Regime Meets Suu Kyi Amidst Warnings Against Her Political Role
26 July 2011: Pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi met with a government official on Monday for the first time since her release from house arrest in November last year. The meeting came on the heels of fresh official warnings against the 66 year-old leader and her National League for Democracy (NLD) party last month against their role in Burmese politics.
Burmese Labor and Social Welfare Minister Aung Kyi held an hour-long meeting with the popular leader at a government guesthouse in Rangoon. They discussed issues that will ‘benefit the nation and people,’ including the question of the rule of law, although the parties did not elaborate.
Speaking to journalist after the meeting, Aung Kyi said it was agreed agree to hold further discussions between the pro-democracy leader and the new Burmese government, saying yesterday’s meeting was the first step towards sorting out the ‘disagreements’ between the two parties.
But critics see the new development as merely another ‘delay tactic’ to implement real reform by the new Burmese government. They view it as a publicity exercise to embellish Burma’s international image ahead of its planned bid for the 2014 Chairmanship of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Last month, the government mouthpiece the New Light of Myanmar in a commentary warned Suu Kyi and her NLD party to stop all political activities, saying that the 1990 election-winning party is an illegal organization engaged in illegal activities under the new constitution enacted in 2008.
