UN chief, Suu Kyi hold talks
MYANMAR: UN chief Ban Ki-moon met Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung
San Suu Kyi Tuesday for talks about the country's political future after
a surprise climbdown by the Nobel laureate in her boycott of parliament.
The talks at the opposition leader's lakeside mansion in Yangon, where
she was locked up by the former junta for much of the past two decades,
come a day after Ban became the first visiting foreigner to address
Myanmar's legislature.
It is the first meeting between Suu Kyi and Ban, who left frustrated
after a previous visit in 2009 when the generals who ruled the nation
for decades refused to allow him to see the veteran activist while in
detention. In a landmark speech to parliament on Monday following talks
with President Thein Sein, the UN chief paid tribute to Suu Kyi and her
National League for Democracy (NLD) party for participating in recent
by-elections.
“For many years you displayed resilience and fortitude that for
generations have distinguished the Myanmar people,” he said.
Ban also welcomed moves by the international community to reward
sweeping changes in the country since the end of direct army rule last
year, and called for the West to go further in easing or lifting
sanctions. His address was not witnessed by Suu Kyi and other
newly-elected members of her party, after they last week delayed their
debut in the legislature in a row over the swearing-in oath.
But in an uncharacteristic retreat, she announced on Monday that her
party would take its seats in parliament -- dominated by the military
and its political allies -- and pledge to “safeguard” the army-created
constitution.
“We have decided to comply at this juncture, because we do not want a
political problem or tension,” she said, ending the first rift with the
government since she won a parliamentary seat in historic April 1
by-elections.
Suu Kyi is now expected to take the oath on Wednesday, according to
NLD sources.
“The reason we accept it, firstly is the desire of the people,” she
said.
“Our voters voted for us because they want to see us in parliament.”
The democracy icon has said one of her priorities as a politician is to
push for an amendment of the 2008 constitution, under which one quarter
of the seats in parliament are reserved for unelected military
officials. Ban is the latest in a string of top foreign visitors to
Myanmar amid a thaw in the army-dominated nation's relations with the
West.
AFP
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