ID :
112619
Fri, 03/19/2010 - 21:38
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/112619
The shortlink copeid
RI'S FM TO DISCUSS MYANMAR'S ELECTORAL LAW WITH JUNTA
Jakarta, March 19 (ANTARA) - Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said he will visit Myanmar next March 30 to discuss the country's electoral law and its implications for the promotion of democracy there with the military junta.
"We would like to know about the practical implications of the recently issued electoral law to determine whether its substance meets the Myanmar government's commitment to hold a democratic, free and multi-party election," Marty said here on Friday.
Marty expressed hope the law would not prevent opposition party leader Aung San Suu Kyi from joining the election.
"We hope Aung San Suu Kyi can participate in the election. She will contribute to the democratization process in Myanmar," he said, adding that Indonesia would not accept any undemocratic action by the military junta.
Aung San Suu Kyi's party, the NDL, won the 1990 general elections but the junta would not allow the party to govern. She was then put under house arrest - a status she has endured for 14 of her 20 years in detention.
The period of her house arrest was extended by another 18 months in August 2009 after she was declared guilty in the case of a US citizen who had swam to her lake-side house.
The extra-punishment caused an international uproar as it would make it impossible for her to participate in the election the military junta had promised to hold this year. The opposition is suspicious about the election which they consider as a mere plan for legitimizing the junta`s iron-fist authority.
"We would like to know about the practical implications of the recently issued electoral law to determine whether its substance meets the Myanmar government's commitment to hold a democratic, free and multi-party election," Marty said here on Friday.
Marty expressed hope the law would not prevent opposition party leader Aung San Suu Kyi from joining the election.
"We hope Aung San Suu Kyi can participate in the election. She will contribute to the democratization process in Myanmar," he said, adding that Indonesia would not accept any undemocratic action by the military junta.
Aung San Suu Kyi's party, the NDL, won the 1990 general elections but the junta would not allow the party to govern. She was then put under house arrest - a status she has endured for 14 of her 20 years in detention.
The period of her house arrest was extended by another 18 months in August 2009 after she was declared guilty in the case of a US citizen who had swam to her lake-side house.
The extra-punishment caused an international uproar as it would make it impossible for her to participate in the election the military junta had promised to hold this year. The opposition is suspicious about the election which they consider as a mere plan for legitimizing the junta`s iron-fist authority.
