Circumventing Section 59(f), northern Shan State conflict and government's fire sales
These days, speculation over Section 59(f), the conflict in northern
Shan State and government hastily arranged fire sale or sell-off of its assets,
coupled with granting economic development rights are the most talk about and
crucial issues making the rounds.
As 17 March draws nearer, the National League for Democracy (NLD) is
pressed to come up with a decision whether to fight for Aung San Suu Kyi's right
to become president through tabling a motion to waive the 59(f) Section, which
only needs a simple majority that could easily be achieved given the NLD
domination in parliament, or decides for a proxy or nominee president to be
installed.
According to Larry Jagan's writing in the Bangkok Post, Suu Kyi is said
to be resigned not to ruffle the military's (Tatmadaw) feathers by deciding not
to push for amendment Section 59(f) of the constitution or file for a motion,
in the parliament to waive the clause for her, so that she could become
president, but instead go for a foreign minister position, where she will be
able to participate in National Defence and Security Council (NDSC) and also
could control the proxy president that she had said she would install.
NDSC is the highest powerful authority in the state with a body of 11
members, where the military has 6 votes and the NLD 5 votes. Besides, it
controls the Defence, Home and Border Affairs Ministries, coupled with a 25
percent appointed military representatives in all the Upper, Lower, States and
Regions Parliament.
However, most recently on 29 February, news begin to make the rounds
that Aung San Suu Kyi is likely to speed up elections of the country’s
president, from 17 March to 10 March, in a last-minute change following weeks
of fruitless talks with the military that hasn't budged from its stance of
maintaining the constitution that bars her from assuming the presidency; most
notably the Section 59(f).
The armed clashes between the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan
State Army (RCSS/SSA) and Palaung State Liberation Front/Ta'ang National
Liberation Army (PSLF/TNLA) have de-escalated and largely died down, as the
military started to go into the contested, northern Shan State areas in
mid-February, declaring area cleansing and that both warring parties should
retreat, with the endorsement of the parliament.
Meanwhile, a row between the appointed military MPs and the NLD
occurred, as a NLD representative questioned the hastily conducted government's
assets sell-off or fire sales and handling of the business concessions.
The military MPs were so upset that all literally stood up in protest of
the debate, which involved the controversial Letpadaung copper mine mineral
extraction, which is a large mine project operated by the Wanbao Mining Copper
Ltd. company, in cooperation with the Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd
(UMEHL).Wanbao is a subsidiary of China North Industries Group Corp. or
Norinco, a large arms manufacturer.
Suu Kyi's position on 59(f)
According to recent SHAN report, a
government peace broker, during a break in the meeting in Chiangmai with the
RCSS/SSA on Monday, 22 February, said that amendment, or even suspension, of
Article 59 (f) is out of the question.
“It is not her (Aung Sun Suu Kyi)
but who will come after her that’s the problem,” said the source. “It will set
a dangerous precedent for future presidents.”
“But we have no objection if she
chooses to become a foreign minister,” he added. A foreign minister is a member
of the country’s most powerful organ, the 11 person National Defence and
Security Council (NDSC). Other member are: The President, 2 Vice Presidents,
Speaker of Lower House, Speaker of Upper House, Commander-in-Chief, Deputy
Commander-in-Chief, Defence Minister, Home Minister and Border Affairs
Minister. The last three ministers are appointed by the Commander-in-Chief.
According to the article, a
President or a Vice President “himself, one of the parents, the spouse, one of
the legitimate children or their spouses (shall) not owe allegiance to a
foreign power, not be subject of a foreign power or citizen of a foreign
country. They shall not be persons entitled to enjoy the rights and privileges
of a subject of a foreign government or citizen of a foreign country.”
Larry Jagan, in his Bangkok Post
article also said that the commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing has consistently
told Suu Kyi at all three of their meetings since the elections, that the army
considered itself the guardians of the constitution.
Whatever the case, the immediate
show down between the military and the NLD might have been averted, although
negotiations on other remaining issues still appear to have failed, according
to Ko Ko, editor of the independent newspaper, Democracy Today and CEO of the
Yang on Media Group.
Northern Shan State conflict
After the intensity of clashes
between the RCSS/SSA and TNLA reduced to only sporadic fire fights, on 12
February, citing the Ministry of Defence, The Global New Light of Myanmar
reported that the Burmese military had issued an ultimatum that the RCSS/SSA
withdraw from Kyaukme and Namhsan townships as the military prepared an assault
on TNLA soldiers in the area. The RCSS reportedly has refused to comply with.
The
military has instructed both the RCSS and TNLA to pull back to their
territorial boundaries prior to the fighting, and warned that it would launch a
“clearance” operation against them if they refuse.
When asked, whether the military's
ultimatum is meant to drive back the RCSS troops from contested areas by force
and what it intended to do, a reliable Shan source replied: “The Burma Army
units in the field have not been looking for RCSS positions. Naypyitaw said
that it would do what it should, and we do what we should, they told RCSS
commanders through villagers.”
RCSS and TNLA have been locked in a
territorial dispute since November 2015. In October 2015, the RCSS signed the Nationwide Ceasefire
Agreement (NCA) with the Burmese regime, while
it blocked the much smaller TNLA
from signing, despite the group's participation in drafting the ceasefire
document.
Following the military's ultimatum, TNLA
spokesperson Tar Parn La told DVB that it had ramped up its presence in the
area. Tar Parn claimed that the TNLA had seen at least seven clashes with
Tatmadaw forces between 14 and 25 February, adding the group had come under
fire by Burmese helicopters on two occasions.
As a result of the military
offensive, employing thousands of troops, Myanmar Times recently reported that
refugees from Namhsan area where the fighting was intense were fleeing, while
some few hundreds were going back to areas of government and RCSS controlled
areas, to save whatever possessions are left to salvage.
Row between NLD and USPD-Military clique
The row between the NLD and
USDP-Military regime came about on February 26 amid a debate over recent
privatisations that has infuriated the government, and prompted presidential
spokesperson U Ye Htut to suggest the outgoing administration does not need to
be accountable to parliament, according to Myanmar Times of 29 February.
On February 25, Daw Khin San Hlaing, MP from NLD listed a number of
cases that had arisen since the November elections, involving several
government departments and state and regional governments, in which government
assets were being disposed of by a “fast-track” procedures that appeared to
by-pass the necessary arrangements and negotiations. Her proposal was approved
by 271 votes to 138.
The MP for Sidoktaya township, Magwe
Region, U Kyaw Aung Lwin, on February 26 was speaking in support of a proposal
by his NLD colleague, Daw Khin San Hlaing, calling for scrutiny of an apparent
fire-sale of government assets in the closing days of the existing
administration, when appointed military MPs took a stand, literally, to object
to a statement he made about the Letpadaung copper mine - a project that
involves a military holding company.
On the same 26 February, one day
after the parliament approved announcement, following the refusal of the relevant government officials
to appear before the lawmakers, Information Minister Ye Htut defended the
government ministries and said to the state media that Khin San Hlaing’s
request appeared to be an accusation, according to RFA report of the same day.
“We will not come and explain things
that have been said to discredit the government, but on a national level if we
think an explanation is in order, we are willing to do so case by case,” he
said.
Ye Htut further stressed: “Whether
the incumbent Union government should be accountable to the second parliament
or not is an issue to be reviewed according to the constitution,” adding that
the government had decided to “suspend” its cooperation with parliament on
responding to questions and proposals.
But the constitution doesn't mention
of government only being accountable to the parliament that elected the president.
Perspective
All in all the peaceful power transfer is still not on the safe side as
Ma Ba Tha nationalist has made their political position known that it is against
the suspension of the 59(f) Clause in any way and would join hands with the
military to the very end in protecting it.
Besides no one knows that the regime's row with the NLD, resulting from
NLD accusation of its fire sale or sell-off and irregular granting of business
concessions could develop into a "we" against "them" sort
of position and mentality, that could heighten the animosity and even become a
barrier to the peaceful power transfer.
The military offensives on TNLA is questionable, for measured response,
instead of all-out annihilation should be the aim. With the military employing
thousands of troops, it could hardly be seen as a maintenance of peace.
In addition, the war in the northern Shan State, which the military
vowed to get rid of all armed groups operating within the vicinity, could also
become a pretext to declare emergency rule that could usher into two-tier
administration, one relatively democratic Bamar populated heartland and the
other, the oppressive, military administered ethnic hinterland, if not
postponing the whole process of peaceful power transfer to the NLD.
However, no one is looking forward to such a scenario, except those who
think that they will lose their privileges and must drive a cleavage at all
cost, to be able to cling to military-dominated status quo. For the future of
the country lies in proper political power and resources sharing among the ethnic groups and people of Burma, rooted in
the principle of democracy, and any hindrance caused to this development would
be a drawback that we all could ill-afford.
Tags: Opinion
