@POMyanmar (President of Myanmar) Tweet by Win Myint 4/2/18

 

Context: Win Myint has held the presidency in Myanmar since 23 March 2018, after resigning his post as Speaker of the Pyithu Hluttaw (lower house in bicameral system) in preparation for candidacy representing the National League for Democracy (NLD). His confirmation as president was non-standard, due to Htin Kyaw’s resignation due to poor health decline. Myanmar faces a number of challenges, to include domestic ethnic conflict, corruption, power imbalances in the branches of government, and the intent of this tweet was to clarify Myint’s position going forward with regards to these various issues.

Analysis: The actual tweet itself has the following text: “I solemnly promise that you will see with your own eyes the changes that you have yearned for as I walk along this path together with you.”, and has a linked full text of his speech to the parliament (included below in content section). While clearly outlining his priorities (rule of law and socio-economic improvement, national reconciliation and internal peace, and constitutional amendments for improved function of a democratic federal republic), it is too early to determine the concrete proposals that Myint will attempt to impose in order to facilitate accomplishment of these goals. This appears to be a largely strategic tweet, rather than actually suggesting future policy. I will note, however, that several other tweets have been released since the 2^ndthat appear to indicate more concrete measures to be put forward by the President.

Link/Content:

Primary Tweet URL: https://twitter.com/pomyanmar/status/981054124438335489

Primary Tweet Content: @POMyanmar “I solemnly promise that you will see with your own eyes the changes that you have yearned for as I walk along this path together with you.” READ MORE

 

Linked article: “Esteemed Speaker and Representatives of the PyidaungsuHluttaw, the State Counsellor and Union-level personnel and dignitaries in this ceremony and Union citizens, may you be blessed with auspiciousness, good health and peace of mind.

I wish first of all to express my thanks to the Representatives of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw who elected me as President and all the people who gave me strength and support. Also, I am truly grateful to have this opportunity to deliver this speech after taking my oath of office as President in this Pyidaungsu Hluttaw.

Fellow citizens of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar,

Holding in high esteem all the people in the entire country who have given support with faith and trust to the State Counsellor and the National League for Democracy, I pledge to carry out my duties with righteousness, seriousness and steadfastness.

Today, our country is still in poverty with necessities in every sector;which is why we need to carry on our struggle and work hard in all sectors. In the international arena, we are facing pressure, criticisms and misunderstandings. The challenges and difficulties our country and our people are facing today are many. Although every issue cannot be solved easily, we will have to make utmost efforts to solve these issues according to each priority sector.

Fellow citizens,

• I will carry out the implementation of the priority goals of the Union Government which are as follows:
• Rule of law and improvement of the socio-economic life of the people,
• National Reconciliation and internal peace,
• Amending the Constitution which is the foundation for building a Democratic Federal Republic.

Furthermore, today at this time, we are witnessing the transformation of an era and a system in accordance with democratic principles. This is just the beginning of the democratic transition. To make this transition process smooth and successful, it is very important for our peoples, government employees and civil servants to change their dogmatic mindset and habits. Those government institutions which are lagging behind in the transformation process will need to be put under tight management controls. The country’s weak judiciary system would need to be strengthened. More efforts need to be exerted to stamp out corruption. More efforts need to be exerted to prevent human rights violations. More efforts need to be exerted to crack down illegal drug trade. We need to manage public funds properly so that there is no wastage. Measures need to be taken to return confiscated farmland to farmers and to give compensation to farmers for losses they have suffered in accordance with the law. We also need to improve the socio-economic life of farmers, improve the lives of workers and ensure that students gain access to higher education.

Fellow citizens,

I would firstly like to address the three branches of the sovereign power of the State, who have been entrusted with power according to the Constitution, to exercise mutual respect, understanding, and trust as they collaborate for the good of the people. Additionally, I wish to urge the media sector, which serve as the ears and eyes of the public, to understand the seriousness of their duties and to hold in high regard the public sector that they serve.

We have much to carry on fulfilling the hopes and needs of the people of the country. We must press on until our citizens have their dignity raised and our country can retain its former glory on the global stage.

We will abolish the red tape that burdens the people and eradicate corruption and bribery that plagues all levels of society as we work to strengthen the moral fiber of our people. We will draw out from our past experiences as a civilian government overcoming various obstacles and hardships, as we work to the best of our ability for the immediate present and head towards the future of a democratic nation that respects human rights and is free from all stains of corruption.

Fellow citizens,

In my closing remarks I would like to state that I solemnly promise that you will see with your own eyes the changes that you have yearned for as I walk along this path together with you.

Thank you everyone.”

 

Help Received: Twitter of the President of Myanmar @POMyanmar, Wikipedia for a little background info on Htin Kyaw and Win Myint, Microsoft Word Grammar and Spelling checks.

 

Levi Harmon

 

@POMyanmar (President of Myanmar) Tweet on Resignation of Htin Kyaw 3/21/18

 

Context: Htin Kyaw has held the presidency in Myanmar since 2016, when the National League for Democracy (NLD) won in a landslide victory. Since then, he has basically functioned as a stand-in for Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the NLD who is prevented from holding the presidency due to a constitutional provision. His health has recently been in decline and was stated as the principal reason for his resignation.

Analysis: The resignation of the president leaves several questions: Will his replacement, Win Myint, follow the guidance of Aung San Suu Kyi as closely as Htin Kyaw did? Win Myint is another representative from the NLD, which indicates that this will probably be the case, however it remains to be seen. He issued a statement via the POMyanmar Twitter indicating his goals and intentions on April 2^nd. This tweet will be the focus of my second blog post.

Link/Content:

Primary Tweet URL: https://twitter.com/pomyanmar/status/976657527315226625

President U Htin Kyaw resigns from his post

The Office of the President issued an announcement dated 21 March. Following is the announcement.

Republic of the Union of Myanmar

Office of the President

Announcement 1/2018

5th Waxing of Tagu, 1379 ME

21st March 2018

 

1. The President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar U Htin Kyaw has resigned from his post, as he wants to take a rest from his current duties with effect from 21 March 2018.
2. The position will be filled within seven days in accordance with Subsection (b), Section (73) of the Constitution of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar.

 

Help Received: Twitter of the President of Myanmar @POMyanmar, Wikipedia for a little background info on Htin Kyaw and Win Myint, Microsoft Word Grammar and Spelling checks.

 

Levi Harmon

https://fngnews.co/

The above link is as major Burmese political and entertainment blog called “Freedom News Group”. The blog originated during the 2007 Saffron Revolution and largely was a means of expressing dissent against government measures taken during that period. Now, the blog remains as a means of political commentary and dissent however, articles covering elements of pop culture in Myanmar also hold a large percentage of the published posts.

The structure of the blog consists of posts by both individuals associated with the blog itself (I cannot determine who these posters are; there are no English translations of the author’s bios), a second source of posts originates with Op Ed posting, this can be anyone, I assume that these posts must be approved by a moderator.

In my assessment, there are two interesting features of this blog. First, is the inclusion of both political posts as well as commentary on popular culture and social issues. I wonder if this is an effort by the blog curators at attempting to avoid or circumvent existing measures against online political posting, by preventing exclusive political commentary and providing an another purpose for the website. Secondly, I find it interesting that anyone can post, and that there is no central individual responsible for the political content of the blog. Again, I wonder if this is an intentional effort at diffusion of responsibility, in order to prevent prosecution/identification of major players in the anti-government commentary that the blog is known for.

Help received: FNG website, I googled political blogs in Burma and found a Wikipedia page with a link to the FNG website, Microsoft Word Grammar and spelling check.

Levi C. Harmon

The Situation of the Burmese Family

Situation: an old father imposes a rule upon his adopted family preventing their knowledge and understanding of familial matters, claiming it was in the best interests of the family if they did not know everything, in the best interests of the collective. The old foreign father leaves the family, and the new stepfather leaves the same rule in place.

However, nowadays the family’s situation is changing, and the rest of the neighborhood knows that the family would be better off if all the family members were informed and understood how the family worked. But, the new stepfather is very controlling and scared to allow the family to flourish, and increasingly applies the archaic rule to diminish and belittle the rest of the family.

This situation, as we can all tell, cannot continue, especially since the supposedly prudent, judicial, and independent mother cannot bring herself to impose her will against the excesses of the stepfather. In order for things to change, one or two things must happen. The neighborhood has to use their influence to change the stepfather’s ways, or the mother must free herself from the restrictive bonds of her relationship with the stepfather.

It is time for the Burmese family to reconsider the nature of how their family works and to use all means to change the old rules of the father that remain. Though the stepfather may claim that the family is threatened by these changes, this is wholeheartedly false and positive change will illustrate that. Burmese brothers and sisters, it is time to change the roles of the parents in this family.

Help received: Freedom House Country Report for Myanmar, other blog encryption posts for some inspiration, Microsoft Word grammar and spelling check.

Levi C. Harmon

New York Times, Richard C. Paddock, 13 December 2017: “Arrests of Reuters Reporters in Myanmar Add to Fears About Press Freedom”

Article Summary: Two Reuters reporters arrested on December 7^th, 2017 for attempting to obtain information via official government documents covering recent military campaign of killings, rape, and arson in Rhakine State in West Myanmar. Premise of charges is violation of Official Secrets Act (c. 1923, colonial hangover, protects information that is ostensibly essential to national security, prevents journalist access without explicit permission), since 80-90% of government documents are considered protected under this broad legislation.

The article states that prior attempts to change Official Secrets Act to allow greater press protection measures (c. 2014) were blocked by Home Affairs Ministry, which is controlled by the military. The article also summarizes additional cases where journalists were arrested under a variety of similar colonial-era laws such as unlawful association and more Official Secrets Act violations, highlighting and emphasizing the main purpose of the article, indicating a negative trend in press freedom in Myanmar.

Analysis: I drew three observations from this particular article, most of which we have already discussed in class. The first is the broad nature of the Official Secrets Act, which enables authorities to arrest, harass, and prevent journalist coverage of embarrassing actions on the part of the state. The second is the amount of influence held by the military in domestic politics, with the primary example being the Home Affairs Ministry blocking any alterations to the Official Secrets Act allowing for greater protections for journalists. The third observation is less explicit in the article but is probably critical to both a lack of legal accountability and military influence in domestic politics, the lack of a truly independent judiciary.

Help received: New York Times article (link provided), Microsoft Word grammar and spelling check, prior readings and class discussions on Myanmar readings and Freedom House reports.

Levi C. Harmon