Myanmar Students Protest Military's Role İn Politics

Students in Myanmar have marched to express their opposition to the military's role in politics after the parliament blocked amendments to controversial constitutional articles, local media reported Wednesday.



A leader of the protests – which drew crowds of between 50 to 200 people Tuesday -- told those gathered outside City Hall that the military "has no dignity."



"Going against amendments to the constitution is insulting the people and disrespectful to the country," the Irrawaddy "ed Aung Thaw Win, a student at Yangon's Dagon University, as saying.



Helmeted police carrying riot shields stood by, patrolling the protest that had lacked the necessary formal permission.



The march came after an amendment bill proposing changes to an article giving the military a veto in parliament secured the votes of 67 percent of lawmakers last week – below the more than 75-percent needed for passage.



Thursday's vote was the first on amendments to the 2008 constitution, which was drafted by the military regime that was replaced by Thein Sein's government in 2010.



The three-day parliamentary debate last week had centered on two articles including 436, which requires more than 75 percent of lawmakers to approve constitutional changes. Under the current charter, the army controls 25 percent of parliamentary seats, giving it a veto over any amendments.



The other article of focus had been 59 (f), which bars opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi from running for president.



Under Section 59 (f), anyone with a foreign spouse or children is barred from the presidency. Suu Kyi's late husband was British and her two sons hold British nationality. Many believe the law was specifically crafted by the army to block her from power.



After the amendment bill was voted down, Suu Kyi had told reporters that its rejection would serve in the favor of her party, the National League for Democracy.



"People are now crystal clear about who they have to support," the Irrawaddy reported her as saying.



Win Myint, another MP from the party, said that the vote had shown "who is not interested in reform and the wishes of the people."



"They know which party they should vote for [to achieve] democracy and reform," he stressed.



Despite widespread euphoria after 2011 when Thein Sein began reforms -- including the release of hundreds of political prisoners -- many people have since concluded that the military has decided the transition has gone far enough, and is bent on keeping its grip on power.



Thein Sein, himself a former general, leads the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, which later this year will face off with the opposition National League for Democracy in a general election.



The last time the opposition party contended a general election in 1990, it won by a landslide. But the military refused to acknowledge the win, and has kept its grip on power ever since. - Yangon