Philippine leader to help in Myanmar's democratic transition

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Philippine leader to help in Myanmar's democratic transition

In a meeting with Myanmar President Thein Sein, who was in Manila for a three day state visit, Aquino lauded Sein's leadership for spearheading democratic reforms in his country in the post martial law regime.


Similarly, the Philippines made a historic transition to democracy after many years of martial rule under the late President Ferdinand Marcos.


President Aquino's mother Cory Aquino, a former president of the country, has been instrumental in restoring democracy in the Philippines.


In particular the Philippines has offered its expertise in the establishment of a human rights commission in the country as well as technology transfer or training "in areas like agriculture, entrepreneurship, fisheries, eco-tourism and "gender issues," Aquino said.


Western countries have lauded Sein for wide-ranging reforms in his country and for keeping his promise to release political prisoners.


Some of the needed reforms include the liberalization of media ownership to enhance freedom of expression under the new leadership.


After the military takeover in 1962, authorities took control of privately-owned newspapers and replaced them with martial law-friendly publications which then served as mouthpieces of the regime.


For over five decades, the regime required every newspaper report and all articles for publication to be approved by government censors for hidden political contents that are critical of the military rule. Read more.

The Philippines and Myanmar are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).


The military-backed civilian government which took power after the March 2010 elections, has surprised many western countries with its reformist actions which include the relaxation on media ownership, labor reforms, release of political prisoners and liberalized rules on freedom of assembly.

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