U Zaw, NLD member for Mon state and present at the Moulmein meeting, said that locals told him that “it is not possible to write a new Constitution. We have heard that the Tatmadaw (government military) will not accept this”. The general sentiment among those queried is that with the 2015 national elections fast approaching, the best option is to amend it as the Thein Sein government will also reject the idea of scrapping it, U Zaw said.
About 150 Tavoy District residents attended an Oct. 22 meeting to discuss these issues, according to U Maung Pay Tin, officer-in-charge of the Constitution Amendment executive committee for Mon State and Tenasserim Division. Only four said the current Constitution should be scrapped, with the rest satisfied with amendments.
These feelings were echoed during public polls conducted in Thaton and Moulmein districts in Mon state from Oct. 17-18, he said. “Most people would like to amend the Constitution while only a few wanted to draw a new one.”
The NLD team is in Myeik District today to continue with their queries. They travel to Kawtaung district on Oct. 26.
The committee will be visiting a total of 66 districts across the country in coordination with the NLD’s district offices. The information will be collected in time for Parliament’s Constitution Review Joint Committee Nov. 15 deadline.
The NLD and most of the ethnic groups say the 2008 constitution is undemocratic thus an obstacle to establishing a genuine federal union by entrenching the military’s dominance of Parliament.
Aung San Suu Kyi was recently in Europe where she reiterated these concerns. In its present form the Constitution bars a Burmese woman from being president because it requires that they have military experience. It also prevents Suu Kyi from running because she married a foreigner.
