Aung San Suu Kyi, Chairperson of the National League for Democracy (NLD), speaking at the silver jubilee ceremony of Myanmar’s “8888” pro-democracy uprising on August 8 said that people should not shy away from amending the Constitution.
The NLD contested in the April 2012 by-election partly because they intend to push for amendment of the Constitution.
“The Constitution is composed by men. If we dare not amend it, does it not imply that living people fear something lifeless? The lifeblood of a Constitution is the citizen’s acceptance and trust,” said Aung San Suu Kyi in her speech.
She also made remarks on the ‘rule of law’ and peace. She pointed out that there are delays in bringing about changes in the Constitution.
“If one asks whether the country has ‘rule of law’; we have to reply, ‘No’. If one asks whether peace is really established in the country; we have to say, ‘No’ again. If one asks whether the Constitution has already been amended, we have to say that the amendment process has not even started yet”, said Suu Kyi.
She urged the people be fearless in their endeavors for the future of the country and to follow the path of non-violence in working towards a political goal.
“If we achieve our goals through violent means, it indicates that we are incompetent. Some people use violent ways in order to achieve their goals quickly. Achieving a goal quickly is not the same as achieving a goal through the right way. Resorting to violence to achieve a goal will inflict wounds that will take a long time to heal,” Suu Kyi warned.
NLD patrons Win Tin and Tin Oo, members of ethnic armed groups, USDP Vice Chairman Htay Oo and USDP Joint Secretary Thein Zaw attended the ceremony. It is the first official “8888” ceremony that was approved to be held inside the country since 1988.
