Malaysian armed forces chief in Myanmar to repair relations

Gen Zulkifeli has met Myanmar president and its commander-in-chief to smoothen strained relations between the two countries, says report.

YANGON: Malaysian armed forces chief Gen Zulkifeli Mohd Zin met Myanmar’s president U Htin Kyaw and commander-in-chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing here yesterday.

According to the Myanmar Times, the meeting was to smoothen Myanmar-Malaysia ties following the harsh criticism of the Myanmar government by Prime Minister Najib Razak at a rally in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.

A statement released by the Myanmar commander-in-chief’s office said Aung Hlaing told Zulkifeli that no human rights violations had taken place against Muslim Rohingya.

The statement also read that Myanmar authorities could not lie about this given the local and international media focus on the state, according to the report.

A statement from the president’s office said Htin Kyaw too held discusions with Zulkifeli.

It said the president’s office blamed the diplomatic tensions on “false news” and that the Myanmar government was working to resolve the issues in Rakhine state in accordance with existing laws and human rights standards.

At a rally attended by about 10,000 people at Titi­wang­sa Stadium on Sunday, Najib lambasted the Myanmar government for its alleged mistreatment of Rohingya Muslims. It was the first time in recent years that an Asean leader had criticised another Asean nation over internal matters.

Meanwhile, the Myanmar Times report also quoted analysts on Najib’s actions and the consequences on relations between the two nations.

Bangkok-based expert on Asean affairs Kavi Chongkittavorn said Najib’s action was an attempt to gain votes from the Malaysian Muslim community. He said Najib could have made known his concern more effectively through discreet diplomacy.

Adviser to former Myanmar president U Thein Sein, U Ko Ko Hlaing, was quoted as saying Najib’s action was aimed at diverting public attention away from corruption allegations levelled against him.
He said such “inteference” was not good for Asean unity.

The Myanmar Times reported that a group of Muslim organisations in Myanmar had released an open letter to the Malaysian government expressing disapproval of Putrajaya’s response.

In the letter, which was delivered to the Malaysian embassy yesterday, they said Najib’s remarks and actions would do more harm than good for the Muslims in Myanmar.

BUDDHISTS IN MYANMAR PROTEST OIC’S VISIT. DON’T GIVE ANY CONCESSION TO VIOLENT ROHINGYA MUSLIMS. BAN OIC IN NON MUSLIM COUNTRIES.

Buddhist monks consecutively protest as OIC delegation moves in Myanmar.

Sittwe &Yangon | Agencies | November 16, 2013:: Myanmar Buddhist monks led rallies against the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation yesterday as delegates from the Muslim body toured western Rakhine state, where religious violence has torn communities asunder.

The delegation from the world’s top Islamic body is in the country to discuss the response to several bouts of anti-Muslim violence that have left some 250 people dead and tens of thousands homeless.

But the group is treated with deep suspicion by Buddhists in Rakhine, where communities are now almost completely segregated on religious grounds after last year’s unrest, with Muslims making up the vast majority of the 140,000 people displaced.

“No OIC in Rakhine land, respect our sovereignty,” one protesting monk told AFP as hundreds of demonstrators converged on the airport in the state capital Sittwe early Friday.

The delegation met local officials inside the airport yesterday before visiting remote areas by helicopter, an official told AFP.

Myanmar remains tense after eruptions of religious unrest across the country that have cast a shadow over much-lauded reforms and caused concerns among the international community.

The OIC group, which includes the organisation’s chief Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, met the Myanmar vice president in the capital Naypyidaw on Thursday, accompanied by the ambassadors from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bangladesh and Malaysia.

They discussed the “peace and stability of Rakhine State and rehabilitation” in the region, according to the state-run New Light of Myanmar.

In Yangon on Friday rallies against the OIC were led by hundreds of maroon-clad Buddhist monks, a sight formerly associated with brutally-suppressed peaceful rallies for democracy in 2007 known as the Saffron Revolution.

Earlier, around 300 Buddhist monks marched through Yangon Tuesday on 12.11.2103 in protest at a looming visit by delegates from the world’s top Islamic body to Myanmar, which has been rattled by several bouts of anti-Muslim violence.“The OIC is discriminating in giving assistance here. We believe they help only Muslims,” said Rakhawuntha, a protesting monk.

A delegation from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will meet with Muslims and

Buddhists during their stay later this week, according to a senior official.

Attacks against Muslims in Buddhist-majority Myanmar have overshadowed widely praised political reforms overseen by the former general since military rule ended in 2011.

A total of around 500 protesters, some wielding banners in reading “No OIC” and “OIC get out”, marched through the commercial capital Tuesday, accusing the Islamic bloc of wanting to internationalise the issue of religious violence.

One monk, called Pamaukkha, said the OIC was not welcome because they will deliver a biased assessment of Myanmar’s troubles.

“They will say as majority of Buddhists are abusing a minority group of Muslims,” he added.

“Then they will report on our internal affairs to the UK and the UN.”

Eye-witnesses to violence which flared in March in central Myanmar said people dressed in monks’ robes were involved in the unrest.

Radical monks have also led a campaign to shun shops owned by Muslims.

The OIC delegation will “meet with people working… in Rakhine State and groups working for religious harmony — from both communities,” president’s office spokesman Ye Htut said in a post on his Facebook page.

Courtesy: Myanmar Times | The Malaysian Insider | AP.

Suu Kyi claims victory in Myanmar elections

Opposition party led by her says it is on course to win 44 of the 45 contested seats in Sunday's parliamentary by-polls.

Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi has been elected to the country's parliament in landmark by-elections, according to her National League for Democracy (NLD).

The country's opposition party claimed a historic victory on Sunday for Suu Kyi in her bid for a seat in parliament, with NLD announcing that the Nobel laureate had won a parliamentary seat for the first time.

If confirmed, this would mark a stunning turnaround for Suu Kyi, who was a political prisoner, jailed by the military-led government for most of the past 22 years.

Some people wept with joy at the news outside the party's headquarters in Yangon.

"We have been waiting for this day for a long time. I'm so happy," said NLD supporter Kalyar, who goes by one name.

Suu Kyi took an estimated 82 per cent of the vote in Kawhmu constituency, according to NLD senior member Tin Oo, based on the party's own unofficial tally of the by-election. Official results were expected within a week.

The AFP news agency reports that the NLD also claims it is on track to win 44 of the 45 seats available in the parliament, although official results are not expected for days.

Suu Kyi's win is "hugely symbolic," said Al Jazeera's Wayne Hay, reporting from Yangon.

"And while she will have little power, the mere fact that she is there means there will be a lot more international attention on parliament itself and the decisions that it makes."

Our correspondet said that the success of these elections might mean bigger gains for the opposition in the upcoming 2015 general elections.

"Still, there is this nagging problem that a quarter of all seats in parliament must go to the military - that is written into the constitution," said Hay, adding the Suu Kyi has been very open about wanting to change that provision.

Sunday's vote is seen as a key test of the government's commitment to recent democratic reforms.

More than six million people were eligible to vote on Sunday, with a total of 160 candidates from 17 parties, including six new to the political stage, contesting for 45 parliamentary seats.

The number of seats at stake is not enough to threaten the military-backed ruling party's overwhelming majority, secured in full elections in 2010.

Suu Kyi's apparent victory had been widely expected, despite complaints by the NLD over alleged voting irregularities and campaign intimidation.

She said she did not regret standing for parliament because the polls had boosted people's interest in politics after decades of outright military rule ended last year.

The government for the first time invited teams of foreign observers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, European Union and the US, and journalists to witness the elections.

Political reforms

Since taking office a year ago, President Thein Sein has carried out reforms including releasing hundreds of political prisoners, easing media restrictions and welcoming the opposition back into mainstream politics.

Our correspondent, reporting earlier from Kawhmu, said: "There are international monitors on the ground, but they are not allowed inside the polling booths. They are certainly not allowed to oversee the counting when that starts later on Sunday."

"So, they are here to observe overall process, talk to voters about any irregularities that they might have seen," he said.

"What we are hearing is that some voters have complained that voting sheets have been tampered with. Some voters have complained that inside the polling stations some of the officials have been coercing voters into voting for a certain party.

"So, not the best of starts, but certainly something the National League for Democracy and Suu Kyi were expecting."

Nyan Win, a spokesman for the party, told the AFP news agency on Sunday that his party had submitted a letter of complaint to the country's election commission regarding alleged irregularities involving ballot papers that could potentially be invalidated without due cause.

The NLD won a landslide election victory in 1990 but the ruling military never allowed it to take office. The party also boycotted the 2010 polls that swept the army's political proxies to power and were marred by complaints of cheating and intimidation.

Suu Kyi described the vote as "a step towards step one in democracy", despite complaining on Friday that the polls were not "genuinely free and fair".

"What has been happening in this country is really beyond what is acceptable for a democratic election. Still, we are determined to go forward because we think that is what our people want," the Nobel peace laureate said.

Source:Al Jazeera and agencies