Bangkok (Mizzima) – “People must work in unison. Only then can we achieve our goals,” the BBC quoted the just-released Aung San Suu Kyi as saying. But, which people, and which goals?
Specifically, how will the National Democratic Force respond to Suu Kyi’s release? Not only is she a national heroine and a Nobel Peace Prize winner, but it is also arguable that, legally and morally, she is the legitimate prime minister of Burma.The NDF shares the democratic goals put forward by Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, and has been organisationally distinct for less than a year. Yet, it stands to seat dozens of members in the junta-sponsored Hluttaws (parliaments) that are scheduled to emerge from the November 7 “elections”. The NLD boycotted those elections, and continues to reject the results thereof. Should the NDF take the seats that were doled out to it in the elections? Indeed, should the NDF continue to exist as a distinct organisation?
In a public statement made on October 9, 2010, Khin Maung Swe, NDF leader, said that the NDF would be scrapped if Aung San Suu Kyi, after her release, so requested, as she is the leader of those struggling for democracy in Burma. He further indicated a willingness to work with NLD leaders, such as Aung Shwe and Lwin, to ensure that Suu Kyi would fully understand that the NDF was still on the right track. Now, with Suu Kyi’s free, he has reiterated his desire to work with her. Mizzima reports his stating on the day of her release: “We are ready to meet her, if she desires. We want to co-operate with her in the struggle for democracy.”
On its side, the NLD may well have been holding out an olive branch to the NDF via statements made in an interview with Mizzima two days after the election. In that interview Win Tin, a member of the central executive committee of the NLD, indicated that despite the NLD’s election boycott, it wanted to do what it could to alleviate the increased ugliness that this “election fraud” added to Burmese politics. He stated that “…this kind of vote riggings happening in politics has bad consequences for Burma’s politics. If we take the view that bad politics in turn lead to bad consequences for the people, then we are also responsible. Although we are boycotting this election, we feel that we are also partly responsible. Therefore, we will try to remedy the situation and take appropriate actions. For the moment, I can’t tell you how. We still have to decide on that matter.”
It would seem that Suu Kyi might now have the opportunity to “remedy the situation and take appropriate actions”. But this depends on any restrictions that might have been imposed on her release. Will she be allowed to play an active political role? Will she be able to serve as an “umpire” above whatever tensions remain between the NLD and the NDF, and between those organisations and the institutions of the ethnic minorities? As long as there is sufficient unity regarding who “the people” are, and just what “our goals” are, then her release will prove to be far more than the bit of symbolism that the junta was hoping it could be turned into by delaying that release until after its rigged elections.
Will Suu Kyi be able to foster the systemic changes necessary to advance the cause of democracy in Burma? As her speech to supporters outside NLD headquarters makes clear, she recognises the need to go beyond words to structural work: “I’ve always believed in national reconciliation. I’ve said time and again that I’ve worked by depending on the strength of the people. But that will be effective only when we can use this strength systematically. Please let me say to the people again: We cannot achieve victory by merely hoping for it. We can achieve victory if and only if we work with courage and determination for what we want. We also need to explore the best path to achieve victory too.”
Having spent 20 years teaching philosophy and political theory at institutions including the American University in Cairo and the University of Cape Town, South Africa, Dr. Shawn Smith is based in Bangkok, Thailand, combining political punditry and creative writing. He is working on a book about the Burmese elections on November 7.
