HOUSE OF THE WEEK
Space abounds in this Tarmwe two-up
LOADS of space and enviable proximity to the downtown area are the upsides to this house in Tarmwe township....moreA dramatic year in Myanmar politics
Volume 26, No. 505
Top: Prime Minister General Thein Sein (centre) arrives in Thailand on October 22 for the 15th ASEAN Summit. Bottom: Daw Aung San Suu Kyi at Yangon’s Inya Lake Hotel after meeting with US Assistant Secretary of State Mr Kurt Campbell on November 4. THE past 12 months saw a renewed focus – both locally and internationally – on Myanmar politics, which was reinvigorated by a series of unlikely events.
However, we can expect even greater scrutiny as the nation prepares for a planned general election, which Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) Senior General Than Shwe confir-med in his Independence Day message would take place sometime this year.
“Plans are under way to hold elections in a systematic way this year. In that regard, the entire people have to make correct choices, then,” said the message, published in the state-run New Light of Myanmar on January 4.
Although an election law is yet to be released, many political groups have already announced their intentions to form parties and contest.
While the transition to democracy continues to follow the carefully orchestrated seven-step “Road Map to Democracy”, the first major political event of 2009 – the trial of National League for Democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi – took all observers by surprise.
In May, she was charged with breaching the terms of her house arrest after an American citizen swam uninvited to her lakeside home.
The three-month trial put politics back on the front page of local private journals and was reported extensively in the state media. It also put the country back in the international spotlight.
The trial concluded on August 11 at the Northern District Court when Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was sentenced to three years rigorous imprisonment. Her term was immediately reduced to 18 months detention by Senior General Than Shwe.
Seemingly less fortunate was 54-year-old John William Yettaw, who was sentenced to a total of seven years hard labour and imprisonment for violating Myanmar immigration laws, unauthorised swimming in Inya Lake and entering Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s compound.
Within days of the trial’s conclusion, United States Senator Jim Webb arrived in Yangon and secured Mr Yettaw’s release after rare meetings with Senior General Than Shwe and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
Senator Webb, a Democrat from Virginia who has in the past criticised the imposition of economic sanctions against Myanmar, was the first US member of Congress to visit here in more than a decade and the highest-ranking government official to meet the Senior General.
“I have long believed that if certain obstacles are removed there is a natural friendship between the United States and the people of this country and it is toward that end that I came to this country and I will be working towards that solution,” Senator Webb told reporters in Yangon on August 16.
Two days after his visit, three members of the US House of Representatives Foreign Relations Committee met with government officials and opposition representatives.
Taking place in the background was an ongoing review of US policy towards Myanmar that had been instigated not long after President Barack Obama took office.
On the sidelines of the 64th United Nations General Assembly in September, US Secretary of the State Hillary Clinton conveyed the results of the policy review – that the US would seek to engage with Myanmar – to the visiting Myanmar delegation.
As a goodwill gesture, members of the Myanmar delegation were given permission to travel to the Myanmar embassy in Washington to meet US officials.
Perhaps sensing that the General Assembly would present an opportunity to improve ties, Myanmar took the unusual step of sending Prime Minister General Thein Sein to New York – the most senior government official to attend the General Assembly since 1995.
Locally, the government soon announced an amnesty for 7114 prisoners held in jails across the country, to allow them to participate in the planned general election in 2010.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the government’s decision and urged further national reconciliation and democratic transition in a statement released on September 19.
As the end of the year drew nearer, political parties began announcing their intention to form when the election law is released.
In the state-run media, the government welcomed the formation of the Kachin State Progressive Party, which features several senior members of the ceasefire group Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO).
Party leader Dr Tuja told The Myanmar Times in a telephone interview next year’s election would be an “opportunity” to move towards democracy.
Similarly, Pa-O National Organisation (PNO) leader U Aung Khan Hti said in October the ceasefire group intended to take part in the election for the development of the region but its participation would only be confirmed after the election law is released.
Along with some of the ethnic ceasefire groups, veteran politicians and former communists have expressed their desire to form political parties.
The country’s most well-known party, the NLD, has so far not made any commitment to participate in the general election.
However, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has in recent months shown a willingness to cooperate with the government. Her letter to Senior General Than Shwe in September, in which she offered to assist in having sanctions removed, brought about an October 9 meeting with diplomats from the US, European Union (EU) and Australia to discuss their sanctions policies.
These discussions followed two earlier meetings between Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Minister for Relations U Aung Kyi – their first since early 2008.
Following the US decision to seek dialogue with Myanmar’s leaders, the EU in mid-October sent a fact-finding delegation that met with NLD members and officials from the state-backed Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA).
A spokesperson from the British embassy in Yangon said one major purpose of the EU visit was to quiz the NLD on whether the party planned to contest next year’s election, as well as other policy issues.
However, it is still unclear where the EU stands on its policy toward Myanmar. Following a 30-minute meeting with Senior General Than Shwe in early December, EU regional ambassador Mr David Lipman told reporters the bloc would follow a “three track” engagement process towards Myanmar that would include general humanitarian assistance, financial aid to non-government organisations and political dialogue.
“We had a good discussion about future relations between the European Union and Myanmar and we are looking forward,” Mr Lipman was quoted as saying by news website EUbusiness. “I think the government would like to engage with the European Union.”
However, the approach is yet to be endorsed by the EU Foreign Affairs Council, with Britain reportedly holding out against making any concessions.
The significance of a December 17 meeting between Foreign Minister U Nyan Win and Chairman of the European Commission and Foreign Affairs Minister of Sweden Mr Carl Bildt, on the sidelines of the Copenhagen climate change conference, is also unclear.
The EU’s approach has contrasted with that of the US, which has kept its message to Myanmar’s leadership clear and precise. When Assistant Secretary of State Mr Kurt Campbell made a landmark two-day visit to Myanmar in November, he told govern-ment officials the Obama administration was ready to improve relations if the Myanmar government responded with “reciprocal and concrete efforts”.
During his November 3-4 stay, Mr Campbell met Prime Minister General Thein Sein, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other major stakeholders.
In a November 11 letter to the SPDC, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi expressed appreciation for being allowed to meet Mr Campbell and reaffirmed her willingness to work with the government “in the interests of the country”.
After further discussions with U Aung Kyi on December 9, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was permitted to meet senior members of her party at a government guest house in Yangon on December 16. At the meeting, she proposed a reorganisation of the NLD’s Central Executive Committee (CEC).
At 64, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is the youngest of the NLD’s 11 executive committee members, many of whom are well into their 80s and 90s.
It was a dramatic end to a remarkable year in politics that saw the key local and international players resume dialogue ahead of the planned transition to democracy.
