The Associated Press
Tuesday, April 28, 2009 6:15 AM
YANGON, Myanmar -- Members of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party said Tuesday they will wait to see whether laws governing next year's elections conform with democratic standards before deciding if they will contest the polls.
Aung Shwe, chairman of the National League for Democracy, said the party has already called for Myanmar's restrictive constitution to be reviewed. He said it has many flaws and its main objective is perpetuating military rule.
The party believes the referendum that approved the constitution had serious shortcomings, he said.
Aung Shwe said the party will wait until the election and party registration laws come out before it decides whether to participate in the 2010 election.
"We have to wait and see whether they will be based on democratic principles," Aung Shwe said at the opening of the party meeting attended by reporters, politicians, diplomats and more than 150 party members from around the country.
Delegates at the National League for Democracy meeting _ to discuss prevailing political conditions, party organizational affairs, the constitution and the election _ included 93 elected candidates in the last general election in 1990, whose results were annulled by the ruling military.
Another senior party member, prominent journalist Win Tin, said it was not clear what restrictions the party might be operating under until the party registration law is issued. He urged all members to stand united, be fearless and determined, and uphold the party's principles.
Scores of plainclothes police monitored the meeting from across the street.
Myanmar's military, which has held power since 1962, tolerates little dissent. The current junta came to power in 1988 after crushing a nationwide pro-democracy uprising and has stepped up its campaign against opposition politicians and activists ahead of next year's polls.
Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/28/AR2009042800647.html
Tuesday, April 28, 2009 6:15 AM
YANGON, Myanmar -- Members of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party said Tuesday they will wait to see whether laws governing next year's elections conform with democratic standards before deciding if they will contest the polls.
Aung Shwe, chairman of the National League for Democracy, said the party has already called for Myanmar's restrictive constitution to be reviewed. He said it has many flaws and its main objective is perpetuating military rule.
The party believes the referendum that approved the constitution had serious shortcomings, he said.
Aung Shwe said the party will wait until the election and party registration laws come out before it decides whether to participate in the 2010 election.
"We have to wait and see whether they will be based on democratic principles," Aung Shwe said at the opening of the party meeting attended by reporters, politicians, diplomats and more than 150 party members from around the country.
Delegates at the National League for Democracy meeting _ to discuss prevailing political conditions, party organizational affairs, the constitution and the election _ included 93 elected candidates in the last general election in 1990, whose results were annulled by the ruling military.
Another senior party member, prominent journalist Win Tin, said it was not clear what restrictions the party might be operating under until the party registration law is issued. He urged all members to stand united, be fearless and determined, and uphold the party's principles.
Scores of plainclothes police monitored the meeting from across the street.
Myanmar's military, which has held power since 1962, tolerates little dissent. The current junta came to power in 1988 after crushing a nationwide pro-democracy uprising and has stepped up its campaign against opposition politicians and activists ahead of next year's polls.
Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/28/AR2009042800647.html
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