Aung San Suu Kyi’s >meetings with Myanmar’s President Thein Sein and military chief General Min Aung Hlaing, nearly a month after her party’s resounding election win, are highly significant, given the tumultuous civil-military relations in the Southeast Asian nation. Ms. Suu Kyi had reportedly asked for these meetings immediately after the polls. But the delay had triggered some concerns over whether the still-powerful military would accept the election result and let her National League for Democracy form the next government, which is expected to assume office on March 31. A presidential spokesperson later allayed the concerns, saying both leaders had discussed a “smooth transition and transfer of power to the newly elected government”. While the military-backed government’s reassurance that it is committed to political transition is welcome, the process of transition and building a constitutional framework for the new government could turn out to be a cumbersome process. That is mainly because the military is unlikely to be willing to cede full control to the civilian government. The military-written Constitution bars Ms. Suu Kyi from becoming the President because her children are not Burmese, and it reserves key Ministries, including defence, interior and border security, for the military. Gen. Aung Hlaing has already said there would not be any change in the Constitution to let Ms. Suu Kyi become the President. She has, on the other hand, vowed to lead the government “whether or not” she is the President.
Ms. Suu Kyi is the best hope Myanmar has at this point of time. She is a stout democrat and widely popular, and her party has a legitimate mandate to lead the country, which faces several problems from poverty to ethnic conflict. One of the reasons the military agreed to a transition to a more democratic set-up was the realisation that it could not rule the country with an iron fist forever. Despite years of suppression, the political opposition has been resolute. Besides, the internal dynamics of the Myanmar society remain fragile. The Rohingya community, Muslims castigated as illegal immigrants, have been widely discriminated against by sections of the Buddhist majority. The government’s efforts to end the civil war with ethnic groups through negotiated agreements were only partially successful as rebels in the region bordering China refused to sign ceasefire pacts in October. The country also faces a huge economic challenge. What Myanmar needs now is a leader who can unify the people and take the country to a new era of social and political democracy. A large number of people inside and outside the country believe that, under the circumstances Ms. Suu Kyi may be the best person to take up the challenge. But the question is whether the generals would let her do it. For her part, Ms. Suu Kyi needs to be more forthright in articulating an inclusive agenda, for example vis-à-vis the Rohingya, that addresses ethnic tensions, and gives democracy in Myanmar a stronger chance.
