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The PDP secretary attended the meeting in which we explained the dispute to the alliance members. After accepting our explanation, the PDP secretary himself gave an interview to the media, saying that it was just a [his party’s] concern. But later, the party changed its mind and sent us a letter of resignation from the alliance. It is up to them, but we will continue to work for the unity of the democratic forces in the future.

Q: The current five-party alliance will contest the election in about 220 seats, or nearly one-third of the total 664 seats of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (a combination of the upper and lower assemblies). Do you see any effort to weaken the democratic alliance through the financial donation?

A: At this time, we see no indications of efforts to weaken our alliance.  But we want to avoid such cases in the future.

Q: Do you plan to expand the alliance membership from the current five parties?

A: We have ongoing discussions. Currently, as the election is so close, we are busy with election campaigns, but in the post-election period we will continue to work at forming a democratic alliance in parliament.

Interview with Aung Than:

Q: If a businessman who donates money to a political party also holds a position in an institution which is part of the junta, what are the legal questions regarding the junta and the political party?

A: When political parties were allowed [by the junta] to form, there was information widely circulated in the public that the junta not only formed its own party but also would support the formation of other parties. Since then, the people have been confused about which parties receive the junta's support and which parties exists independently.

In this situation, U Hla Maung Shwe, the chairman of Myanmar Fisheries Federation, talked to the Myanmar Post and said that he gave financial support to the NDF. Because U Hla Maung Shwe has connections with the junta, we have to consider whether he is an independent individual or not. We need to analysis his intention on why he didn't donate to the junta-backed USDP, and why he donated to the party that is challenging the USDP. In the context of Burma, he can't do that because he holds a position in a institution formed by the junta.

Q: Should the Myanmar Fisheries Federation be defined as a junta institution?

A: Yes, it is. The UMFCCI, in which he is an executive board member, is an institution of the junta. To hold a position in the institution, you need the junta's nomination. Therefore, if a person takes a position, it is understood that the junta appointed him. A person like Hla Maung Shwe can't give financial support to a rival party of the USDP without the consent of the junta. Now, because we haven't seen any action taken by the junta against him, we concluded that this financial support has some strings attached.

From the beginning, the NDF has publicly declared that they face financial shortages. But within a very short period of the 14-day candidate registration process, the party managed to register more than 150 candidates.

If we do the math for the candidate registration costs to the party, based on 500,000 kyat (US $500) for each candidate, that is a lot of money. Therefore, if the party needed to pay something back for such financial support, we can't see it as an independent party and our central executive committee decided to resign from the six-party alliance.

According to the law, when parties receive donations, the money must be from the legal earnings of the donors, and it must not be [associated with the government] or with foreign assistance. However, we also needed to take into account the political image associated with the donations. When we look at the position of the donor, we see him as a controversial person.

Q: What if Hla Maung Shwe were an ordinary businessman not associated with any of the junta's institutions?

A: If so, there would be no problem. But in the current situation, an ordinary businessman wouldn't dare to speak out publicly about his donation to a political party. In this case, U Hla Maung Shwe made it public on his own. Therefore, there must be a reason behind it. In Burma, no businessman dare to do it. We must not forget to consider this point.