Yahoo – AFP, Athens Zaw Zaw, April 18, 2016
Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday vowed to press for greater autonomy for Myanmar's ethnic minorities, in an early move to soothe the rebellions roiling the country after her party's ascent to power.
Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi was blocked from the top job but has vowed to rule "above" the president (AFP Photo) |
Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday vowed to press for greater autonomy for Myanmar's ethnic minorities, in an early move to soothe the rebellions roiling the country after her party's ascent to power.
Myanmar has
been swept up in optimism for a more peaceful and prosperous future since the
National League for Democracy (NLD) took power on April 1, ending nearly a half
century of military domination.
But Suu Kyi
warned its prospects hinge on ending ethnic conflicts that have blistered the
country since its independence in 1948.
To do so,
the NLD government would seek "a real federal democratic union", the
democracy figurehead said in a televised address marking Myanmar's New Year.
"Peace
and a federal democratic union are closely intertwined and that's why we need
to change the constitution. The most important thing is national
reconciliation."
They were
Suu Kyi's first major comments as "state counsellor" -- a role she
took on following the handover to her civilian-led government.
The current
charter, penned by the military in 2008, centralises state power.
The former
junta in part justified its tight control of the country with fears that ethnic
divisions would fracture the nation.
Daughter
of a hero
But the
concept of federalism has gradually become central to peace discussions steered
by the quasi-civilian government that replaced outright military rule in 2011.
Negotiations,
which do not include all rebel groups, have yet to agree on exactly how powers
such as policing or revenue raising might be shifted to regional authorities
under a federal system.
But by
reiterating the federal pledge, Suu Kyi has sought to reassure ethnic leaders
that the NLD will not squeeze out minority groups.
Though Suu
Kyi belongs to the ethnic Bamar majority, her party picked up seats in many of
Myanmar's ethnic minority regions in last year's election.
She has
however come under fire from rights groups for not throwing her moral weight
behind the plight of the embattled Rohingya, a largely stateless Muslim
minority pushed into grim displacement camps by waves of communal violence in
2012.
Nobel
laureate Suu Kyi is beloved by many in Myanmar but blocked from becoming
president by the constitution as her two sons carry foreign citizenship.
The
70-year-old is the daughter of the country's independence hero, who famously
signed an agreement before his assassination that would have granted a level of
autonomy to several ethnic minority regions.
A Shan
ethnic woman from the Akha hill
tribe waits for the arrival of Aung San
Suu Kyi
during a 2015 rally in Kyaing
Tong (AFP Photo/Romeo Gacad)
|
Any fresh
moves to change the charter are likely to meet stiff resistance from the
military, which can veto amendments through its parliamentary bloc.
Suu Kyi has
taken a firm grip of the country's first civilian-led government in decades,
taking on a string of senior roles in the new administration, including the
powerful -- if vaguely defined -- advisory role.
She has
vowed to rule "above" the president, picking school friend and close
aide Htin Kyaw as her proxy.
Conflicts
continue to rage in several areas between ethnic minority armed groups and the
army, which operates beyond the reaches of civilian government, after a
ceasefire pact signed late last year failed to include all of the country's
fighters.
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