After 20 years, political scenario of Burma is still gloomy

Burma’s military regime sponsored the 1990 General Elections because there were continuous domestic and international demands in the name of democracy.

Although its leader Aung San Suu Kyi was in custody, the National League for Democracy won a landslide victory bagging 82 per cent of the parliamentary seats on 27 May, 1990. The election result upset the apple cart of the junta.

Later, the junta refused to honor it and Aung San Suu Kyi has been under detention for scores of years till now. Besides, thousands of students, NLD members and supporters have been thrown into prison as well. There are approximately 2200 political prisoners still in various prisons throughout the country. By refusing to honor the results of the 1990 election, the military regime made it clear publicly that they will not respect people’s votes at all. The stupidity of the Generals is that they have poor knowledge about the people’s ballots. The results of the people’s votes or election result will remain valid until Members of Parliament themselves agreed to end the assembly.

The nastiest move is that without honoring the 1990 election result, the head of the junta has been planning to launch another election in this year. It’s a kind of immoral act insulting the whole nation and its people by deleting the 1990 people’s ballots. The majority of the population who want genuine change cannot forget the immorality of the Generals. The junta’s short-sightedness toward the future of Burma visibly starts a civil strife in the poverty stricken country since the unjust election laws released..

Currently, Burma is at a crucial political crossroads. While the military regime wants to keep up its power via sham 2010 elections, the people, who long for genuine change, are demanding basic human rights such as freedoms of expression and association. But the junta seems as stubborn as a mule and is in no mood to allow civil liberty.

The military regime has intentionally barred pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from running in the upcoming elections and forced her party to expel her under a new election law unveiled on March 10. This is causing serious political mayhem in the military-ruled country.

The Political Parties Registration Law, published in official newspapers, prohibits anyone convicted by a court of law from joining a political party and thereby disqualifies them as candidates. It also instructs parties to oust members who are “not in conformity with the qualifications to be members of a party,” a clause that could force Suu Kyi’s exclusion. Parties that do not register automatically come to an end, the law says.

Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides that the will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government. It follows that in any nation, the will of the citizens should be reflected in the Constitution that forms the groundwork of government. The process of making the Constitution must be free, fair and all-inclusive, and reflect the will of the people.

According to vigilant lawyers, Burma’s Constitution-making process was controlled by the ruling military junta, totally blocking the peoples’ contribution. Under existing law in Burma, the people are prohibited from participating in the Constitution-making process; infringement of this law is punishable by five to 25 years’ imprisonment. This directly opposes the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Despite that, many people are rallying in support of the “Shwegondine Declaration” issued on April 29, 2009, by the National League for Democracy, which set two conditions for its participation in the 2010 election. One is that provisions in the 2008 Constitution which are not in harmony with democratic values be amended. Two is that an all-inclusive, free and fair poll be held under international supervision.

During his May 9-10 two-day visit to the military-ruled country, US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Mr. Kurt Campbell met several government ministers and opposition leaders, including detained democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi,. He said following his talks that the United States was 'profoundly disappointed' in the junta's measures for the forthcoming elections and wanted 'immediate steps' to address fears that they would lack legitimacy.

According to Burma’s chairman of the 2010 election commission, the country has no need for foreign observers to monitor its first elections in two decades, state media reported on May 10, despite international concerns that the polls will lack legitimacy.

'International watchdog groups do not need to come, ' the chairman of the country's election body Thein Soe told the visiting US envoy, according to the New Light of Myanmar newspaper.

In his Rangoon statement, Campbell said the US government outlined a proposal to the Burmese officials "for a credible dialogue" for all concerned parties to agree on how to conduct the upcoming poll, but he said the regime had instead moved forward unilaterally without consulting opposition and independent voices.

European Parliament expresses disapproval

Subsequently, in its resolution of 20 May 2010 on the situation in Burma, European Parliament expressed disapproval of the holding of elections under utterly undemocratic conditions and on the basis of rules which exclude the main democratic opposition party and deprive hundreds of thousands of Burmese citizens of their right to vote and stand for election, in a clear attempt to exclude the country's entire opposition from the ballot.

European Parliament also urges the junta to take without delay the steps needed to ensure a free, fair and transparent electoral process, including the participation of all voters, all political parties and all other relevant stakeholders in the electoral process. And it also urge the junta to allow the presence of international observers; calls for the electoral laws published in March 2010, which make the holding of free and transparent elections impossible, to be repealed. In addition, it calls on the authorities of Burma to heed the appeals of the international community to allow Aung San Suu Kyi and all other prisoners of conscience to participate in the political process.

After the 18th ASEAN-EU Ministerial Meeting in Madrid on May 26, the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations called on Burma's military rulers to make sure that this year's planned election is credible, transparent, democratic and inclusive.

In a joint statement, the EU and ASEAN ministers said they believed that the early release of those under detention, including the main opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, would contribute to making the election more inclusive and help bring about a peaceful political transition. The EU and ASEAN ministers also encouraged the Burmese regime to continue to engage in a meaningful manner with the international community.

But, in view of people of Burma, the said EU-ASEAN Joint statement is just a castle in the air. Both regional groups look as if supporting the junta’s sham constitution and namesake election in 2010. In fact, they must condemn and warn the junta in order to repeal its unjust and undemocratic constitution. The key question is that the junta’s constitution and election laws not only not allow the participation of main opposition parties but also ignore the ethnic people’s political aspirations.

Although they have discovered the elephant in front of them, EU and ASEAN have been suggesting the unfortunate people to be patient to find out the foot-print of the creature. The EU-ASEAN Joint statement may not deter the elections-at-the-gunpoint in Burma. The consequences may take the nation into a fresh all-out civil war.

Without recognizing the 1990 election result, the military junta has been planning to launch another questionable election in near future. It’s a brazen transgression toward the nation and its people.

After twenty years, the political scenario of Burma in 2010 looks severely gloomy.

- Asian Tribune -