Change Is Not Quick, Yet Suu Kyi Reaffirms Confidence in President

Change Is Not Quick, Yet Suu Kyi Reaffirms Confidence in President
BA KAUNG, January 4, 2012

The pace of reform in Burma has not come about as quickly as people expected, Burma's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi said on Wednesday, though she reaffirmed her confidence in President Thein Sein.

Suu Kyi urged the Burmese public to develop maturity and make more effort in the face of continued challenges. She said her priorities in 2012 include domestic peace, the rule of law, and plans to change the undemocratic elements in the military-drafted Constitution.

Her remarks were made as Thein Sein's plans for democratic reform came under strong public criticism following an order to cut jail terms for all inmates—a move that had been widely anticipated to include an amnesty for political prisoners.

“Changes have not come about as quickly as we had hoped,” Suu Kyi said in a speech at a gathering of veteran politicians in Rangoon on Wednesday in honor of the country's 64th anniversary of independence from British colonial rule.

Suu Kyi said she shares the public frustration over the government clemency that on Monday saw the release of just over 30 political prisoners while the several hundreds remain behind bars.

But she said the latest steps do not preclude the future release of political prisoners. She repeated her confidence in President Thein Sein's reform initiatives, which led to her decision to run for parliament in by-elections scheduled for April 1.

“I have confidence in the president's influence, as I frankly expressed some time ago,” she said. “But please keep it firmly in mind that one person alone cannot enact reforms.”

In a statement published in the state-run media to mark Independence Day, President Thein Sein assured the Burmese public that the current reforms were irreversible. He also warned that the powerful influence of large nations threatens the sovereignty of smaller ones, repeating a traditional message by previous military rulers that frequently alluded to outside interference in the country's affairs.

Meanwhile, Burmese dissidents appear to have focused their anger over the continued detention of political prisoners on the country's 11-member National Defense Security Council (NDSC)—a governing body established by the Constitution and chaired by the president.

The country's chief and deputy chief of the army also play key roles in the NDSC which is strongly believed to be blocking the release of leading dissidents serving long sentences.

In protest of continued detention of political prisoners, Burma's best known comedian Zarganar wrote on his Facebook on Tuesday that the country's leaders are completely untrustworthy and worse than Somali pirates.

He has also declared a self-imposed ban on his plan to film a biography of the country's independence hero, Aung San, until political prisoners are released.