U Tin Oo, chairman of the Central Committee for Winning the General Election and patron of the NLD, said at a meeting here Saturday that NLD will tighten its discipline ahead of leading the next term of the parliament.
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Kishida’s invitation to Nyan Win, a spokesman of the main opposition National League for Democracy, is part of the Japanese government’s efforts to closely cooperate with the new NLD leadership. The constitution guarantees unelected members of the military a quarter of seats in both houses.
But Nobel laureate Suu Kyi has emphasised that the first democratically elected government in more than 50 years will seek to reconcile the country’s many disparate political groups.
“He welcomed the successful conduct of the campaign and of the elections and congratulated Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi for her decisive role in the progress of democracy in Myanmar, which must be pursued”, said a statement from the mission. She said she was acting “in the spirit of national reconciliation” and suggested talks the following week. In other words, the new NLD-led government will abide by the rules and strictures laid down by the military. It is the mandate the people have given to us at our request.
Observers say the NLD, a party of opposition for 25 years, will struggle to match the soaring hopes of a long-suffering people who crave remedies to the country’s deep economic and social problems.
The interview did not touch on the persecuted minority Rohingya Muslims who were not allowed to vote in the election and are effectively stateless in their own land.
The elected parliament representatives represent 75 percent at each level of the parliament and the remaining 25 percent are reserved for the non-elected who are directly nominated by the military under the constitution. The president then selects the Cabinet.
But diplomats who spoke to the NLD leader said she had been anxious over their refusal to fix an appointment.
Another new lawmaker said Aung San Suu Kyi cautioned the party against “betraying the people” who overwhelmingly shunned the army-backed ruling party at the polls to give the NLD control of both parliamentary houses.
Suu Kyi stressed the importance of meeting with Min Aung Hlaing and President Thein Sein to insure smooth transition of power.
The military released a separate statement confirming that the army chief would meet Suu Kyi at 2pm at the defence ministry in the capital Naypyidaw on Wednesday.
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“I want these meetings to happen soonest”, she said.
