Myanmar's powerful military questioned Aung San Suu Kyi's picks for president and vice president on Monday as tension simmered between the two sides a day before parliament votes on who should get the top job.
Relations between the armed forces and Suu Kyi will define the success or otherwise of Myanmar's most significant break from military rule since the army seized power in 1962, even though the constitution bars her from taking the presidency.
The democracy leader says she will run the country whoever becomes president, and her choice looks certain to be confirmed by parliament as her National League for Democracy (NLD) holds a sizeable majority after winning a landslide victory in a general election in November.
Last week, the NLD picked a close friend of Suu Kyi, Htin Kyaw, as its presidential candidate and Henry Van Thio to be a vice president to represent numerous ethnic minorities. (Courtesy of Reuters)
March 15, 2016
Shelter versus shielded borders
In May 2015, three boats with more than 1800 people onboard reached Aceh after a long, hazardous trip. Although the Indonesian navy had tried to prevent at least one boat from landing by first equipping it with fuel and food and then forcing it back out to sea, eventually these people were allowed to come on land. Not least, because Acehnese fishermen had ignored the military’s orders and rescued many of these desperate people. Following a trilateral crisis meeting of the foreign ministers of Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, the latter two promised to provide the Rohingya boat people with shelter for up to a year, provided that all costs would be covered by external agencies and the Rohingya would be resettled to third countries in the meantime, a stipulation impossible to meet.
Rohingya count as one of the most persecuted ethnic minorities in Asia, as they do not have citizen rights in their home country of Myanmar. Political and religious persecution, but also extreme poverty, drive them across the borders into Bangladesh, Thailand and Malaysia, the latter is the most sought after destination country as Rohingya can find work there. Indonesia is not just a transit country for the Rohingya, but for displaced people from more than 40 countries in South Asia, Africa and the Middle East. As a non-signatory of the Refugee Convention, Indonesia has no obligation to accept asylum seekers and integrate recognised refugees, but based on humanitarian considerations it respects and protects the human rights of those who stay temporarily and thus provides some form of accommodation and basic care for asylum seekers and refugees. (Courtesy of Courtesy of Inside Indonesia)
Rohingya count as one of the most persecuted ethnic minorities in Asia, as they do not have citizen rights in their home country of Myanmar. Political and religious persecution, but also extreme poverty, drive them across the borders into Bangladesh, Thailand and Malaysia, the latter is the most sought after destination country as Rohingya can find work there. Indonesia is not just a transit country for the Rohingya, but for displaced people from more than 40 countries in South Asia, Africa and the Middle East. As a non-signatory of the Refugee Convention, Indonesia has no obligation to accept asylum seekers and integrate recognised refugees, but based on humanitarian considerations it respects and protects the human rights of those who stay temporarily and thus provides some form of accommodation and basic care for asylum seekers and refugees. (Courtesy of Courtesy of Inside Indonesia)
Myanmar parliament elects first civilian president in decades
Myanmar's parliament has elected Htin Kyaw as the next president, the first civilian to lead the country after more than 50 years of military rule.
Htin Kyaw is a close ally of Aung San Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy (NLD) party swept to victory in historic elections in November.
He beat another NLD candidate and one put forward by the military.
Ms Suu Kyi is barred from the post due to a constitutional clause, but has said she would be above the president. (Courtesy of BBC)
Htin Kyaw is a close ally of Aung San Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy (NLD) party swept to victory in historic elections in November.
He beat another NLD candidate and one put forward by the military.
Ms Suu Kyi is barred from the post due to a constitutional clause, but has said she would be above the president. (Courtesy of BBC)
David I. Steinberg: Myanmar civil society -- new politics, new rules?
In much of the Western world, civil society is considered an important antidote, even a panacea, to societal woes. These non-profit organizations -- often portraying themselves as apolitical -- bring people together, help to redeem governments gone astray, act as watchdogs against waste and maleficence, and are ideally the "thousand points of light," as President George H.W. Bush once put it, in the darkness of social troubles.
In the early 19th century, the French political thinker Alexis de Tocqueville wrote of them as a unique and positive American phenomenon. Most recently, President Barack Obama lauded their potential during his summit with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in California in February. In a sense, these organizations are the "monitors" of democratic governance. But increasingly, they are being treated unrealistically as a critical element in, or even potential savior of, the democratization processes -- as if they were the U.S. cavalry coming to the rescue of beleaguered settlers in some American B-movie. (Courtesy of Nikkei Asian Review)
In the early 19th century, the French political thinker Alexis de Tocqueville wrote of them as a unique and positive American phenomenon. Most recently, President Barack Obama lauded their potential during his summit with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in California in February. In a sense, these organizations are the "monitors" of democratic governance. But increasingly, they are being treated unrealistically as a critical element in, or even potential savior of, the democratization processes -- as if they were the U.S. cavalry coming to the rescue of beleaguered settlers in some American B-movie. (Courtesy of Nikkei Asian Review)
Myanmar army releases 46 underage recruits: U.N.
Myanmar's military released 46 children and young people from service, the United Nations said in a statement on Monday, in its first discharge of underage recruits this year.
The army has released 745 underage recruits since signing up to a joint action plan with the U.N. in June 2012 to end the use of children in the military.
Human rights groups have long accused Myanmar's military of abuses such as using child soldiers, forcibly recruiting conscripts and confiscating land. (Courtesy of Reuters)
The army has released 745 underage recruits since signing up to a joint action plan with the U.N. in June 2012 to end the use of children in the military.
Human rights groups have long accused Myanmar's military of abuses such as using child soldiers, forcibly recruiting conscripts and confiscating land. (Courtesy of Reuters)
Some government bodies have no regard for our commission
The Myanmar Human Rights Commission was set up in September 2011 by appointment of President Thein Sein as part of the sweeping democratic reforms his quasi-civilian government initiated in Myanmar following decades of army rule.
Khine Khine Win joined the 11-member commission as a director in 2014, and part of her job responsibilities include raising awareness of the commission and arranging human rights trainings for the government and army officials.
She has a bachelor’s degree from Myanmar and a doctorate degree in agronomy from Japan’s Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology. Prior to joining the commission, the 41-year-old worked at the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development. Recently, she visited Myanmar Now’s office for an interview. (Courtesy of Mizzima)
Khine Khine Win joined the 11-member commission as a director in 2014, and part of her job responsibilities include raising awareness of the commission and arranging human rights trainings for the government and army officials.
She has a bachelor’s degree from Myanmar and a doctorate degree in agronomy from Japan’s Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology. Prior to joining the commission, the 41-year-old worked at the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development. Recently, she visited Myanmar Now’s office for an interview. (Courtesy of Mizzima)
Myint Swe VP pick prompts public backlash
Myanmar's army sparked public criticism Saturday after it nominated a retired general still blacklisted by the United States to be vice president of the country's first civilian government in decades.
Hardliner Myint Swe, 64, is seen as a close ally of former junta leader Than Shwe and comes from a military establishment that pummelled the Southeast Asian country into poverty under decades of isolationist rule.
A parliament dominated by Aung Sang Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy is days away from confirming a president after sweeping to power in November elections, but the still-strong army has the right to nominate a candidate.
Though the NLD's nominee Htin Kyaw is all but guaranteed to clinch the top post, the army's Myint Swe would still become one of two vice presidents.
Social media sites and comment boards were flooded with criticism after his nomination was announced, with many expressing regret over the military's continuing political influence. (Courtesy of Frontier Myanmar)
Hardliner Myint Swe, 64, is seen as a close ally of former junta leader Than Shwe and comes from a military establishment that pummelled the Southeast Asian country into poverty under decades of isolationist rule.
A parliament dominated by Aung Sang Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy is days away from confirming a president after sweeping to power in November elections, but the still-strong army has the right to nominate a candidate.
Though the NLD's nominee Htin Kyaw is all but guaranteed to clinch the top post, the army's Myint Swe would still become one of two vice presidents.
Social media sites and comment boards were flooded with criticism after his nomination was announced, with many expressing regret over the military's continuing political influence. (Courtesy of Frontier Myanmar)
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