Charter appeal should impact parliament, Suu Kyi says
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Govt is obligated to grant people's aspirations on constitution change, says opposition leader
The people’s signatures in support of amending Section 436 of the 2008 Constitution are meant for parliament to uphold their aspirations, said opposition leader and chairwoman of the National League for Democracy Aung San Suu Kyi, reminding lawmakers that parliament must act on the people’s will.
Suu Kyi was talking to reporters while attending the lower house session in Nay Pyi Taw on Friday.
On the previous day, Union Parliament Speaker Thura Shwe Mann said the NLD-led campaign for charter change would not have an impact on the work of the parliamentary committee in charge of amending the charter.
In rebutting Shwe Mann, the NLD leader said the charter-change campaign is not meant for the Constitutional Review Commission but for the entire parliament.
She said the people’s aspirations should have an impact on the legislative work and that the government was obligated, in turn, to implement the mutual aspirations of the people and the legislature.
“By the previous counting, the signatures collected amounted to more than three million. And the campaign has not concluded yet. We do not make careless remarks without waiting for the final outcome,” she said.
The NLD and the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society have jointly launched the signature campaign to petition for charter change across the country.
More than three million people have already signed the petition in support of amending the military-drafted constitution. The campaign runs until July 19.
Suu Kyi said earlier at a public rally supporting the constitutional amendment that the people should watch whether the government is really taking the path to democracy.
Thura Shwe Mann has insisted the opposition’s charter-change campaign would not have any bearing on the parliamentary committee for constitutional amendments.
“The National League for Democracy is campaigning on its own accord and with its own ideas. So, its activities will not have much influence on the committee,” said Shwe Mann.
He said the committee was formed based on a report compiled by parliament’s constitutional review committee. Those committees have policies. Constitutional amendments are possible if the process is in line with those policies, he said.
