By Eurasia Review
January 8, 2014
By Obja Borah Hazarika
On Dec 30, 2013 the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) of Myanmar announced that it would put forth amendments to the nation's 2008 Constitution, the most significant being a change to a provision that prevents opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from becoming president.
Altogether the USDP's Central Committee voted in support of 51 constitutional amendments. The USDP announced that they intended to push for a change in provision 59F of the current constitution.
Clause 59F prevents a national of Myanmar from becoming president, if her/his spouse or children hold foreign citizenship. Under this clause, the National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Suu Kyi is prevented from becoming president as Suu Kyi's husband Michael Aris, who died in 1999, and sons are British citizens.
On Dec 30, the USDP agreed to amend the 59F clause to allow the presidential candidate to take office if his or her children and spouse adopt citizenship of Myanmar.
This implies that if Suu Kyi's sons were to adopt citizenship of Myanmar, she could stand for president, and on winning could become president of Myanmar after the 2015 elections.
Other proposed amendments include changes that would allow local constituencies to vote and elect district and township administrators. Another proposed change would allow local legislatures to choose state and division chief ministers thereby removing the prevailing practice where they are directly appointed by the president.
According to reports, Suu Kyi's sons were registered as citizens of Myanmar in the 1970s but their citizenship was rescinded by the military after the coup of 1988. The proposed amendments by the USDP will allow Suu Kyi to run for the post of president in 2015.
However, other clauses of the 2008 constitution, like the fact that it reserves 25 percent of all parliament seats for the military, and constitutional change can only take place if more than 75 percent of the MPs support it — which gives the military or the USDP party a veto on constitutional change – remain as impediments to the realization of democracy in the country.
Aung San Suu Kyi has announced that her party would be contesting the upcoming elections in 2015.
The situation in Myanmar, albeit the democratic transition which is incrementally unfolding, continues to be faced with civil and communal strife in many areas. Suu Kyi faced criticism for the manner in which she responded to the incessant communal riots which have marred Myanmar's social landscape in the recent past.
Suu Kyi has also come under fire for her stand on continuing with the Letpadaung copper mine project in Monywa, Sagaing Region despite vociferous protests by locals. Suu Kyi treads the tricky path of having to balance working with the erstwhile military junta leaders who are now clad in civilian suits and continue to control most of the parliamentary process, and ensuring that she does not alienate the people of Myanmar in the process.
With rapid changes being implemented under Thein Sein, Myanmar has been appreciated by the Western world as a beacon of hope and an exemplar which the other pariah nations hopefully follow.
While the changes are incremental, nonetheless, the release of several political prisoners, lifting of some press censorship clauses, initiation of political freedoms are some commendable steps being taken by the Thein Sein government.
International acceptance of the new regime's efforts have come in the form of several high level visits, holding of several high level summits and the latest is the assuming of the chair by Myanmar of the extremely significant ASEAN grouping.
Despite the changes initiated by the Thein Sein government, the shift to complete political-civil freedom is still afar, and more so where economic, social, religious and cultural freedom is concerned.
With Suu Kyi seemingly reluctant to oppose the communal violence or heed local views in matters of displacement and development projects, question arises about the exigencies compelling Suu Kyi to behave in this manner which is unbecoming of a Nobel Peace Prize winner and uncharacteristic of the non-violent icon which the people of Myanmar were counting on to deliver them from the harsh realities of their lives which did not decidedly change even with the end of the military rule in 2010.
The fact that the erstwhile junta still dominates the parliamentary matters, holds the fate of Myanmar in their hands, probably limits Suu Kyi's freedom in making her stand known, which are hopefully bolder than the ones she is taking, on issues which plagues their country. For, the manner in which Suu Kyi has been approaching important matters of Myanmar seem to be echoing the replies of the erstwhile leaders, albeit in a softer tone.
Hopefully, once the last vestiges of the erstwhile junta are overthrown, Suu Kyi could heed the masses and deliver them from their problems and the recent announcement of allowing her to stand for president is a step in the right direction.
Several countries have restrictions regarding the eligibility of a person to stand for the highest political post/government office in the country. For instance, in the USA, a naturalized citizen cannot become the president; one has to be born in the USA to run for president. In some countries, political pressure prevents people from assuming the highest political office in the country even if such clauses do not exist, for instance, opposition to Italian-born Sonia Gandhi assuming the prime minister's chair in 2004, even though the Indian Constitution makes no such restriction.
Myanmar's decision to attempt to alter the Constitution to allow Suu Kyi to stand for president is positive in part as it will be one less hurdle for the NLD party in 2015. However, hopefully, it is not a manifestation of appreciation by the USDP of Suu Kyi's anodyne responses to the continuance of human rights violations, particularly against Muslims, in parts of the country.
(Obja Borah Hazarika is an Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Dibrugarh University, Assam, and can be contacted at [email protected])
This article appeared at the South Sea Monitor and is reprinted with permission.
http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/myanmars-military-relents-for-suu-kyi-analysis/
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