Myanmar
AUG. 28, 2015
YANGON, Myanmar — Framed photographs of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel
laureate, cover the walls of his small living room, but U Myo Khin, a longtime
democracy activist, has harsh words for the woman he idolized for years as a
crusader against dictatorship.
“The goal is still democracy, but her behavior is authoritarian,” said Mr.
Myo Khin, whose credentials in the democracy movement include 12 years as a
political prisoner. “She is losing people like us who have been strong
supporters for a very long time.”
It was taboo for many years among democracy activists in Myanmar to speak ill of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi,
who became a global icon of democracy and a symbol of resistance against
oppression when Myanmar
But as landmark elections approach — a contest described by some as a
once-in-a-generation opportunity for democratic forces — Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi
is being openly criticized by activists, commentators and intellectuals. They
accuse her of a my-way-or-the-highway approach to managing her party. They
question her decision to ally herself with a now-marginalized former general.
And they say she is missing an opportunity to build a grand coalition of democratic
forces, including minority ethnic groups whose support may be crucial after the
election.
“She has made enemies with the people she needs,” said U Sithu Aung Myint,
a widely read columnist with a reputation for nonpartisan commentary. “She
lacks strategic thinking, and she is not a clever politician.”
For a woman who sacrificed the better part of two decades fighting
dictatorship, much of that time under house arrest, it is deeply paradoxical
that a word increasingly used to describe her is authoritarian, even among her
closest allies in her party, the National League for Democracy.
Asked what he thought of the term, U Nyan Win, the party’s spokesman, did
not hesitate.
“I agree,” he said.
But he insisted that her top-down handling of party affairs did not
diminish her legacy and leadership in pushing for democratic change.
Burmese political culture has long featured hierarchical decision-making,
he said, and her party is no exception. He painted a picture of Ms. Aung San
Suu Kyi, who turned 70 in
June, as overworked, struggling to delegate power and not always getting
accurate information about the day-to-day decisions within the party.
Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi declined requests to be interviewed for this article.
Her party came under its heaviest criticism in recent months during the
selection process of candidates for the Nov. 8 election. Some of the leading
lights of the democracy movement, former political prisoners known as the 88
Generation, were largely passed over. The party’s leadership also overruled the
recommendations and nominations of many local chapters, putting in place their
own candidates for the election. Those decisions spawned a rare public display
of anger and defections. A number of defiant members of the party were expelled.
“The responsibility of the people is simply to vote for the party, not the
name of the candidate,” she was quoted as saying by Radio Free Asia.
The party also ordered candidates not to speak with the media, saying it
could jeopardize their chances during the vetting process by the election
commission. Critics saw it as a gag order.
At a time when the party needs unity more than ever, stalwarts like Mr.
Myo Khin, the longtime democracy activist, are angry. His involvement in the
movement began 27 years ago when a fellow proponent of democracy was shot by
the military and died in his arms.
When the party leadership passed him over as the candidate in his home
district in Yangon , he quit the party and
signed up to run as an independent.
Another longtime party activist in an adjoining district, Daw Khin Phone
Wai, 44, also left the party and is running as an independent. She still
admires Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi but says she worries that she is increasingly seen
as detached from the people.
“She has knowledge about international things, and she speaks foreign
languages,” Ms. Khin Phone Wai said. “But she cannot relate to ordinary people.
People are facing hardship every day, and she can’t feel their needs. She’s not
in touch with the people at the bottom.”
Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s supporters overseas have been dismayed by her
silence and inaction over the plight of the Rohingya, a Muslim minority who are
being excluded from voting. But in Myanmar
Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, the daughter of Myanmar
Analysts believe that Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi will continue to benefit from
the popular hatred of the military, which built up over decades of misrule. But
gauging her popularity has proved difficult. In a recent opinion poll, half of
respondents refused to disclose whom they would vote for.
U Yan Myo Thein, a political analyst, said that the democracy movement has
strong support in cities and towns but that winning in rural areas, which make
up 70 percent of the elected seats in Parliament, will be more challenging.
Under the current system the deck is stacked against the democracy
movement: The country’s Constitution, written by the military junta before it
handed over power to a quasi-civilian government in 2011, allocates one quarter
of the seats in Parliament to the military. This means democratic forces, if
they do not ally themselves with the army, must gain two-thirds of the elected
seats to have a simple majority. Around 40 percent of the seats are in minority
ethnic areas, which tend to back their own parties, and democracy activists
lament that Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi has not formed closer alliances with the
groups.
The military’s top general chooses the ministers of home affairs, defense
and border security, no matter who wins the election.
Moreover, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi is barred from the presidency by a clause
in the Constitution that disallows anyone with a foreign spouse or children
from becoming president, a rule that some say was written with her in mind. Her
husband, who died in 1999, was a British citizen, and so are their two sons.
Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s critics acknowledge the uneven playing field but
say she has made a bad situation worse by antagonizing the military. Her
alliance with Thura Shwe Mann, a former general in the junta who leads one
faction of the military establishment but is widely disliked by other factions,
rattled the military’s top brass. Earlier this month Mr. Shwe Mann was purged
as the head of the Union Solidarity and Development Party by the president and
his backers in the military.
Daw Nyo Nyo Thin, an independent member of the Yangon
regional Parliament, does not trust the military, but says Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi
should be courting them because the military brass has veto power over major
changes to the Constitution that democratic forces desire.
“She must get on well with the military,” Ms. Nyo Nyo Thin said. “Without
the military in agreement we can never amend the Constitution.”
Ms. Nyo Nyo Thin predicts a messy election followed by months of horse
trading among ethnic groups, democratic forces and the military.
She says she has been “confused” by Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s decisions in
recent months.
Is the Nobel laureate authoritarian?
“We have many stories,” Ms. Nyo Nyo Thin said. “But this is not the time
to speak out.”
Structure of the Lead：
Keywords：
“The goal is still democracy, but her behavior is authoritarian,” said Mr. Myo Khin, whose credentials in the democracy movement include 12 years as a political prisoner. “She is losing people like us who have been strong supporters for a very long time.”
It was taboo for many years among democracy activists in
But as landmark elections approach — a contest described by some as a once-in-a-generation opportunity for democratic forces — Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi is being openly criticized by activists, commentators and intellectuals. They accuse her of a my-way-or-the-highway approach to managing her party. They question her decision to ally herself with a now-marginalized former general. And they say she is missing an opportunity to build a grand coalition of democratic forces, including minority ethnic groups whose support may be crucial after the election.
“She has made enemies with the people she needs,” said U Sithu Aung Myint, a widely read columnist with a reputation for nonpartisan commentary. “She lacks strategic thinking, and she is not a clever politician.”
She is a tough woman. She would sacrifice herself to save the country from the authoritarian.Because of her,many people start to antagonize the junta. I hope she can success.
回覆刪除Changing a country is very difficult, but she did it. She is such a brave woman that fighting against military dictatorship. Though she encountered unfair treatment, she really change Myanmar into a democratic country. She did a great thing to her homeland.
回覆刪除She is absolutely a great woman. She doesn't afraid of anything and just does what she thinks is right. I respect to her very much. And I also want to be a person like her, courageous and never give up.
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