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Quota for Military in Myanmar Parli
Subject: Quota for Military in Myanmar Parliament
QUOTA FOR MILITARY IN MYANMAR PARLIAMENT
THE HINDU, Saturday, March 30, 1996.
>From V. Jayanth
SINGAPORE, March 29.
The decision of the National Convention of Myanmar to provide a quota for
the
armed forces in future parliaments is much on excepted lines.
After dragging its feet for a few months, following the pull out of the
opposition National League for Democracy, the National Convention has
obviously resumed its task of dragging a new constitution.
The chairman of the commission that convenes the body, Mr. Aung Toe,
explained in Yangon that a fourth of the seats in the proposed bicameral
legislature would be reserved for the military.
The convention has suggested that 110 of the 440 seats in the elected
House of
Representatives would go to the armed forces, while the remaining 330
would
be elected. Similarly, in the Upper House, to be named the House of
Nationalities, 56 out of the 224 seats would go to military appointees.
The House of Nationalities would not only be an Upper House, but also
the
chamber to provide representation for the numerous minorities, tribes and
ethnic groups.
It is considered significant that even the smaller political groups and
parties
that still continue in the National Convention have opposed the
reservation of
the seats for the military. About 30 delegates who present groups such as
Shan
National League for Democracy, Shan State Kokang Democratic Party, the Wa
National Development Party and the Lahu National Development Party __
from
the tribal provinces __ opposed the move and called for direct election
of all
members to Parliament.
The moot question is whether the currently 600 plus member convention
will
take cognisance of the Opposition just 30 members. And if their protest
is also
brushed aside, what will these five parties do? Will they accept it or
also pull
out from the body, making it a totally military apparatus?
Source in the National League for Democracy of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, when
contacted in Yangon said, This was only expected. The juntas view are
well
known and they have made it their objective to constitutionally provide a
role
for the armed forces in political administration of the State. We are not
surprised, nor are we concerned about these moves. It has no relevance to
the
people and we do not recognise the convention.
Western diplomats in Yangon described the move as another step towards
enacting a constitution and paving the way for elections at a time
convenient
for the junta.
They said the concept of providing a role to the military was not new to
the
region. We have the Indonesian forces, the Abri, presented in Parliament.
Under pressure, Mr. Suharto has only agreed to prune their strength from
100
to 75. Similarly, the Senate in Thailand was packed with officers from
the
armed forces. Only now, the Prime Minister has slashed their
representation
from around 70 to just about 40, they noted.
The diplomats said it was not clear when the National Convention would
complete its task and hand in the draft constitution to the State Law and
Order
Restoration Council (SLORC). It was entirely the convenience of the junta
to
push the pace or delay the constitution. The SLORC had committed itself
to
holding a democratic election on the basic of a new constitution. And
this
decision to earmark a 25 per cent quota for the military would be a step
in that
direction.
The convention was up set in 1992 and began its sittings from January
1993. It
has met intermittently to draft the new constitution. The main opposition
National League for Democracy quit the convention late last year
withdrawing
it nearly 90 members from the body.
On its part, the convention expelled them for not attending two
consecutive
days sitting without leave and decided to go ahead with its work.
Political circles said it remained to be seen if the junta would decide
to speed up
the constitution-making process and call for an election to secure a
democratic
grab and retain its hold. How the Opposition will react to such a process
and
whether a Bangladesh type of protest would follow were still points of
speculation in Yangon __ too early as well to talk of polls.
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