Burma: Suu Kyi's party boycotts parliament

Burma's parliament has convened amid a boycott by the party of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi because of a dispute over the wording of MPs’ oath of office. Suu-Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party want to swear to “respect”, rather than “safeguard” the constitution, which they say is undemocratic. The discussion over the oath is taking place as European Union diplomats meet to decide whether to suspend sanctions against Burma.

Mark Farmaner of the Burma Campaign UK told Vatican Radio both the government and the NLD want to see the issue resolved. “What’s going on at the moment is likely to be smoothed over – there’s likely that a compromise will be found,” said Farmaner, adding, “The NLD want to go into parliament, the military is desperate for the NLD to be in that parliament to give it credibility.” Farmaner also said that the issue puts focus on the constitution that came into effect following elections in November, 2010. “This is a constitution drafted by the military, which gives the military power over every level of government, and doesn’t guarantee any democratic rights or human rights for the people,” He said. “It’s impossible,” continued Farmaner, “for the NLD to say they want to protect and safeguard that constitution: they want to change it.” Listen: