Addressing a group of Myanmar expatriates in Doha, Qatar, on December 11, the National League for Democracy leader said the political will to amend the constitution was lacking.

“One must require a strong desire to amend the constitution if they truly want to achieve democracy,” Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said.

“If not, that means they don’t have a real hunger for achieving it,” she said.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi wants the constitution amended to remove a clause that would prevent her from being nominated for the presidency and to eliminate provisions requiring 25 percent of the seats in parliament to be held by members of the military appointed by the Commander-in-Chief.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said that in calling for amendments to the constitution, her intention was not to remove people from their positions.

“My goal is to change the system…but we are not actively trying to remove people from their jobs,” she said.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi urged the audience to support and encourage political progress in Myanmar.

She said the NLD would later this month submit proposals for amending the charter to the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw’s constitution review joint committee. The 109-member committee, which was appointed in July, has called for public submissions on proposals to amend the constitution by the end of the month.

The submissions will be included in a report that the committee will submit to the Pyidaungsu Hlutton at the end of next month.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was in Qatar to deliver the keynote address at the World Innovation Summit for Health, in which she spoke of the challenges to upgrading Myanmar’s health care system.

She returned to Myanmar on December 12.