Myanmar’s authorities have censored one of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s key election campaign speeches by removing her criticism of the former junta, the opposition leader said in a media interview.
Aung San Suu Kyi, who is standing in April 1 by-elections, told Radio Free Asia (RFA) that officials removed a paragraph from the text of her speech to be aired on state media as part of her National League for Democracy’s (NLD) party broadcast.
“I had to submit my speech ahead of time and one paragraph was censored,” Suu Kyi said.
“The part about how there wasn’t rule of law and the military government had repeatedly used the law to repress the people, that is censored,” she was quoted as saying by RFA on Friday.
National League for Democracy spokesman Nyan Win yesterday said Aung San Suu Kyi’s party platform broadcast to be taped today has been approved, but that a paragraph was excised under regulations that include a ban on statements harming the military’s image. The statement will be broadcast on Wednesday and March 22, ahead of April 1 by-elections.
Myanmar was controlled by the military for almost five decades until an army-backed government took power early last year, which has since taken surprising strides towards reform.
Aung San Suu Kyi, who spent much of the past 22 years under house arrest, has been welcomed back into the political mainstream and her NLD is contesting all 48 seats available in the upcoming by-elections.
While it is not enough to threaten the ruling party, which is dominated by former generals, the vote is being closely watched as a test of the authenticity of the quasi-civilian government’s desire to reform.
Aung San Suu Kyi expressed concern on Thursday that dead people were appearing on voter rolls, telling Canada’s foreign minister that she had asked the election commission to address the issue.
Aung San Suu Kyi was under house arrest during the last general election in 2010, which was boycotted by the NLD and marred by widespread complaints of cheating.
Observers believe the regime wants Aung San Suu Kyi to win a seat in the by-elections to give its reformist program legitimacy and spur the West into easing sanctions against the country.
Meanwhile, a new law in Myanmar giving workers the right to form unions and stage strikes has come into effect.
An announcement on Saturday in the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper said the law took effect on Friday and the Labor Department’s director general will oversee its implementation.
Myanmar President Thein Sein signed the law in October last year as part of reforms following decades of military repression.
The law allows workers to form unions with a minimum of 30 members and stage a strike if they give 14 days’ notice and provide details such as how long it will last, how many workers will take part and how it will be conducted.
An employer who dismisses workers for going on strike or belonging to a union will face up to a year in jail and a fine of 100,000 kyat (US$125), while workers who stage strikes against the law face up to a year in jail and a fine of 30,000 kyat.
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