how
I became a representative and attended the NC.
Q: How do you hope this NC can solve the
more than 50 years ago?
A: I can hope nothing.
Q: Will you attend the NC again?
A: If they invite me, I will. If they do not, I will not.
End……………………………
.................................................................
Burma News International is a network of nine exiled media
groups
such as Mizzima
News, Shan Herald Agency for News, Kao Wao News Group,
Khonumthung News Group, Narinjara News, Kaladan Press
Network,
Independent Mon News Agency, Karenni Information
Network Group and Network Media Group.
.........................
Contact: Duty Editor
+66 9 54 94
296