After almost three decades of demanding democracy in Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi has officially placed herself above the president. Under her leadership, the National League for Democracy (NLD), swept national polls in Myanmar last November. Since the NLD's majority in both houses of parliament was confirmed, Suu Kyi began negotiating hard with the military to suspend the constitutional clause blocking her from the presidency.
Once she realised she had reached an impasse, Suu Kyi nominated her old friend Htin Kyaw to the presidency, prompting the media to try remember who he is. BBC correspondent Jonah Fisher pointed out that until the announcement, 'Htin Kyaw wasn't even the most famous Htin Kyaw in Myanmar.' (That place belonged to activist Htin Kyaw, repeatedly sentenced for peaceful protests in 2014.)
Initial reports identified the presidential pick as Suu Kyi's driver, forgetting his roles in the NLD and her charitable foundation. Next, the cabinet picks: Suu Kyi reserved four key ministries for herself and appointed old faithfuls to the rest. The news cycle found amusement when it was noticed that her chosen finance minister, Kyaw Win, claimed to hold a PhD from the nonexistent 'Brooklyn Park University'. Then the NLD introduced a bill creating the potentially supra-presidential post of 'state counselor', which quickly went to the new President for signature. Military officials unironically complained of 'democratic bullying'. Since then, Suu Kyi's energies focused on the release of 69 student political prisoners right after Burmese New Year this April.
Minus the previous quasi-military regime's simpler villainy, human rights groups are quieter than a year ago. Last summer, a regional crackdown on human trafficking rings after the discovery of mass graves in Malaysia resulted in traffickers abandoning thousands of Rohingya on boats in the Andaman Sea. Similar to the European 'migrant crisis', weeks went by as Southeast Asian governments held off rescue operations. Emphasising this visible evidence of thousands of Rohingya fleeing wretched conditions in Rakhine state, the UN and other agencies warned of more to come if ASEAN states did not take decisive action.
Despite dire predictions and Suu Kyi's widely criticised silence, the Rohingya situation has improved. This year, instead of thousands, there is only one report of a capsized boat carrying 60 people near Rakhine's capital Sittwe, with fatalities of 21. The UN reports that the number of internally displaced Rohingya in Rakhine dropped to 120,000 from the 145,000 that have lived in dismal camps since the 2012 sectarian riots. These 25,000 are not on boats, but are rebuilding homes and returning to their old communities. In his last days in office, outgoing President Thein Sein lifted Rakhine's night-time curfew, imposed since June 2012.
Of course, money is also moving: a rush of last minute deals before handover to the new government saw Myanmar's foreign investment touch US$9 billion for the 2015-16 fiscal year. That's '27 times the $329.6 million received in 2009-10, the year before the military ceded power', according to Reuters.
Civilian strife between ethnic armed groups and the army continues in the north; but the balance has shifted in Naypyidaw. Thein Sein's Union Solidarity and Development party forced out 17 members over the weekend of 22 April, including former parliamentary speaker Shwe Mann, considered friendly to Suu Kyi. Thein Sein's former peace negotiator Aung Min has renewed talks with previously excluded ethnic armed groups, under the aegis of his own peace foundation. Decidedly, for a nation undergoing transition for years now, change is moving at a faster pace.
Share This Article
