top Buddhists rally in Sittwe
to request the deportation
of the Rohingya people to
Bangladeshabove Rohingya activist Abu
Tahay poses with documents
that certify the existence of
the Rohingya people – even
before British colonisationA transition period began, and with inspiring
results: Political prisoners were freed, ceasefire
agreements were negotiated with a dozen armed
ethnic groups, and the world responded with open
arms, lifting the embargo that had been crippling
the economy for years.
Companies from all over the world flocked to
Myanmar in search of a virgin market to explore, and
people dreamed of a democratic president, something
that the former British colony hadn’t seen since 1962.The young activist was right: The NLD won a
landslide victory and secured the presidency with 360
out of the 652 votes in parliament, where the army still
holds 25 percent of the seats. “That gives the military
veto power on any constitutional amendment, and it
also keeps three key ministers. It’s going to be tough to
reform the current system, but we believe change will
come fast,” Thway said before the elections.
Now, almost a year and a half after Htin Kyaw was
sworn in, optimism has faded and disappointment
has set in. Promises are proving empty and little has
improved in the country. Even Thway doesn’t show
much enthusiasm anymore. “I’m not sure whether
we were wrong or whether hopes were just too high.
But the government is definitely not living up to
the expectation,” he shares. For many people, that’s
an understatement. Since the elections, even the
unthinkable has happened: People have marched
on the streets to express anger at Suu Kyi – who was
practically a deity for many before. She has had to
concede that things aren’t going smoothly.
“If you think I am not good enough for our country
and our people, if someone or some organisation can
do better than us, we are ready to step down,” Suu
Kyi said in a televised address to the nation on the
commemoration of the first anniversary of democracy
in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.
In the latest by-elections held in April 2017,
the NLD won only nine of the 19 seats up for grabs.
This stood in harsh perspective compared to the 2012
by-elections (the first in which the NLD was eligible),
where Suu Kyi won 43 out of the 44 seats, securing
her ticket into parliament. “She has proven to be just
another politician,” criticises Zin Mar Lin, from the
Brave New Burma Federation.
The eroding figure of Suu Kyi shows that not
everything is rosy in the democratisation process.
Myanmar’s transition to democracy has been lauded as
a glowing example of how a dictatorship can turn into
democracy without a bullet being fired – because the
generals decided to hang up their uniforms and turn
the military junta into a civil government in 2011.
“If you think I am not good
enough for our country and our
people, if someone or some
organisation can do better than
us, we are ready to step down”
Aung San Suu Kyi
IMAGES © ZIGOR ALDAMAculture