Democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi yesterday held direct talks with Myanmar’s top general for the first time as her party prepares to form the government in a country where the military retains considerable clout after decades of rule.
Earlier in the day, the Nobel laureate also held talks with reformist Burmese President Thein Sein to discuss the transfer of power to her National League for Democracy (NLD), which swept a Nov. 8 election. However, the support of the military will be crucial for the NLD to govern smoothly.
Aung San Suu Kyi and armed forces supremo Min Aung Hlaing talked for more than an hour at the military chief’s office in the capital, Naypyitaw. No aides were present.
Photo: EPA
Sitting in his car before driving away, the general smiled and said: “We had very nice talks.”
It was a meeting rich with symbolism — for more than two decades, the military persecuted Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD after ignoring a 1990 election victory won by the party. The two sides must now work together — the NLD is to form the government, but the military runs the interior, defense and border affairs ministries under a constitution drafted before the end of its half-century rule in 2010.
Aung San Suu Kyi has not commented on either of the pivotal meetings during the day.
Thein Sein’s spokesman and information minister, Ye Htut, said the 45-minute talk with the president was centered on the transition.
“We have opened a communication channel,” Ye Htut told a news conference.
“They mainly focused on the smooth and peaceful transfer of the state responsibilities to the future government,” he said, describing the change to a new president as “completely unprecedented.”
Public jitters about possible turbulence in the months ahead have been eased by endorsements of the election win by Thein Sein and Min Aung Hlaing. The new administration is likely to take over in March.
The constitution is likely to be a bone of contention between the military and Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been unequivocal in wanting Myanmar to be a full-fledged democracy.
Aung San Suu Kyi has faced resistance from the military in attempts to change parts of the constitution, including a clause that bars her from becoming president because her children are foreign citizens.
It is uncertain whether the NLD would risk putting itself on a collision course with the military by launching another push to reduce its political power. It has enough legislative seats reserved under the constitution to veto changes to the constitution.
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