Aung San and The Army

Aung San Suu Kyi

Aung San Suu Kyi has been a symbol of peaceful resistance to military oppression over the years. 65, he has spent the past 20 years in detention for his attempts to restore democracy to Burma. In 1991, a year after her party, NLD, won the elections with an overwhelming majority, and the junta overturned the outcome, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The then president of the committee Francis Sejested called it: “An extraordinary example of the power of the powerless.”

Aung San Suu Kyi was two years old when her father, Aung San, was assassinated in July 1947. In 1960 she followed her mother Daw Khin Kyi to India following her appointment as ambassador to Delhi. Aung San Suu Kyi studied philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford University, where she met her husband Michael Aris. After a short period of work in Bhutan and Japan, she chose to become a housewife to follow her two children. Despite this, Burma was always on her mind.

When she returned to Rangoon in 1988 to take care of his sick mother, Burma was then in a phase of great movement; thousands of students took to the streets demanding democratic reforms, along with employees and monks. In a speech on August 26, 1988, she declared: “As Aung San’s daughter I cannot remain indifferent to what is happening.” She thus became the leader of the democratic movement, with the intention of overthrowing the Ne Win government inspired by the campaign of civil disobedience and non-violence of Martin Luther King and Gandhi. Aung San Suu Kyi began traveling around the country organizing demonstrations and meetings. The demonstrations, however, were brutally repressed by the army that took power with the coup of 18 September 1988; the elections called for May 1990 that the NLD won, despite Aung San was already under house arrest since 1989 and disqualified from participating, were completely ignored by the military junta.

In July 1995 she was released but with the obligation of restricted movements. In 2000 she was placed under house arrest again in September, following the violation of movement restrictions when she attempted to travel to the city of Mandalay. In May 2002 she was once again released but without conditions; despite this, her freedom only lasts until May 2003, when she was arrested following clashes between NLD supporters and government forces. In 2007, the arrests were extended for another year.

During his long confinement Aung San studied, meditated, improved his French and Japanese; her husband died of cancer in March 1999, but was unable to see him because despite being admitted to travel to the UK, Aung San was afraid of not being readmitted.

In 2008, house arrest was extended again and in 2009, she was accused of breaking her isolation when an American swam to her home. Aung San was sentenced to 3 years in prison then commuted to 18 months of house arrest.
In 2010 her release without conditions and restrictions.

 

The 2010 elections, the opposition and political parties

The November 7, 2010, elections were the first consultations in 20 years, with 37 parties vying for more than 100 seats in the two houses of parliament, 14 local legislative assemblies in 7 states and 7 regions.

Parties had to have at least 1,000 members and be registered by June 6.

The National League for Democracy (NLD), which won the previous 1990 election, decided not to participate and to boycott the vote. Some members formed the National Democratic Force (NDF) arguing that the boycott favors the junta’s game.

The Union Solidarity and Development Party (USD), is the pro-government party, successor to the mass organization Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), which claims about half of the population as members.

The National Unity Party (NUP), which participated in the 1990 elections by winning 10 seats as a pro-government party, participated in the vote. The party represents elements linked to the nomenclature in power from 1962 to 1988.

The new Democratic Party, founded by Mya Than Than Nu, daughter of the previous Prime Minister U Nu, and Nay Ye Ba Swe, daughter of the previous Prime Minister Ba Swe, did not achieve the expected results.

Another new party consists of members of an ethnic group under ceasefire and a party that won seats in 1990, five members of the New Mon State Party (NMSP), five of the Mon National Democratic Front (MNDF) along with five other Mon elites, they founded a committee of 15 members.

The Shan Nationalities League for Democracy, a Shan political party that came second in 1990, participates as the Shan Nationalities Democratic Party.

General Than Shwe announced that the transition to parliamentarism will allow different parties with different views to appear, but warned that new parties will have to avoid any action that undermines the interests of the state. The seats available were 330 for civilians in the House of Representatives (out of 440) and 168 for civilians in the House of Nationalities (out of 224). The remaining seats were reserved for military officers and selected by the commander general. Than Shwe did not participate in the elections, as was Aung San Suu Kyi who was disqualified.

Results

The final results were announced by the Myanmar Union Election Commission on November 17, 2010.

Results for Amyotha Hluttaw

168 out of 224 seats in the Amyotha Hluttaw (House of Nationalities) were in dispute.

1. Union Solidarity and Development Party 76.79%, 129 seats

2. Rakhine Nationalities Development Party 4.17%, 7

3. National Unity Party 2.98%, 5

4. National Democratic Force 2.38% 4

5. Chin Progressive Party 2.38% 4

6. Shan Nationalities Democratic Party 1.78% 3

7. All Mon Region Democracy Party 1.78% 3

Results for the Pyithu Hluttaw

330 out of 440 seats in the Pyithu Hluttaw (House of Representatives) were in dispute:

1. Union Solidarity and Development Party 78.48% 259

2. Shan Nationalities Democratic Party 5.45% 18

3. National Unity Party 3.64% 12

4. National Democratic Force 3.64% 12

5. Rakhine Nationalities Development Party 2.72% 9

USDP comes out as a big winner, having candidates everywhere and big supporters, namely the military in power. Intimidation, fraud and violence obviously played in favor of this party which has gathered an overwhelming majority. Unanimous the condemnation by the international public opinion and the various governments that have defined the elections a farce and a clear violation of common democratic norms. For their part, pro-democracy groups argue that despite the expected outcome, the elections represent a starting point for change through the rules defined by the regime. Once known as the third force, these parties were of little importance until recently. Many of these groups have ethnic ramifications or represent characters linked to previous governments not linked to the SPDC.

Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD now find themselves in a difficult position: NLD no longer exists, it is no longer the only opposition party and the great risk is marginalization from the political process. If the calculations made by the opposition prove correct, NLD and Aung San would find themselves out of any negotiation for the democratic transition, rendering years of struggle and prison useless. On the other hand, if NLD and Aung San are gambling, and are betting on their experience of disbelieving the regime’s plans, any failure of this transition project and a return to military rule would see the third force and disappear and the NLD as the only opponent.