In Myanmar, political mood sours as transition talks hit a snag

NAYPYITAW: The mood of goodwill evident in early talks between Aung San Suu Kyi and Myanmar’s military over the country’s transition to democratic government has soured, as tensions rise over how to divide up power and deal with the legacy of junta rule.

The apparent stalemate has forced Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) to push back the election by parliament of a new president to March 17, cutting close to the April 1 deadline when the new government is supposed to start its term.

While negotiations have been conducted amid tight secrecy, lawmakers say divisions emerged after the military put forward its list of demands to the incoming government last month.

The appointment of ex-general Shwe Mann, now a key Suu Kyi ally, to a powerful advisory panel has also stoked mistrust, some say, because his insider knowledge could enable Myanmar’s new rulers to delve into the actions of the outgoing government.

"It seems like all of the members of the previous government are now panicking, so they try to use the military’s weight to protect themselves," said a former senior lawmaker from the army-linked Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).

Suu Kyi’s NLD won a landslide in Myanmar’s first democratic election in a quarter of a century in November, kicking off a lengthy transition from the semi-civilian government that in 2011 replaced a junta that had run the country for 49 years.

That transition began with mutual handshakes and speeches about "national reconciliation", but as the talks drag on the tone of public debate - and that of legislators speaking privately - has changed.

In recent days, the NLD and the military have bickered via the media over whether Myanmar’s junta-drafted constitution, which bars Suu Kyi from becoming president, should be amended to let her take the highest office.

Ye Htut, the outgoing Minister of Information and presidential spokesman, said Suu Kyi should respect the military as, essentially, the country’s second biggest party, and urged her administration not to dwell on the issue of the presidency, instead focusing on economic reform.

Last week the NLD appointed Shwe Mann, a former speaker of the lower house who was purged from the USDP last year, as the head of the Legal Affairs and Examination of Special Matters Commission, a powerful panel that advises on legislation.

This choice, some MPs say, could be problematic for former members of outgoing President Thein Sein’s government if the NLD decided to use the commission’s expertise to try to amend laws or revisit contracts approved by his administration.

The issue of not raking over the past has been crucial in efforts to establish a working relationship between Suu Kyi and her former foes in the military, which under the constitution retains a bloc of seats in parliament and control of key parts of the state apparatus.