Suu Kyi, Military Chief Meet Again as Power Transfer Nears
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| Burma Army commander-in-Chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, left, and Aung San Suu Kyi shake hands ahead of talks on Monday in Naypyidaw. (Photo: Facebook / Senior General Min Aung Hlaing) |
January 25, 2016
RANGOON — Burma Army leader Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing and Aung San Suu Kyi held talks on Monday for the second time since the National League for Democracy (NLD) chairwoman and her party emerged victorious in a Nov. 8 general election, according to the commander-in-chief’s office.
The two-hour sit-down in the capital Naypyidaw came more than a month after the two leaders first met on Dec. 2.
Also present for Monday’s meeting were Min Aung Hlaing’s deputy Snr-Gen Soe Win and other high-ranking generals, as well as NLD central committee members Win Htein, Win Myint and Zaw Myint Maung, and Suu Kyi’s personal physician Dr. Tin Myo Win, the statement said.
“The two sides frankly discussed matters related to a peaceful transition in the post-election period, parliamentary issues, formation of the next government and measures to be taken to build permanent peace after the signing of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement [NCA],” the statement read.
Suu Kyi’s NLD won nearly 80 percent of seats contested in November, and will hold the parliamentary supermajority it needs to choose Burma’s next president.
With Suu Kyi barred from assuming the presidency and the military controlling three powerful ministries, relations between the NLD chairwoman and Min Aung Hlaing are seen as a critical indicator of the extent to which the party will be able to govern effectively over the 2016-21 period.
A second meeting between the two had been tipped in recent weeks. Unlike Monday’s gathering, their first encounter was a private one-on-one.
The NLD will take power on April 1.
