NLD defends Suu Kyi's stance on dam plan

Win Myint sought to clarify comments by Suu Kyi expressed on the NLD’s Facebook page on January 3.

A story headlined “NLD and its chairperson indecisive over whether or not Myitsone project would continue” ran on the front page of The Daily Eleven’s January 3 issue. 

Win Myint said this view is one-sided. 

This project was agreed by the previous military regime, and the details of the contract are not known, he said. Given these conditions, it is not easy for a person “of her word”, like Suu Kyi, to talk decisively about the project, the spokesman said. 

Suu Kyi earlier said she needed to look at the Myitsone Dam project’s contract to see what it involved. She thought the government should inform the public of these details, and added that the commitments in the contract would have to be fulfilled by the country and the people. That was why she had not made more detailed comments on the project, the spokesman said. As a “democracy leader” and a public figure, she had expressed her views on the project based on the principle of “Say little, but keep your word,” Win Myint said. 

The spokesman added that the contract must be studied, the project must be reviewed and there must be negotiation. He added that the NLD believes there must be transparency; that the focus must be on the national interest; and that the concerns of those looking to conserve the Ayeyawady River must be taken into account. 

Therefore, he said, the attitude of the NLD’s leader was, in fact, decisive. Given the current conditions, there can be no better answer than the one Suu Kyi has already provided, the spokesman said.