Biodun Iginla, BBC News

Biodun Iginla, BBC News
Showing posts with label Myanmar's National League for Democracy (NLD). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Myanmar's National League for Democracy (NLD). Show all posts

Friday, April 8, 2016

Myanmar court frees dozens of student activists


  • 50 minutes ago
  •  
  • From the sectionAsia
Student activist Ei Thinzar Maung (C) greets her relative during a trial at the TharYarwaddy district court in Bago division, Myanmar, 08 April 2016Image copyrightEPA
Image captionThe students were in detention for over a year

by Coco Jiang and Biodun Iginla, BBC News, Yangon
Dozens of student activists have been freed from prison in Myanmar, a day after Aung San Suu Kyi pledged to work to free all political prisoners.
Cheers broke out as a court dropped charges against the 69 students, who had been in detention for over a year.
However, an estimated 400 political prisoners are still behind bars.
Ms Suu Kyi, Myanmar's de facto leader, said the release of the remaining prisoners had been delayed by the legal process required.
The delay means they will not be freed until after the end of the Burmese New Year holiday, in 10 days time.
There were emotional scenes as the student activists were released - many were met by tearful parents, and singing and dancing supporters who presented them with flowers.
Newly-released political student protester and family members cry after being reunited in Tharrawaddy town, Bago Region in Myanmar on April 8, 2016Image copyrightAFP
Image captionMany cried as they were reunited with their families
Mothers of the student activists dance after their sons and daughter were discharge from the TharYarwaddy district court in Bago division, Myanmar, 08 April 2016.Image copyrightEPA
Image captionThe mothers of the activists danced after their children were released
The students were arrested during protests against educational reforms in March last year.
The families of Myanmar's political prisoners gathered outside prisons and courts on Friday, hoping their loved ones would be freed.
Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won 80% of contested seats in the elections last year, ending decades of military rule.
However, a quarter of parliamentary seats are automatically held by the military, meaning it remains hugely influential.
Ms Suu Kyi was once a political prisoner herself, as were many members of her NLD party.

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Myanmar begins presidential selection as Aung San Suu Kyi ruled out


  • 10 minutes ago

  • From the section Asia
Media captionJonah Fisher says that NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi will affectively tell Htin Kyaw to 'do as he's told'
Myanmar's National League for Democracy (NLD) has named two candidates, as the country starts the process of selecting a new president.
Correspondents say one of them, Htin Kyaw, is almost certain to be elected president by the NLD-controlled parliament.
The nominations confirm that NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi will not be president of the country.
However, Ms Suu Kyi has previously said she would be "above" the president.
Read more: Aung San Suu Kyi - Power not presidency in Myanmar

Jonah Fisher, BBC News, Nay Pyi Taw - 'No deal'

She tried right to the last. But there was no deal. Despite a huge win in the election, Aung San Suu Kyi failed to convince the army that her destiny was the presidency.
Clause 59F of the constitution which bars her because her sons have British not Burmese passports remains in place, and she has now chosen someone else.
It's Htin Kyaw, a fellow Oxford graduate she's known all her life. He's a committed member of the party and was by her side when Ms Suu Kyi was released from house arrest in 2010.
His most important quality may be the ability to take orders. Aung San Suu Kyi has made it clear that though she does not have the title - she will still be in charge.

The NLD nominations are the first step in the process of choosing a new president which will happen over the next few days.
Media captionBBC's Myanmar correspondent Jonah Fisher explains who could be the country's next president
The party has named Htin Kyaw, who is part of Ms Suu Kyi's inner circle, as its lower house nominee for vice president. It has also named Henry Van Thio, an MP from the Chin ethnic minority, as its upper house nominee.
Both houses will separately choose between the NLD's candidates and those from other parties.
The winner from each house will go on to a second vote to decide the president of the country. A military nominated candidate will also compete in this vote.
The two losing candidates will become vice-presidents.
Because the NLD dominates both houses, correspondents say that Htin Kyaw is almost certain to win.
The NLD won the majority of non-military seats available in parliament in last year's historic general election.
But the army - which still controls a quarter of all parliamentary seats and key security ministries - remains a significant force in Burmese politics.

Who is Htin Kyaw?

Central executive committee member of the National League for Democracy U Htin Kyaw arrives for the opening of the new parliament in Naypyitaw 1 February 2016.Image copyright Reuters
  • Htin Kyaw, 70, is a NLD central executive committee member and Ms Suu Kyi's close aide.
  • The soft-spoken Oxford graduate is said to have a reputation for honesty and loyalty, and has kept a low profile.
  • His father, the writer and poet Min Thu Wun, won a seat for the party at the 1990 election.
  • His wife, Su Su Lwin, is the daughter of an NLD founder, as well as being a sitting MP, and a prominent party member.
  • He has played a senior role at the Daw Khin Kyi Foundation, the charity founded in honour of Suu Kyi's late mother, and has been frequently seen at the NLD leader's side, serving as her driver from time to time.

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