Dialogue, Not Elections: CRPP

By SAW YAN NAING

At an event to mark the 10th anniversary of its foundation, the Committee Representing the People’s Parliament (CRPP) on Tuesday called for dialogue between the Burmese junta and the opposition.

Speaking at the headquarters of the National League for Democracy (NLD) in Rangoon, CRPP Secretary Aye Thar Aung said that dialogue is the only solution for change in Burma and that the first step—bilateral talks between Burmese authorities and pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi—is urgently needed.

“Dialogue between Aung San Suu Kyi and the authorities is the first step. The second step is a meeting of ethnic representatives, opposition parties and the government,” Aye Thar Aung said.

The CRPP dismissed the junta’s plans for a 2010 general election and urged the international community, including the UN, to pressure the Burmese regime to engage in dialogue.

Pressure from the international community is significantly required if the Burmese government is to be persuaded to get involved in the dialogue process instead of a general election in 2010, said Aye Thar Aung.

The CRPP criticized the Burmese military government’s “seven-step road map,” and said the national convention, state constitution and national referendum were illegal and against the will of the people of Burma.

The CRPP said it would not participate in the 2010 general election.

Meanwhile, the exiled opposition group, the National Council of the Union of Burma (NCUB) released a statement on Tuesday urging the CRPP to guide the process of dismissing the junta’s planned 2010 election with the will of the Burmese people.

The NCUB said that the CRPP must make a decision whether to stand with the Burmese junta or the Burmese people, and carry out the historical responsibility on behalf of the people of Burma.

The CRPP comprises 13 members, including Suu Kyi, NLD leaders and ethnic leaders.

On the same day, an informal network of 11 Sakharov Prize winners also called for the immediate release of the detained democracy icon as well as political prisoners in Burma.

The Sakharov Prize network also urged the European authorities, especially France, the current holder of the European Union’s rotating presidency, to redouble their efforts to obtain the release of their fellow Sakharov Prize winner, Suu Kyi, and all Burmese political prisoners.