Myanmar to stay on reform path, says adviser, but changes will be gradual
Myanmar to stay on reform path, says adviser, but changes will be gradual
today, 17 Apr 2014
URL: http://www.todayonline.com/world/asia/myanmar-stay-reform-path-says-adviser-changes-will-be-gradual
Myanmar’s political reforms will continue and more changes can be expected after the election next year, but the push towards democracy will be gradual, said a top adviser to the government.
“Hopefully, we will have all political parties being involved and hopefully it will be a free election,” said Dr Thant Myint-U of next year’s poll, which is seen as a crucial test of the country’s progress since emerging from decades of military rule three years ago.
“I’m sure there will be some problems, but in general, I think we will wind up with a parliament that is more or less representative of the country,” added the historian and member of President Thein Sein’s National Economic and Social Advisory Council.
Dr Thant spoke to TODAY this week at the sidelines of a leadership forum organised by Wong Partnership.
Since taking power in March 2011 after nearly half a century of military rule, Mr Thein Sein’s quasi-civilian government has launched a series of political and economic reforms — including releasing almost all of the country’s political prisoners, implementing a market-oriented exchange rate and renewing dialogue with ethnic rebel groups that have fought for decades for autonomy.
In return, most sanctions by the West have been lifted, sparking an investment boom in the country.
One major change to the country’s political landscape has been the return of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy (NLD) party won a landslide victory in the 2012 by-elections, giving her a seat in Parliament.
Last week, Suu Kyi urged again for a change to the constitution and said the country was not yet a democracy despite the recent reforms.
Dr Thant — an author and the grandson of the first Asian Secretary-General to the United Nations, U Thant — said that any amendment to the constitution on the military’s role was unlikely to happen before the poll.
A more likely development is a nationwide ceasefire agreement between the government and the country’s ethnic rebels as part of national reconciliation.
Dr Thant, who is involved in the negotiations with all 17 major armed groups, said that there is a more than 50 per cent chance of a deal being struck.
If this happens before next year’s election, it would be a watershed moment for the country, he added.
“That would be a historic agreement because it goes way beyond a normal ceasefire ... and sets the stage for the political dialogue to come.”
“Hopefully, we will have all political parties being involved and hopefully it will be a free election,” said Dr Thant Myint-U of next year’s poll, which is seen as a crucial test of the country’s progress since emerging from decades of military rule three years ago.
“I’m sure there will be some problems, but in general, I think we will wind up with a parliament that is more or less representative of the country,” added the historian and member of President Thein Sein’s National Economic and Social Advisory Council.
Dr Thant spoke to TODAY this week at the sidelines of a leadership forum organised by Wong Partnership.
Since taking power in March 2011 after nearly half a century of military rule, Mr Thein Sein’s quasi-civilian government has launched a series of political and economic reforms — including releasing almost all of the country’s political prisoners, implementing a market-oriented exchange rate and renewing dialogue with ethnic rebel groups that have fought for decades for autonomy.
In return, most sanctions by the West have been lifted, sparking an investment boom in the country.
One major change to the country’s political landscape has been the return of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy (NLD) party won a landslide victory in the 2012 by-elections, giving her a seat in Parliament.
Last week, Suu Kyi urged again for a change to the constitution and said the country was not yet a democracy despite the recent reforms.
Dr Thant — an author and the grandson of the first Asian Secretary-General to the United Nations, U Thant — said that any amendment to the constitution on the military’s role was unlikely to happen before the poll.
A more likely development is a nationwide ceasefire agreement between the government and the country’s ethnic rebels as part of national reconciliation.
Dr Thant, who is involved in the negotiations with all 17 major armed groups, said that there is a more than 50 per cent chance of a deal being struck.
If this happens before next year’s election, it would be a watershed moment for the country, he added.
“That would be a historic agreement because it goes way beyond a normal ceasefire ... and sets the stage for the political dialogue to come.”