Saturday, 16 March 2013 14:11 Rosie Gogan-Keogh
Myanmar's government has made a significant move toward fully democratizing the country by approving a motion to form a committee and commission to review the country's controversial 2008 Constitution.
The motion was tabled by Aye Myint and unanimously passed at the Pyithu Hluttaw (Lower House of Parliament) on March 15.
A study group of intellectuals and law experts will be brought together to review the Constitution “so that it can be in conformity with the current situation of the country's reform process,” reported The New Light of Myanmar on March 16.
“They seem to have realized that it's essential to amend the present Constitution for the country to build genuine democracy,” said former political prisoner and Lower House MP Ohn Kyaing, quoted in a report by Reuters.
Analysts say that although this is only the first step in a long road of essential changes, the motion marks a crucial juncture in Myanmar's journey of reform.
The burning question will be if any proposed revisions to the military-drafted Constitution will allow Aung San Suu Kyi to become president in 2015. Under the current law, Suu Kyi is forbidden from being elected president as she was married to a foreigner and has two British sons.
The opposition leader has previously expressed confidence that revisions to the Constitution will allow her to become president.
“I am not unduly worried by it. I think that the members of our military, like the rest of our nation, would like to see Burma a happier, stronger, more harmonious country,” she said, referring to Myanmar by its former name.
“Because of that, I do not rule out the possibility of amendment through negotiated compromise,” Suu Kyi said on January 25 at the East-West Center on a visit to the US Pacific state of Hawaii.
The Constitution also reserves a quarter of the parliamentary seats for people chosen by the military. Analysts say that any revisions to the current constitution will set the scope for the military's future role in Myanmar government.
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Myanmar's government has made a significant move toward fully democratizing the country by approving a motion to form a committee and commission to review the country's controversial 2008 Constitution.
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| Aung San Suu Kyi (green) joins other MPs at a session of the Lower House of Parliament on Friday, March 16, 2013. Photo: NLD via Facebook |
The motion was tabled by Aye Myint and unanimously passed at the Pyithu Hluttaw (Lower House of Parliament) on March 15.
A study group of intellectuals and law experts will be brought together to review the Constitution “so that it can be in conformity with the current situation of the country's reform process,” reported The New Light of Myanmar on March 16.
“They seem to have realized that it's essential to amend the present Constitution for the country to build genuine democracy,” said former political prisoner and Lower House MP Ohn Kyaing, quoted in a report by Reuters.
Analysts say that although this is only the first step in a long road of essential changes, the motion marks a crucial juncture in Myanmar's journey of reform.
The burning question will be if any proposed revisions to the military-drafted Constitution will allow Aung San Suu Kyi to become president in 2015. Under the current law, Suu Kyi is forbidden from being elected president as she was married to a foreigner and has two British sons.
The opposition leader has previously expressed confidence that revisions to the Constitution will allow her to become president.
“I am not unduly worried by it. I think that the members of our military, like the rest of our nation, would like to see Burma a happier, stronger, more harmonious country,” she said, referring to Myanmar by its former name.
“Because of that, I do not rule out the possibility of amendment through negotiated compromise,” Suu Kyi said on January 25 at the East-West Center on a visit to the US Pacific state of Hawaii.
The Constitution also reserves a quarter of the parliamentary seats for people chosen by the military. Analysts say that any revisions to the current constitution will set the scope for the military's future role in Myanmar government.
...............................................................................................................................
Related articles:
- Suu Kyi hopeful Burma’s military will support constitutional changes
- Myanmar constitution does not benefit ethnic people, says KNU
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