The daughters of two former prime ministers are aiming to join a new political party that is being set up to take part in next year’s elections, organizers said on Tuesday.
The planned Democratic Party will be established by a veteran politician once the ruling junta passes a party political registration law for the polls scheduled for some time next year.
Than Than Nu, 62, a daughter of the nation’s first prime minister, U Nu, said she would be the general secretary of the party.
She returned from India in 2003 after leaving the country with her parents in 1969. Her father led the then-Burma after it won independence from Britain in 1948, serving three separate terms. His final spell in government came when he was overthrown in 1962, starting a period of military rule that continues to this day. He died in 1995.
“We decided to take part in the coming elections as it is a chance for us and we expect to serve the country,” Than Than Nu said.
Nay Yee Ba Swe, a daughter of the second prime minister Ba Swe, and Cho Cho Kyaw Nyein, a daughter of a late former deputy prime minister, would also join the party, organizers said.
Ba Swe served from 1956 to 1957 in between U Nu’s first and second terms.
“We have no right to say anything officially about the party as we have no party registration law and election law yet,” said veteran politician Thu Wai, 77, who will be the chairman of the party.
“But we took this risk as we wanted to serve the people. We will not have much time after they announce the laws,” he said.
Myanmar’s junta announced that it would hold elections next year after approving a controversial constitution in May last year.Critics say the polls are a sham designed to legitimize the junta’s iron grip on power.
The National League for Democracy of pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi has not said whether it will participate in next year’s polls. It won the 1990 elections, but was not allowed to take office.
ANGER: Unrest worsened after a taxi driver was killed by a police vehicle on Thursday, as protesters set alight government buildings across the nation Protests worsened overnight across major cities of Indonesia, far beyond the capital, Jakarta, as demonstrators defied Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s call for calm. The most serious unrest was seen in the eastern city of Makassar, while protests also unfolded in Bandung, Surabaya, Solo and Yogyakarta. By yesterday morning, crowds had dispersed in Jakarta. Troops patrolled the streets with tactical vehicles and helped civilians clear trash, although smoke was still rising in various protest sites. Three people died and five were injured in Makassar when protesters set fire to the regional parliament building during a plenary session on Friday evening, according to
Australia has announced an agreement with the tiny Pacific nation Nauru enabling it to send hundreds of immigrants to the barren island. The deal affects more than 220 immigrants in Australia, including some convicted of serious crimes. Australian Minister of Home Affairs Tony Burke signed the memorandum of understanding on a visit to Nauru, the government said in a statement on Friday. “It contains undertakings for the proper treatment and long-term residence of people who have no legal right to stay in Australia, to be received in Nauru,” it said. “Australia will provide funding to underpin this arrangement and support Nauru’s long-term economic
‘NEO-NAZIS’: A minister described the rally as ‘spreading hate’ and ‘dividing our communities,’ adding that it had been organized and promoted by far-right groups Thousands of Australians joined anti-immigration rallies across the country yesterday that the center-left government condemned, saying they sought to spread hate and were linked to neo-Nazis. “March for Australia” rallies against immigration were held in Sydney, and other state capitals and regional centers, according to the group’s Web site. “Mass migration has torn at the bonds that held our communities together,” the Web site said. The group posted on X on Saturday that the rallies aimed to do “what the mainstream politicians never have the courage to do: demand an end to mass immigration.” The group also said it was concerned about culture,
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has fired his national police chief, who gained attention for leading the separate arrests of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte on orders of the International Criminal Court and televangelist Apollo Carreon Quiboloy, who is on the FBI’s most-wanted list for alleged child sex trafficking. Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin did not cite a reason for the removal of General Nicolas Torre as head of the 232,000-member national police force, a position he was appointed to by Marcos in May and which he would have held until 2027. He was replaced by another senior police general, Jose