New Delhi (Mizzima) – The Friends of Democracy group plans to move motions to clean up outdated laws when the next Burmese Parliament session convenes on August 22. Dozens of outdated laws could be included, said party officials.
As an example of outdated laws, Treasurer Saw Than Myint of the Shan Nationalities Development Party (SNDP), one of the parties in the 10-party coalition, told Mizzima: “Suppose I take a foreign trip then I need to exchange at least US$ 500. The money can not be my earnings from an export business, and if I hold foreign currency in Burma, it will be illegal and I can be prosecuted under the Foreign Exchange Law. In this age of globalization, such laws are irrelevant.”According to the existing law, only sailors with foreign shipping companies and export-import businessmen can hold foreign exchange, making many residents who hold US dollars lawbreakers.
The Friends of Democracy group consists of the National Democratic Front (NDF), Democratic Party-Myanmar (DPM), Democracy and Peace Party, Union Democracy Party, and ethnic parties representing Karen, Shan, Mon, Chin and Rakhine.
A meeting has been scheduled for August 10 at the DMP office to gather more information on outdated legislation.
The NDF party also said it plans to move motions on political, social and economic issues and would submit about 30 bills during the forthcoming Parliament session. It said it could not disclose its motions before they are taken up in Parliament.
“In the last Parliament session, we could not move some of our motions because we disclosed our plans to the media before submitting them at the Parliament session,” said NDF member Khin Maung Swe.
The NDF submitted more than 20 motions at the first Parliament session, which started on January 31, including motions to release all political prisoners and granting amnesty. The motions were rejected.
Shan and Rakhine party members said that they would propose motions for peace and cease-fire agreements in the current armed conflicts.
“We will consider mediation by Parliament in the current and ongoing conflicts which have not yet achieved peace between the government and armed groups. This is a concern for everyone,” said Rakhine Nationality Development Party (RNDP) chairman Dr. Aye Maung.
NDF member Khin Maung Swen noted that the first Parliament session was called by the outgoing State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) government. He said, “The questions were answered by ministers of the old government, and they defended their policies and what they did. They made no promises to us based on our questioning. This forthcoming session will be called by the new president, and we hope we will get more specific answers and will see a clear-cut pattern to their policies and actions,” he added.
National Unity Party (NUP) leader Han Shwe said, “We will see the performance of the new government. In this Parliament session, the new government must answer based on its performance, how much they could do, what they could not do, how much they could implement, etc. This session will be the report card for this new government and it will show their weaknesses and strengths.”
According to sources close to the government, Lower House Speaker Shwe Mahn will encourage reform in the country and strengthening the role of Parliament in the forthcoming session.
In the last session, most of the motions and questions were rejected by Parliament, which was dominated by MPs from the government-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party. Parties were told to reintroduce the rejected motions in the next session of Parliament.
