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INTERNATIONAL THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2015 Suu Kyi reaches out to military with big landslide in sight YANGON: Myanmar’s democracy cham- the UEC (Union Election Commission) The NLD has said it is on course for pion Aung San Suu Kyi, moving closer to election-related task is finished.” over 250 seats in the lower house, well an absolute majority in parliament yes- Relations between Suu Kyi and armed above the 221 needed to control the terday requested a meeting with the forces chief Min Aung Hlaing are said to chamber. Reuters was not able to inde- president and the powerful military be strained. One of the biggest sources pendently verify the party’s estimates of chief to discuss national reconciliation. of tension between Suu Kyi and the mili- its own performance. The ruling Union Suu Kyi’s opposition National League tary is a clause in the constitution bar- Solidarity and Development Party for Democracy (NLD) has won over 90 ring her from the presidency because (USDP), created by the junta and led by percent of the seats declared so far in her children are foreign nationals. Few retired soldiers, has conceded defeat in a the lower house and is well ahead in the doubt the military inserted the clause to poll that was a major milestone on upper house and regional assemblies. rule her out. Myanmar’s rocky path from dictatorship If the final results confirm the trend, to democracy. Suu Kyi’s triumph will sweep out an old ‘MAKING ALL DECISIONS’ Suu Kyi also requested a meeting guard of former generals that has run While her letters seek conciliation, with former USDP chairman Shwe Mann, Myanmar since the junta handed over Suu Kyi has become increasingly defiant the lower house speaker. He lost his seat, power to President Thein Sein’s semi- on the presidential clause as the scale of but before the election had been seen as civilian government in 2011. her victory has become apparent. She a presidential contender. The armed forces continue to wield has made it clear she will run the coun- He antagonised the military while in considerable power in Myanmar’s politi- try regardless of who the NLD elects as parliament and built close ties to Suu cal institutions, enshrined in a constitu- president and described the constitution Kyi, arousing the suspicion of many in tion drafted before the end of nearly 50 as “very silly”. his party. years of rule. It is unclear how Suu Kyi “We’ll find one,” she told the BBC in an and the generals will work together. interview on Tuesday, referring to her CONTROL OF BUREAUCRACY In letters to the commander-in-chief choice of president. “But that won’t stop In addition to his bloc of parliament YANGON: Myanmar men read a newspaper showing a picture of opposition and the president dated Nov. 10 which me from making all the decisions as the seats, the commander-in-chief nomi- leader Aung San Suu Kyi, seen at right with Tin Oo, the National League for the NLD released to media on leader of the winning party.” nates the heads of three powerful and Democracy (NLD) party chairman, outside the NLD headquarters in Yangon Wednesday, Suu Kyi requested meetings Results so far gave Suu Kyi’s party 134 big-budget ministries - interior, defense yesterday.—AFP within a week to discuss the basis of of 149 seats declared out of the 330 and border security. “national reconciliation.” seats not allocated to the military in the The interior ministry gives him con- ceasefire negotiator, Aung Min, was stood at $8 billion in fiscal 2014/15, “It is very important for the dignity of lower house. Under the junta-crafted trol of the pervasive bureaucracy, which among the heavyweight politicians that more than five times the flows recorded the country and to bring peace of mind constitution, a quarter of the seats in could pose a significant obstacle to the lost in the elections. just two years earlier. to the people,” Suu Kyi said in the letter. both chambers are unelected and NLD’s ability to execute policy. Among Sunday’s vote was Myanmar’s first Washington welcomed the election Information Minister and Presidential reserved for the armed forces. other formidable challenges for Suu Kyi freely contested general election since as a victory for Myanmar’s people, but Spokesman Ye Htut said on his Facebook To form Myanmar’s first democratical- is trying to put an end to decades of Thein Sein ushered in a period of said it would watch how the democratic page: “In response to the letter from ly elected government since the early conflict with armed ethnic groups. reforms that prompted a partial lifting of process moved forward before lifting the Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the president 1960s, the NLD needs to win more than Thein Sein failed to do that despite pro- international sanctions. remaining US sanctions. Final results are this morning replied to her that the two-thirds of seats that were contested tracted talks that led to a ceasefire with Money from abroad flowed in quickly due no later than two weeks after meeting would be coordinated when in parliament. some groups. The government’s chief afterward. Foreign direct investment Sunday’s poll. — Reuters Modi visits Britain, seeks to recover from election blow India PM to address huge crowd at Wembley Stadium NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra drew to New York’s Madison Square Garden last About 45 British lawmakers, including oppo- Modi will address a mass rally on a visit to Britain year. Yet Modi’s popularity is being challenged at sition leader Jeremy Corbyn, recently signed a this week that supporters hope will help him home, after the BJP lost an election badly in the parliamentary motion to debate India’s human spring back from a humiliating election loss and eastern state of Bihar, home to 104 million peo- rights record. reassert his authority on the global stage. India ple. Three party elders, including former deputy Modi has also attracted negative coverage in and Britain could announce deals worth 8-12 bil- prime minister L K Advani, released a statement the British press, with the left-leaning Guardian lion pounds ($12-$18 billion) during the visit, late on Tuesday questioning the direction of the newspaper branding him a “divisive manipulator according to diplomats, with Modi keen to buy BJP, which risks embarrassing Modi just ahead of who charmed the world”. The Financial Times 20 more BAE Systems Hawk trainer aircraft to be his visit. predicted his visit would be overshadowed by made in Bengaluru. troubles at home including “a surge of some- Britain is home to an Indian diaspora of 1.5 REVAMP SOUGHT times violent Hindu chauvinism and a slowdown million, and the two nations share the English British Prime Minister David Cameron is seek- of economic reform”. language, historical ties and an obsession with ing to revamp economic ties with fast-growing However, many in Britain’s Indian diaspora AMRITSAR: An Indian Sikh Nihang (a traditional Sikh religious warrior) Baba ‘Avtar’ cricket. Yet Modi has, in his first 18 months in Asian nations, including India, as part of his push were eager to celebrate Modi, with a website Singh wears an oversized giant traditional turban as he pay respects at the Golden power, made a priority of courting global pow- on business-focused diplomacy. Modi’s trip called “UK welcomes Modi” promising to deliver temple in Amritsar on Tuesday on the eve of the Indian festival of Diwali, the festival ers like the United States and China. marks a remarkable turnaround for a man who “the loudest, greatest and most vibrant welcome of lights. There will be no spectacular show of light and fireworks this Diwali at the “UK-India ties are economically strong, but was banned from Britain for 10 years over his he has seen outside of India” at the Wembley ral- Golden Temple as the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has strategically weak,” said Shashank Joshi, a senior alleged role as chief minister of Gujarat in riots ly. Modi’s bilateral visit, the first by an Indian decided not to celebrate the festival in the wake of series of incidents of alleged des- research fellow at the Royal United Services that killed about 1,000 people in 2002. prime minister since 2006, follows a pomp-laden ecration of the Guru Granth Sahib (Sikh holy book).—AFP Institute in London. Seeking to regain the initia- Britain ended a boycott of Modi three years visit the British government gave China’s tive after crashing to defeat in a big state elec- ago after he emerged from being a provincial President Xi Jinping last month that yielded $62 tion at the weekend, Modi eased foreign invest- politician to the likely leader of the world’s billion of deals. ment rules this week in 15 sectors, including largest democracy. He has denied wrongdoing Britain has gradually lost ground to other Bangladesh hands over mining, defense and civil aviation. and was exonerated by an inquiry ordered by nations in an effort to increase trade with its “By introducing these reforms the govern- India’s Supreme Court. His three-day visit is likely former colony. In 2000, it was India’s third- top rebel leader to India ment is certainly spelling out why India is an to be marked by protests over those riots and largest trading partner. Since then Britain has attractive destination,” said Nalin Kohli, a concerns over recent incidents in India where slipped to 18th, behind Belgium and Kuwait.

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