Practice What You Preach

There have been some positive signs in the formation of the regional governments, especially in two or three ethnic states. Some ethnic political parties which won in the election have secured some ministerial positions in these [Arakan, Mon and Shan] state governments. This is a good image. So why can't the union government follow a similar example? According to the constitution, if someone is qualified to serve as a minister in the interests of the country, he or she can be appointed in the cabinet whether or not he or she is a member of parliament. To be frank, a kind of power-sharing should be introduced on a basis of cooperation, and all parties should consider this option.

Q: For the pro-democracy groups, the 1990 election results, which they held for so long as the ticket of political legitimacy, have all but been forgotten.  Unable to accept the 2008 constitution, they decided to continue their political activities outside the parliamentary framework. Do you think this is an effective strategy? Do you think democratic groups should consider playing politics inside the official framework in the next election?

A: Politics doesn't mean that you can only act if you are in parliament. You must have room to participate in politics outside the parliament. In a democracy, there will be politics inside the parliament, politics outside the parliament, and the role of the independent politicians not associated to any party must be respected.

To shape public opinion, educated scholars, artists and writers must all have important roles in politics. However, in terms of power, those who hold it have the authority to carry out their policies.

If those in power place national interests above all else, and cooperate with the different parties, parliamentary politics will develop a relationship with the politicians outside the main arena.

In his speech, the president invited those groups which still don't believe in the constitution to come to parliament through participation in elections. His invitation is an acceptable attitude—instead of threatening that any dissent will not be tolerated. I have found that the political forces outside parliament responded to it positively as well.

Q: Since independence, Burma has had three constitutions. 2008 was the third. Previously, there were constitutions drawn up in 1947 and 1976, both of which lasted little more than a decade. Even before taking effect, the 2008 constitution was faced with strong demands for amendments. In such a situation, do you think this constitution can last long? To restore stability in Burmese politics, what do you think should be done?

A: The constitution needs to be amended. Previously, the NLD's stand was that they didn't accept the 2008 constitution at all, and wanted to hold another kind of the national convention to draw up another constitution. It could take a long time to do so. Later, the democratic groups changed their stance and demanded to amend only the parts of the constitution that are undemocratic and that the people can't generally accept. This demand sounded reasonable and fair from the side of the pro-democracy groups.

We demanded amendments to the constitution to the point that the public would accept. Responding to this demand, the president said in his first speech that if anyone wants to amend the constitution, then please come to the parliament and change it from within the parliamentary framework.

That leaves us with two choices: to change the constitution within the parliamentary framework; or to pressure the government outside the framework. In the next five years, we will see one out of the two options happen. If there are successful attempts to change the constitution within the parliament, the election in 2015 will be more inclusive, and politics at that time will be very exciting.

As we all know, there was a very limited timeframe to register political parties and candidates to contest the 2010 election. The majority were not ready to organize their party or conduct a campaign.

From now on, the political parties must prepare their party structure systematically, conducting organizational tours and finding qualified potential candidates for the 2015 election. All the parties inside and outside the country should work for a more free and fair election. If we succeed in these tasks, the 2015 election will be more inclusive and the result will provide for the betterment of the country.