A Second Paylong Conference and not an Election is the need of the hom in Myanmar 28.10.

10 17:42

Paper no. 4129 27-Oct-2010

A Second Panglong Conference and not an

Election is the need of the hour in
Myanmar
Guest Column by Dr. Tint Swe

(The views expressed are his own)

The general elections around the world in this year

comprise 30 in Europe, 26 in Africa, 19 in Asia, 8 in
South America, 1 in New Zealand, and 1 in Australia.
In the Electoral Calendar of Maximiliano Herrera
Human Rights Links there are 509 various forms of
elections in a range of countries in 2010 and the one in
Burma is at serial number 461.

Legitimacy is what the Burmese military junta is

desperately trying to seek by holding an election.
Though legality can only be achieved if proved credible
and acceptable, the election process is overly
manipulated by the military regime. The legitimacy can
only be achieved by independent election monitoring
and free media. Elections elsewhere welcome
international involvement such as election monitoring
and electoral training. Apart from legal recognition, the
most criticized election to be held in Burma from 7 to
11 November 2010 is an election to bury the election
results of 1990.

The Carter Center has monitored 81 elections in 33

Countries including China, East Timor, Indonesia,
Nepal, and the Philippines from Asia. Likewise the
National Democratic Institute (NDI), in 2010 alone, has
assisted 24 elections and will be doing so in 10 more
countries.

The Burmese Election Commission will not permit any

observers for the alleged reason that the country has
enough experience of holding elections. However it is
not the experience that can rule out outside observers

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A Second Paylong Conference and not an Election is the need of the hom in Myanmar 28.10.10 17:42

and guarantee impartiality as well as credibility of an

election. The international, regional and local
independent observers work for the elections not only
in countries with weak democracies or democracies in
transition, but also in the full-grown democracies such
as the United States, the United Kingdom, France and
Switzerland.

There were two elections in the Association of

Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regarded as turning
points for democratization, one in Indonesia and one in
Cambodia. Both were held in the presence of the
domestic and foreign election observers including one
from Burma’s elected representative residing in exile.

After the collapse of the New Order, the Indonesian

election was held in 1999 and 48 political parties
participated. So in terms of number it comparable with
Burma’s 2010 election in which 37 parties will be
contesting after Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD and 4 other
parties were dissolved and or prohibited. The huge
difference is the presence or absence of the
international observers as well as the motive of the
government in power at the time of election.

At any rate, Burmese General Than Swe is not like

Indonesian President Jusuf Habibie who supervised the
Indonesian legislative election in 1999. The Indonesian
elections were overseen by the General Elections
Commission (KPU) comprising five government
representatives and one from each political party. But
all members of the Union Election Commission in
Burma are hand-picked by the junta without any
representatives of the political parties.

In Cambodia since the signing of the Paris Peace

Accords in 1991 ending decades of civil war and
foreign occupation, three national elections have taken
place in 1993, 1998, and 2003. Although the
parliamentary election held on 27 July 2003 was won
by the incumbent Prime Minister Hun Sen, it was held
in the presence of domestic and foreign election
observers.

The Burmese authorities announced that no foreign

journalists would be granted entry visa around the
election dates. Surely there is something to hide. All
military leaders have had training on how to evade
gunfire: Seek cover whenever possible, to prevent
being shot at. The election in Burma has to take cover
from both outsiders and own citizens because even

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A Second Paylong Conference and not an Election is the need of the hom in Myanmar 28.10.10 17:42

before the election there are 12 journalists and 12

parliamentarians in the prisons. The Paris-based media
watchdog Reporters without borders (RSF) has fittingly
ranked Burmese media environment at fifth following
Iran, Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea.

The people of Burma are wondering how the

international community will react to the results of the
2010 election. However they do not expect that the
world will dissociate from the upcoming new regime in
Burma because a disabled child will be treated more or
less equally like a normal one. Maybe some countries
including the neighbors might have more sympathy.
But it cannot be interpreted as human nature. When all
business advantages go readily to those who deal with
a crippled regime, moral considerations are overlooked
by the countries which practice so-called pragmatic
foreign policy when it comes to Burma.

So, then, what is the use of boycotting the election by

the winners of the previous 1990 election namely the
National League for Democracy (NLD) and the United
Nationalities League for Democracy (UNLD)? Why
are they together?

There are noticeable anxieties of resurgence of fighting

between Burmese army and the larger ceasefire groups
after the election. Ethnic unrest entrenched for half a
century cannot be settled militarily or by an election. In
the new government the ministers responsible for those
matters are to be appointed by the president who will
be none other than U Than Swe.

Throughout the long colony rule, the policy practiced

by British was labeled as “divide and rule” because the
subjects were administratively divided. The Frontier
Areas, also known as the Excluded Areas or the
Scheduled Areas was where all ethnic nationalities
were residing. During the final phase of the hectic
freedom struggle the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom
League (AFPFL) headed by Aung San gained
momentum. Before long ethnic leaders of that time
realized that they should not be left out and Aung San
also felt that their cooperation was very much needed.
Ultimately a conference was held in February 1947 at
Panglong in the Shan State between the Shan, Kachin
and Chin ethnic leaders and Aung San who was head
of the interim government. The agenda was united
struggle and unified republic when liberated from
British. Finaly the British yielded and Burma became
independent.

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A Second Paylong Conference and not an Election is the need of the hom in Myanmar 28.10.10 17:42

After the 1990 election there have been several joint

efforts between the ethnic parties and the NLD. Within
three months after the election, on 19-8-1990, the
United Nationalities League for Democracy (UNLD)
and the NLD signed an agreement on the equal status
among all nationalities and later the Committee
Representing Peoples’ Parliament (CRPP) was jointly
formed on 16-9-1998. In the constitution drafting
process at the National Convention both sides were
excluded by the junta.

As the election orchestrated by the junta is nearing

ethnic leaders have joined hands with NLD leaders
again. This time they gathered at Kalaymyo which is
not far from India-Burma border. On 24th October the
leaders of the NLD and the representatives of ethnic
nationalities issued the “Kalaymyo Resolution”, which
calls for a second “Panglong Conference”. Aptly Aung
San Suu Kyi has termed the pro-democracy movement
as the second struggle for independence.

It is their considered view that it is not the second

Election but a second Panglong Conference that can
bring in permanent peace in Burma.

(Dr. Tint Swe is an elected member of Parliament from Burma from

the NLD now living in F-15, Vikas Puri, New Delhi and can be
reached at his mobile- 981-000-3286, e-mail drswe01@gmail.com)

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