NLD promises better govt, peace

Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has stepped up her fight for victory as the election will arrive in less than a month: relentlessly urging voters to show up on the polling date, she wooed them with a wide range of promises.
Before large crowds at the party campaign last week in Kachin State – home to over 720,000 eligible voters, the chairperson of the National League for Democracy promised a clean government if her party wins the November 8 election.
In Mohnyin Township, she said: “Corruption occurs very widely in our country. We cannot make it vanish right away. But if NLD is able to establish the government, I guarantee it will be clean.”
Her party will contest the election with 1,130 candidates in 1,171 constituencies.
In Myitkyina Township, she met religious leaders and said: “If we win the election, we will welcome other parties to work together for national reconciliation. Bullying is unacceptable,” said Suu Kyi.
Peace required three steps, she added. It needed a ceasefire followed by a peace conference and a constitution to establish a federal union. She said that being excluded from peace talks meant it was important to show that the NLD supported the peace process. The NLD first needed to be elected to push for peace, she said.
Citing that the upcoming election is as important as the Panglong Agreement, she said the agreement shows working together is better than working separately.
Echoing the same message, while in Mon State, NLD patron Tin Oo said all ethnic groups have the right to equality. He guaranteed that all groups would have autonomy in their states.
While in Moemauk Township notorious for illegal logging, Suu Kyi promised transparent tax-collection system. Saying that under a democratic system, people enjoy more rights but that comes with duties, she said paying taxes is one of the duties. She also implied that natural resources extracting projects should be better regulated, assuming that all citizens are equal under the law.

If an ordinary person is not allowed to cut trees, government officials must follow suit. All are equal. We will give them equal rights,” said Suu Kyi.
She also vowed to expose the controversial Myitsone dam project. The locals in the state opposed the project, which will be built by Chinese Power Investment Corporation. Suu Kyi said if the contract is to be cancelled, compensation would be paid to the Chinese company.
“We don’t know the amount of compensation or how it will affect Myanmar...I’ll show every detail of the project and the contract. With the help of the people, we will find ways to settle the problem,” said the NLD leader.
Her promises include the vow to end power if the NLD-appointed government fails to meet people’s expectation.
“I have frequently said the NLD government will not govern if the public disapproves of our performance, as that will be politically shameless.”
“We want to win cleanly and fairly in the election. In a democracy, asking for a vote is like asking for people’s trust. If we are dishonest how we can get people’s trust,” said Suu Kyi.
During the visit, Suu Kyi was asked if she would turn Myanmar into a foreign country, based on the fact that she married a foreigner. To this question, she said decades of military rules left people in the dark, allowing some election candidates to exploit racial and religious differences. It was the lowest political tactic, she said.
“According to our Constitution, there are restrictions on mixing race and religion with politics. So I have to ask the authorities why they aren’t taking action against the people employing these tactics. We wish to live peacefully and harmoniously with all the people of the world.”
Suu Kyi is due to visit Rakhine State on Thursday.