Aung San Suu Kyi's party calls for 'fair political climate' in Myanmar

By Hla Hla Htay
AFP - Yahoo

February 12, 2008, YANGON (AFP) - Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy on Tuesday urged the military government to create a "fair political climate," after the regime announced a constitutional referendum for May.

The party did not directly mention the junta's plans for a referendum, which is meant to clear the way for elections in 2010, but repeated its long-standing call for a dialogue with the junta on national reconciliation.

"The (junta) has the main responsibility to realise national reconciliation, which is essential for the country," the party said in a statement, read out by senior member Than Tun.

"Moreover, it also has the responsibility to create a fair political climate and environment," the statement added.

The party also repeated its call for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, who has spent 12 of the last 18 years under house arrest, as well as her deputy Tin Oo and 1,800 other political prisoners believed held in the country.

Tin Oo is also under house arrest, and the military is expected to announce an extension of his confinement this week.

The party released the statement at its headquarters in Yangon to mark Union Day, which commemorates a declaration of unity among Myanmar's many ethnic groups during the struggle for independence from Britain.

The military held a ceremony for the holiday at its remote capital Naypyidaw in central Myanmar, but junta leader Than Shwe did not attend.

The 74-year-old military supremo, whose health is believed to be weakening, is rarely seen in public. He also missed celebrations last month marking the 60th anniversary of independence.

A statement from Than Shwe was read out during the nationally televised ceremony, accusing western countries of using sanctions to derail the military's "road map" to democracy.

The United States, which last week tightened sanctions against the regime, denounced the junta's election time table as a "sham" vote that makes a mockery of global calls for democratic reforms.

"They are imposing sanctions against the nation to create a large-scale disruption to national progress," Than Shwe said in the statement.

The regime's foes are "driving a wedge among national races, misleading the people, and aiding and abetting anti-government groups to weaken and break up the union," it said.

Than Shwe's statement also said that the people of Myanmar were "pursuing the state's seven-step road map ... for a transition to a modern, developed democratic nation with flourishing discipline."

If held, the proposed elections would be the first since 1990, when Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide victory that was ignored by the junta.

The regime announced its timetable for elections amid mounting international pressure over its crackdown on peaceful demonstrations led by Buddhist monks in September, when the United Nations says at least 31 were killed.

But the generals have ignored calls to free Aung San Suu Kyi and open a political dialogue, instead sticking to their own "road map" plan, which critics say will enshrine the military's rule.