Tuesday, 22 November 2011 18:11 Tun Tun
New Delhi (Mizzima) – A Burmese activist Buddhist monk opposition group on Monday said the National League for Democracy (NLD) decision to register as a political party is wrong under the country’s current political conditions.
A statement issued on Monday by the All Burma Monks Alliance (ABMA) said the country’s political problems could not be solved in the newly formed Parliament, and it favored meetings and dialogue to solve problems.
“There is not much change, so the NLD’s deviation from its Shwegondine Declaration is not suitable under the current circumstances,” said the statement.
The statement noted the country’s civil wars and human rights violations in ethnic areas and its lack of democracy in social, economic and political affairs in Burma. It also pointed out that some monasteries have been closed and monks are denied freedom of speech.
On November 8, 106 NLD central committee members from states and regions unanimously voted to register the NLD as a political party and to contest in the coming by-elections.
The NLD’s Shwegondine Declaration in April 2009 urged the former junta to recognize the 1990 general elections, to release all political prisoners, to amend the 2008 Constitution and to hold tripartite meetings. None of those conditions have been met to the NLD’s satisfaction.
The ABMA said, “Burma’s current political problems can never be solved in the military-dominated Parliament. The problems can be solved only through fair meetings.”
Some former NLD members also disagreed with the NLD decision to re-register. “That is destroying our results in the 1990 general elections and it will not bring genuine democracy, so we mark the day as ‘The day people’s dreams were spoiled’, “said Naw Ohn Hla, an activist who in the past took part in prayer gatherings at the Shwedagon Pagoda in Rangoon.
Earlier, a number of former NLD members including Naw Ohn Hla sent two appeal letters to the NLD, saying it should not re-register as a political party at the current time.
The NLD should have stood by its former policy, said Naw Ohn Hla, who has been dismissed from the NLD.
She and her colleagues would not follow the NLD anymore, she said, but her group of activists would continue to work for peace in Burma, and urge the authorities to release political prisoners and establish true democracy and human rights.
New Delhi (Mizzima) – A Burmese activist Buddhist monk opposition group on Monday said the National League for Democracy (NLD) decision to register as a political party is wrong under the country’s current political conditions.
“There is not much change, so the NLD’s deviation from its Shwegondine Declaration is not suitable under the current circumstances,” said the statement.
The statement noted the country’s civil wars and human rights violations in ethnic areas and its lack of democracy in social, economic and political affairs in Burma. It also pointed out that some monasteries have been closed and monks are denied freedom of speech.
On November 8, 106 NLD central committee members from states and regions unanimously voted to register the NLD as a political party and to contest in the coming by-elections.
The NLD’s Shwegondine Declaration in April 2009 urged the former junta to recognize the 1990 general elections, to release all political prisoners, to amend the 2008 Constitution and to hold tripartite meetings. None of those conditions have been met to the NLD’s satisfaction.
The ABMA said, “Burma’s current political problems can never be solved in the military-dominated Parliament. The problems can be solved only through fair meetings.”
Some former NLD members also disagreed with the NLD decision to re-register. “That is destroying our results in the 1990 general elections and it will not bring genuine democracy, so we mark the day as ‘The day people’s dreams were spoiled’, “said Naw Ohn Hla, an activist who in the past took part in prayer gatherings at the Shwedagon Pagoda in Rangoon.
Earlier, a number of former NLD members including Naw Ohn Hla sent two appeal letters to the NLD, saying it should not re-register as a political party at the current time.
The NLD should have stood by its former policy, said Naw Ohn Hla, who has been dismissed from the NLD.
She and her colleagues would not follow the NLD anymore, she said, but her group of activists would continue to work for peace in Burma, and urge the authorities to release political prisoners and establish true democracy and human rights.
Subscribe to email feed
