The situation in Rakhine state is a key concern of the global community, which has urged the new government to prioritise the plight of the Rohingya, many of whom have been left effectively stateless.
Advertisement
After a landslide win in the freest election in generations last November, Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party is carrying the hopes of millions in a country beaten down by almost half a century of repressive military rule.
A spokesman for the Shan Ta’ang National Liberation Army, one of several rebel armies that did not sign a broad ceasefire deal pushed by the government previous year, said its people are wearied by the ongoing clashes and ready to work with the new civilian leader Htin Kyaw, who was elected in a parliamentary vote last week.
Suu Kyi has vowed to defy the constitution described by senior NLD members as “ridiculous”, pledging to run the country from “above the president”.
“Taking positions is not that important any more…In the United States there are many famous lawmakers in the parliament who are very influential, but they don’t take any position in the cabinet”, Zaw Myint Maung, the NLD’s spokesman and one of its leaders, told Reuters late on Sunday.
Suu Kyi and the NLD have been criticised for saying little about how they will address the situation in Rakhine, but the electoral win sparked cautious optimism in the Rohingya community. As leader of the Congress party, she dominated the government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh before it fell from power in 2014, but held no ministerial position.
Addressing parliament, Htin Kyaw said the decision will save money which can then be used in other areas.
U Htin Kyaw made his first public appearance earlier in the day by delivering a speech in the Union Parliament, clarifying his plan to form a government with 21 ministries and 18 ministers, slashed from 36 and 32 respectively in the outgoing government. Suu Kyi herself said in October that her plan was not “quite like that”, but she did not provide details on her plans.
He told government employees not to worry about their jobs, and that they will continue to be taken care of under public servants law. He did not go into the details.
The military questioned the NLD’s presidential and vice presidential picks and openly confronted its MPs over a controversial copper mine project last month.
Advertisement
President-elect Htin Kyaw, whose National League for Democracy (NLD) party will officially take over the government on April 1, told lawmakers that the savings would be directed to services that would help the developing country’s citizens during his five-year term.
