16 Dec
NLD leader repeats
call constitutional reform
Written by Min Min Published in Politics
Candidates possessed of “moral rectitude” should not
participate in the 2015 general election unless there has been major reform of
the constitution, opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said at a public rally
at Tharyawaddy in Bago Region on December 15.
“Any candidate who values his dignity should not take part
in the election without major reform of the 2008 Constitution,” the National
League for Democracy leader told the rally, which was organized by the party to
publicize its support for amending the charter.
“One should not take part in a competition which was
pre-arranged to give one side an unfair advantage,” she told a crowd estimated
by the NLD to number about 35,000.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said that if the constitution was not
amended before 2015, the election would not be fair and just.
“Our country is not yet on the road to democracy, it is only
at the entrance,” she said.
“We need the support of the Tatmadaw to move from the
entrance to the road to democracy,” Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said, referring to the
25 percent of the seats in parliament held by members of the military appointed
by the Commander-in-Chief.
The constitution stipulates that a vote of more than 75
percent of the members of parliament is needed to approve an amendment as well
as a more than 50 percent support in a referendum.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi urged members of the crowd to send
proposals in support of amendments to the parliamentary committee appointed by
the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw to consider changes to the constitution.
“There’s no need to write a long letter; just ask for the
speedy reform of the constitution,” she said. “That will be enough.”
The 109-member committee was appointed in July and has
called for public submissions on proposals to amend the constitution by the end
of the month. The committee will submit a report on the proposals to the
Pyidaungsu Hluttaw at the end of January.
The rally was the third to be addressed by Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi on the constitutional reform issue.
The first was held in Nay Pyi Taw on November 18 and the
second on December 14 was held at a village in Kawhmu Township, the Yangon
Region constituency she represents.
Suu Kyi Warns Against
Taking Part in 2015 Vote Without Charter Reform
By LAWI WENG / THE IRRAWADDY On Monday, December 16, 2013 @
6:06 pm
RANGOON — Burma’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has
spoken against participation in the country’s eagerly anticipated 2015
elections unless the military-drafted Constitution is first amended.
In front of thousands
of people at a National League for Democracy (NLD) party rally in Tharyarwaddy
Township, Pegu Division, on Sunday, Suu Kyi, the party’s chairperson, appeared
to adopt a harder line on Constitutional reform and for the first time raised
the possibility of a boycott of the vote.
Detail at: http://www.irrawaddy.org/
Amending the
constitution is key for national reconciliation - Suu Kyi
Published on Monday, 16 December 2013 19:25
The opposition National League for
Democracy (NLD) has continued its countryside campaign to rally public opinion
behind amending the 2008 Constitution.
It recently held a series of public gatherings in Tharyawady, in Bago Region on December 15 where it discussed the pros and cons of amending the military-drafted charter.
"If the charter is not amended, it will ensure a great barrier to national reconciliation between Tatmadaw [the national armed forces] and the people," opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi told the mass meeting.
No comments:
Post a Comment