I will tell the real truth (16) ...
Published on Wednesday, 18 September 2013 18:18
Written by Than Htut Aung
(1)
The majority of the people of Myanmar, including myself, last year have looked upon the new government and the President with constructive optimism. They provided a ray of hope on much needed economic and social reforms as well as politics. Any lingering conflicts appeared to be subsiding even though another emerged in the Rakhine State.
But now there is much concern. Mistrust, suspicion, and cynism have surfaced. The future looks grim. Changes for the country are becoming a distant dream, or any promises are just illusion of self-deception. Many people have shied away from thinking of reform. In 2010, there might have been a certain political change but it wasn't so in 1990. So it appeared not to be in 2015.
Back in 1990, a creation of civilian government was not possible as long as U Ne Win kept his grip on power, so the people thought. Can't the country change now he had gone? Is dictatorship an infectious disease? If its source can't be found, there is no medicine nor effective cure!
(2)
There might have been opportunities which attracted both political and economic potentials in the past two years but the majority of the Myanmar people are still trapped in poverty. Due to the loss of harvest and rising consumer prices, the farmers in rural area are finding life particularly hard. Unemployed in the countryside, many of them moved into the cities to find work. But they can't even find places to live in the cities. Some are looking to go abroad but work situation in either Malaysia or Thailand – paradises for rural people - is tough. Food prices are rising out of reach and there is no place to escape to!
House rental prices in Yangon and Mandalay have more or less doubled or tripled in the past two years. The land issue – including land plot allocation by the Investment Commission and privileges won by crony companies – has tipped to crisis point. It is not just foreign investors who are put off but ordinary Myanmar too. The middle class has suffered a setback. The rich become richer and the poor become poorer.
Nice speeches from the President are no longer ringing positive bell to the ears of the poorer people as they witness more hardship. They only see unequal economic and social activities leading to increased unfairness.
Besides the lack of proper economic management, no efforts were made to solve bribery and corruption among the government's top officials.
Internationally the country is highlighted by the ongoing riots that emerged one after another. Buddhist people who usually live with peace of mind are stirred by the allegation of sectarian violence. Nationalism has been described as part of the wave of anti-Muslim as instigated by the dictatorship group. It has never been the practice of Myanmar people to set fire to homes of people of other religions.
Above are more than just self-cynicism. They are not only the side-effects in resistance to democracy but also the U-turn of "national reconciliation".
(3)
Most of the people think reconciliation has to do with Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) party. This is partially right. In reality, the national reconciliation tumbled since 1962 military coup - between the people, ethnic minorities, and the army.
Aung San Suu Kyi and her NLD party appeared in "1988 Uprising" and on behalf of the people. It won a landslide victory in the 1990 general election. It won people's approvals again in the 2012 by-elections.
So when will national reconciliation come about? The answer is it will be secured the day when the army will assume its primary duty of defence; on the day when the army stays away from political and administrative affairs; on the day the army truly hands over the state's power to the people, who are the real owners.
(4)
After the coup in 1962, the military did not draw up the new Constitution until 1974 for the so-called purpose of transferring power to the people after the one-party system rule. General Ne Win, the leader of the military, took off his military uniform and became President. The country's administration came to be dominated by the military personnel. It came to an end with the 1988 Uprising. Then, General Saw Maung and the military leaders, who staged a coup with the consent of U Ne Win, promised to hold a free and fair election and to give power to the winning party. Aung San Suu Kyi and her NLD party won the election, but the military backtracked, and it openly told a lie the election was intended only for drawing up the Constitution. In fact, only a few numbers of elected representatives were involved in drawing up the Constitution which was outlined by then Senior General Than Shwe and approved in 2008.
Actually, both 2008 Constitution and 2010 election were just preparatory steps for the military to transform the shape of the dictatorship. It was not meant to transfer power to the people. They were just trying to lay some foundations of democracy by shifting their firmly-gripped power to the hands of Parliament, the government and the military.
The opposition forces and the ethnics were given a chance to participate in limited capacities legislatively and administratively.
Aung San Suu Kyi's NLD competed in the 2012 by-elections without claiming the winning result of 1990 election. The public wants to see NLD's participation in Parliamentary not for just for Aung San Suu Kyi to win a seat as an MP or a leader. But it was also for the amendment to the laws including 2008 Constitution through her engagement on former military leaders and new leaders in the Parliament. Moreover, the public expects Aung San Suu Kyi and her NLD to be the opposition party that can work with or criticize the government's policies. For national reconciliation, the army remains an integral part of the solution, and Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD will have directly deal with the military leaders.
(5)
If the army is sincere in the transformation to the democracy, and really care about the country - their three main forces — the government led by the President, Parliament led by Union Assembly Speaker Thura Shwe Mann, and the army force led by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing—must pave way to create basic institutions necessary to creating a truly democracy system.
The 2008 Constitution must be discussed for further amendment in the implementation of a democratic system. They [three forces] must agree to have a free and fair election in 2015. The people have become pessimistic with the ongoing difficulties, obstacles and lack of will. There are negativities as seen in all politic, economic and social spheres. The future is becoming an infinite endlessness.
To win trust from the people, the negative aspects must be tackled and the national reconciliation put back on the right track.
To be continued
http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/i-will-tell-the-real-truth-16/
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