NAYPYIDAW (AFP) -- Several hardliners will leave Myanmar‘s top leadership in an imminent reshuffle, officials said Wednesday, as the reformist regime welcomed the parliamentary debut of Aung San Suu Kyi’s opposition.
The reshuffle hastens the pace of reforms since a quasi-civilian government replaced army rule last year and coincides with the ascension of Suu Kyi‘s National League for Democracy (NLD) to the heart of political decision making.
Around three senior ministers are expected to be replaced soon by more moderate figures in the new line-up, a government official told AFP. “Those who are about to be reshuffled are known as hardliners,” the official said.
In addition, the speaker for both chambers of parliament announced the resignation of vice president Tin Aung Myint Oo, a renowned hardliner closely linked to former junta chief Than Shwe, citing health reasons.
Mynit Oo disappeared from the public eye to become a monk in May and his resignation has the potential to strengthen the hand of reformers in the country -- if he is replaced by a more moderate figure.
His successor will be chosen by military personnel who hold one quarter of the seats in parliament, according to Union Parliament speaker Khin Aung Myint.
“To fill the vacant seat of the vice president, the cluster of military representatives have to choose a new vice president... by July 10,” he said.
The nominee will later be approved by MPs.
The dramatic reorganization comes as the NLD is recast from the role of dissident outsider to a mainstream player in Myanmar’s politics, with an opportunity to shape policy for the first time.
After years muffled by the repressive former junta, National League for Democracy (NLD) members are in Naypyidaw for the new parliament session.
Democracy champion Suu Kyi, one of the NLD‘s 37 lower house members of parliament, will miss the opening days as she recovers from her gruelling European tour and visits her constituency.
But she is due to join proceedings in the purpose-built capital on Monday.
Topping the agenda for parliament, still led by the military and its allies, is the deadly communal violence in June between ethnic Buddhist Rakhine and Muslim Rohingya that left dozens dead and tens of thousands homeless.
A state of emergency is still in place after the outbreak of violence, which prompted reformist President Thein Sein to warn it could damage the country’s emergence from decades of military rule.
State mouthpiece the New Light of Myanmar on Wednesday quoted the president again urging an end to “ethnic conflicts” saying “unending racial rift or armed ethnic fights hinder economic development”.
Around 100 kilometers north, fighting also continues between government troops and ethnic rebels in Kachin state, while fragile ceasefires have been agreed with several other guerrilla groups.
“The foundation for building the nation is (an) end of ethnic armed groups and conflicts,” the president was quoted as saying.
Also up for discussion will be the crafting of a new foreign investment law to govern the expected rush of overseas cash into the once secretive state and other measures to bolster Myanmar‘s long-neglected economy.
Suu Kyi on Tuesday pledged the NLD will join “the legislative concert” and push for greater transparency once inside parliament.
The 67-year-old, who returned on Saturday from a triumphant five-nation European tour, was swept into parliament in landmark April by-elections that saw an NLD landslide.
She will travel to the capital Naypyidaw over the weekend, after visiting her constituency following more than a month’s absence.
