Mizzima
National League for Democracy (NLD) members around Myanmar and abroad took a moment out this week to mark the 35th anniversary of the party’s founding as the country continues to struggle post-coup.
Myanmar’s pro-democracy party the NLD was first established on 27 September 1988. The NLD won more than 80 per cent of the parliamentary seats in 1990 elections, but the military government of the time refused to accept the results.
The NLD was under military rule until the November 2010 multiparty elections in which the party refused to reregister under the new election law that technically targeted Aung San Suu Kyi, with the provision prohibiting individuals from any participation in elections if they had been convicted of a crime, and another disqualified anyone who was (or had been) married to a foreign national from running for office.
NLD was disbanded for its failure to register for elections and the military-backed parties easily won the majority of seats in the parliament despite widespread allegations of voter fraud.
Restrictions on Aung San Suu Kyi were relaxed during 2011, allowing her to meet with Thein Sein’s quasi-civilian government in August, and other high-profile meetings later in the year and overseas trips to regional and western countries in 2012.
In the 2012 by-elections, the NLD won 45 legislative seats against 664 seats of the army and its allies, including Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), in parliament.
In November the 2015 general elections, the NLD secured large-enough majority of seats in both houses of parliament, allowing the party to form a government, presided over by Htin Kyaw as Aung San Suu Kyi has not allowed to become head of state under the controversial military-written 2008 Constitution that favours the military to control important ministries such as defence, home affairs and border affairs.
The NLD tabled an emergency motion to the parliament in January 2019 to set up a joint parliamentary committee to work on amending the controversial constitution. It was first attempt of the party after taking office in 2016.
During the term of the NLD government from 2015 to 2020, several attempts were made by its MPs to amend the constitution, but the military blocked it.
NLD government faced many confrontations from the military and its allied parties, organizations and extreme nationalistic groups in its struggle for the democratic reform process until it was dethroned by the military with a coup on 1 February 2021 after the general elections on 8 November 2020 in which NLD won 396 seats out of 476 in the Union parliament.
The military, led by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, staged a coup against the civilian government, and arrested the NLD’s leaders, its parliamentarians, ministers and pro-democratic forces.
Some of them were tortured and killed by the junta regime, some remain under detention and some fled abroad.
Myanmar has fallen into a worsening conflict between the military and anti-coup forces, while an estimated 214,000 still participating are paying a heavy price in the struggle for the return of democracy to the country.
On its 35th anniversary of establishment of NLD on 27 September, its Central Work Committee issued a proclamation, saying that since the military coup on 1 February 2021 to now, the military junta has arrested, detained and imprisoned activists from various regions including the leaders of NLD and civilians, resulting in the arrest of 15,838 civilians, including 1,769 members of the NLD, and 97 members of the party were among the 4,011 who have been unlawfully tortured and killed.
NLD’s central work committee also proclaimed that the junta also illegally sealed and confiscated the assets and properties of 373 NLD party members and raided party offices, stealing, demolishing and burning down their properties in 160 incidents.
On the occasion of 35th anniversary of party’s establishment, the NLD called on and urged friendly countries and the international community to support them for the unconditional release of all political prisoners, including party leader Aung San Suu Kyi who is essential in deescalating Myanmar crisis and prevent its spread to the level of a regional problem.
Amid tension is intensifying across the country, mainly in ethnic areas such as Karen, Kachin and Karenni state, the military junta has planned to hold nationwide general elections, probably around 2025, with some political parties, and is promoting relationships with its supporting countries such as China and Russia, in a struggle for international recognition, to throw out NLD’s legitimate landslide victory in the 2020 general election.
