Whether the 2008 constitution is amended or not, the issue surrounding constitutional amendment will not affect the progress of nationwide ceasefire talks, said Nai Hongsar, leader of the Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT).
“The truth is that the constitution was drawn up by the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) government. As it was drawn by the military they do not want to amend it. On our side, at this time, in we must first have talks about signing a nationwide ceasefire agreement. After signing the ceasefire, we will talk about the constitution amendment. So, constitutional amendment has no bearing on signing a nationwide ceasefire agreement,” said Nai Hongsar, in an interview with IMNA.
The people of Burma do not agree that the Constitution should only be amended after the 2015 general elections, and are pushing for constitutional reform now. The government will not allow the amendment of the Constitution, or its most critical articles.
Nai Hongsar, who also serves as vice-chairman of the New Mon State Party (NMSP), states that the government is using the discord surrounding constitutional amendment as a method to delay nationwide ceasefire talks.
Speaker of Pyidaungsu Hluttaw Thura U Shwe Mann announced at a press conference held in Nay Pyi Taw earlier this week that a public campaign for constitutional amendment will held in May before the 2015 elections, with constitutional amendment voted upon by newly elected Hluttaw representatives, according to the results of the May campaign.
Although a committee calling for amendment of the 2008 Constitution before 2015 elections proposed constitutional amendments, the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (Union Parliament) rejected the committee’s proposals, stating that the 2015 elections will be contested in accordance with the 2008 Constitution.
“There is a lot to amend in the 2008 Constitution”, continued Nai Hongsar, “The main thing is that the constitution specifies the army automatically has 25 percent of seats. So, it is not a democratic system. Another point is that this is supposed to be a union constitution but there is no provision for separation of powers to states and divisions.”
According to Nai Hongsar, in order to be able to amend the 2008 Constitution, after signing a nationwide ceasefire agreement a national convention must be held, followed by talks and analysis on the Constitution to find solutions for constitutional amendment.
