The military government did not want to give up their power when, in 1993, they called for a national convention to discuss and draw up a constitution. Due to domestic conflict it took 14 years to finish the draft constitution, which became the 2008 constitution.
The 2008 constitution is just copied from Indonesia’s constitution and it is undemocratic. This is because it states that 25 per cent of the Hluttaw (parliament) must be army representatives who do not need to contest elections to gain their parliamentary seats. As everyone knows, retired former generals are appointed to those seats, which gives them the opportunity to control parliament and the government.
Many people have said that since President Thein Sein came into office three years ago there have been lots of changes. However, though some new laws have come in and others have been changed none of them have benefitted normal people, so it cannot be said that lots of reforms have taken place.
On the issue of land confiscation the army is protected by the government. Also there are still restrictive media laws and the educational system has remained unchanged. The government has done nothing and made no difference.
The part of the constitution that the majority of people do not accept is Article 436, which states that no part of the constitution can be changed without the approval of at least 75 percent of the Hluttaw. This does not make sense because it means there can be no constitutional change without the approval of the army representatives in the Hluttaw, which is unlikely.
People are also pointing out other articles in the constitution they want to see amended, these include article 59(f) which prevents Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from becoming president.
If the 2008 constitution is not amended the goal of democracy will not be reached. The constitution does not just prevent the establishment of democracy, it also has a negative impact on the peace process with the ethnic armed groups. Because of this the National League for Democracy (NLD) and the 88 Generation leaders are presently holding public talks about amending the 2008 constitution.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and 88 Generation leaders have publicly stated that it is the Defense Chief and the army who are blocking constitutional amendment.
According to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Min Ko Naing, an 88 Generation leader, the army do not care or have to worry about the public’s demands and wishes.
The Constitution Amendment Committee founded in the Hluttaw is ignoring all calls to amend the constitution and needs to be changed.
At the moment there are petition signing campaigns calling for constitutional amendment that have attracted hundreds of thousands signatures.
If either the army or the Hluttaw do not listen to the voices of the people and ignore their wishes demonstrations are likely to take place throughout the country.
