Friday, 26 March 2010 14:33 Mungpi (Commentary)
(Mizzima) - With Burma’s military rulers having made their intention clear to conduct the 2010 elections without major opposition by setting several restrictions, it is high time for the opposition, particularly the National League for Democracy, to take a bold step, if the party’s objectives are to bring some form of democratic changes in the country.
The electoral law, announced by the junta in early March, effectively bans detained Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and the over 2,100 political prisoners languishing in jails across the country from the election.
With the law, the junta, which has been forcibly ruling the country for the past 20 years, has shown its ugliest face to the opposition and left the NLD without much options.
For the past 20 years, the NLD had been the most persistent political party to remain within the junta’s legal fold, and has maintained its existence though without much stink as it is left without claws.
As to the expectations of the diverse Burmese opposition groups, the international community led by the United Nations, United States, United Kingdom, and others have condemned the junta over its rigid electoral laws.
However, as had always been, the rhetoric condemnations are limited to words and lacks indications of consensus action by the international community on the junta’s plans, which would be yet another laughing stock for the junta, who sees its chances of playing the diverse stand that the international community is having on them.
But the ultimatum is not on the international community but is directly on the NLD, which has been maintaining its stand as a reflection of the Burmese peoples’ aspirations. The call is greater than verbal fights and the hour is urgent and does not have the luxury of internal party conflicts.
Earlier this week, Aung San Suu Kyi told her lawyer Nyan Win her view on the junta’s election plans saying she believes the NLD should not re-register. But it came as a response to the NLD’s Chairman Aung Shwe, who on the previous week said the NLD should re-register to survive as a legal political party.
The NLD must realize that it has spent 20 years within the junta’s legal fold and maintained its legal existence, while the Burmese people gradually suffered under the junta’s degrading rule.
Therefore, the time has no luxury for any internal political disagreement within the NLD and Aung San Suu Kyi, who is the sole figure that had helped keep Burmese politics alive internationally, must take a bold step, in keeping with the people’s expectations.
Otherwise, the junta has made the results look crystal clear. There are no disillusions to believe that the election could somehow bring about a democratic change.
The NLD must realize that there is no more time for refuting the junta’s illogical laws, decrees, and merely issuing of statements, and appealing for mercy at the stage-managed courts, as all have proved failures.
The NLD, therefore, must to adopt a new strategy from the little options it is left with.
While re-registering under the junta’s electoral laws would allow the NLD to remain legally alive, it would automatically kill the NLD’s spirit and without Aung San Suu Kyi being able to lead the party, the people would need a big explanation on why they should support the NLD again, as they have proven their failure during the last 20 years.
The other few options the NLD has can be to openly challenge the junta’s electoral law. Being the sole legal political party remaining of the 1990 election, the NLD has the right to reject the junta’s laws and electoral process and call on a nation-wide boycott. The NLD still has some time before the 60-day registration period closes on May 6th.
While confrontation and street protests might sound irrelevant and illogical in the face of guns, the NLD leadership should be able to cleverly mobilize the last of the peoples’ hope that they have on them.
As suggested by Nobel Peace Laureate, the NLD should not re-register but boycott it and call on all political parties and the people to stop participating in the junta’s elections.
While there would be a number of puppet political organizations still following the junta’s lead, alliance groups like the Committee Representing the Peoples’ Parliament (CRPP), are likely to follow the NLD’s lead and could bring back hope for the people.
The NLD must also realize that the UN and the international community including the United States cannot act without any forces acting internally inside Burma. External pressures would only have meaningful impact if there are internal forces like the NLD taking a bold lead.
The time requires more than old practices, as it would decide the fate of the Burmese people, but most of all it would determine the fate of the NLD and the noble sacrifices made by many great leaders including Aung San Suu Kyi are at stake.
Practically, the junta would do whatever it takes to continue with their plans, and it would be tiring to condemn them, both internally and internationally, unless there are actions following up.
Therefore, unless the NLD has a new strategy and acts in a timely manner, the people would have no reasons to believe that the NLD could still bring their aspirations alive at anytime in the future.
Mungpi is a special correspondent of the Mizzima based in Oklahoma City.
Friday, March 26, 2010
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