NLD in plea to public, pledges to press on

Tuesday, 06 April 2010 21:50 Mizzima News

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) - The National League for Democracy (NLD) apologised to the country today for failing to achieve national reconciliation during the past 20 years.

“Our zealous efforts to achieve democracy and national reconciliation in the country… [have been] in vain … due to unilateral suppression and oppression. We therefore respectfully apologise to the people”, the main opposition party’s “Appeal to the Public” says.

The NLD said they had decided against registering the party with the Election Commission because the junta’s electoral laws were unjust and unfair. They added, however, that they would neither abandon the people nor the democracy movement, and pledged to continue their struggle under the leadership of Aung San Suu Kyi, by non-violent means. The NLD won 392 seats out of total 485 in the 1990 general election but the military regime refused to hand over power.

With the hope of achieving national reconciliation in the country, the party had attended the Junta-sponsored National Convention to draft the constitution but their great efforts left them empty-handed. Aung San Suu Kyi is demanding dialogue with the junta’s leaders while she is still under house arrest, the three-page plea says.

“She [Daw Aung San Suu Kyi] narrowly escaped from the violent Depayin incident in 2003 but she had no grudge against the perpetrators and focused only on resolving all national issues in the country instead and continued demanding dialogue”, the appeal continues.

Moreover, she holds no grudge against anyone for sentencing her to a prison term for allegedly entertaining her uninvited visitor, US citizen John Yettaw, but she has asked SPDC leader Senior General Than Shwe for a face-to-face discussion on the issue instead, the appeal underscores.

The plea also says the electoral laws promulgated by the ruling junta contradict the nature of law and are unjust. Moreover, being forced to accept and abide by the 2008 Constitution are of themselves violations of human rights, the appeal adds.