Myanmar's opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) urged the country's military rulers yesterday to release democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi and three other leaders before inviting it to join renewed talks on a new constitution.
The call followed remarks by Myanmar Foreign Minister Win Aung, who said the NLD would be invited to join a constitutional conference on May 17. The NLD won general elections in 1990 but the military junta refused to hand over power.
"We have not decided on what to do about the national convention, but we need all our leaders free first," NLD central executive committee member Soe Myint said.
"Only then we will discuss this matter among ourselves and then make a final decision," he said.
Suu Kyi and three other NLD executives, who are still under house arrest, were detained last May when opposition supporters clashed with government backers.
The three are NLD chairman Aung Shwe, deputy chairman Tin Oo and U Lwin, the party's secretary. Suu Kyi has spent nine of the past 13 years under house arrest.
The military government, under pressure to show it is sincere about its "road map to democracy" announced last August, set the date for the constitutional meeting last week, but it made no mention of Suu Kyi.
Last week, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the US and human rights groups called on the junta to allow Suu Kyi and her party to participate in drawing up a new constitution for the country, ruled by the military since 1962.
On Saturday, Win Aung told his Thai counterpart in Bangkok on a stopover from Seoul to Yangon, "The National Convention will have the NLD's participation and they will join in the constitution-drafting process," a Thai spokesman said.
The National Convention first met in 1993 but was suspended in 1996 after the NLD walked out, accusing the military of manipulating the process to stay in power.
Win Aung initially said after he arrived in Bangkok on Saturday that Suu Kyi would be freed from arrest before the meeting gets under way on May 17. But he later backtracked, saying his government was focused on preparing for the conference.
"That is the most important thing, and the problem of Aung San Suu Kyi will be taken care of, and we don't have any animosity or any vengeful acts against anyone," Win Aung said.
There has been speculation Suu Kyi may be freed in mid-April following a visit to Yangon last month by UN special envoy Razali Ismail, who said Myanmar Prime Minister Khin Nyunt was committed to taking his country to democracy and Suu Kyi was ready to work with him.
But the NLD was not convinced of the release.
"It is not the first time they said this," said Soe Myint. "We will believe it only when it really takes place."
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
ENTERTAINMENT: Rio officials have a history of organizing massive concerts on Copacabana Beach, with Madonna’s show drawing about 1.6 million fans last year Lady Gaga on Saturday night gave a free concert in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career. “Tonight, we’re making history... Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The Mother Monster, as she is known, started the show at about 10:10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary. Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show. Lady Gaga
ALLIES: Calling Putin his ‘old friend,’ Xi said Beijing stood alongside Russia ‘in the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying’ Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday was in Moscow for a state visit ahead of the Kremlin’s grand Victory Day celebrations, as Ukraine accused Russia’s army of launching air strikes just hours into a supposed truce. More than 20 foreign leaders were in Russia to attend a vast military parade today marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, taking place three years into Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and has marshaled the memory of Soviet victory against Nazi Germany to justify his campaign and rally society behind the offensive,
CONFLICTING REPORTS: Beijing said it was ‘not familiar with the matter’ when asked if Chinese jets were used in the conflict, after Pakistan’s foreign minister said they were The Pakistan Army yesterday said it shot down 25 Indian drones, a day after the worst violence between the nuclear-armed rivals in two decades. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed to retaliate after India launched deadly missile strikes on Wednesday morning, escalating days of gunfire along their border. At least 45 deaths were reported from both sides following Wednesday’s violence, including children. Pakistan’s military said in a statement yesterday that it had “so far shot down 25 Israeli-made Harop drones” at multiple location across the country. “Last night, India showed another act of aggression by sending drones to multiple locations,” Pakistan military spokesman Ahmed
RSS