'Softer' Suu Kyi riles NLD

Now that 'The Lady' is sitting in parliament, many top delegates within the party are taking exception with what they view as her weakened stance on controversial issues, which they say ignores the principles upon which the group was founded

Prior to the opening of the National League for Democracy's first national congress in its 25-year history, a rumour was circulating that party leader Aung San Suu Kyi would be ousted by disgruntled NLD members.

WHERE’S THE FIREBRAND?: National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi at the parliament building at Nay Pyi Taw. Many NLD hard-liners disagree with Mrs Suu Kyi less confrontational approach as MP.

Unlikely as that was to happen, the truth behind the rumour is that Mrs Suu Kyi's popularity and support are waning due to several factors, including her neutral stand on the ongoing conflict in Rakhine and Kachin states and the perception that she is showing favour to the military and their businessmen cronies.

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Also of concern to many was Mrs Suu Kyi's leadership of the Letpadaung Inquiry Commission, which was charged with investigating a brutal crackdown on protesters at Sagaing division's Letpadaung Copper Mine, where police launched a pre-dawn assault on demonstrators' camps on Nov 29.

The police action left more than 100 protesters injured, most of whom were monks.

The commission's report, finally released on Monday, was welcomed by the mine's operator, the Chinese-owned Myanmar Wanbao Mining Copper Limited but was less favourably received by locals.

Chit Khin, a Monywa resident and the head of the Save Letpadaung Mountain Committee, said his group rejected the commission's report. ''We request a total shutdown of the project. We will do whatever it takes to help the Letpadaung residents until the project is closed completely,'' he said.

Mrs Suu Kyi is aware that she is in danger of losing public support.

''It is natural that people's support is always changing,'' she said during a press conference at the congress last weekend.

One NLD central executive committee member who requested anonymity was very much aware that the changing attitude of the party's newly elected chairwoman would affect public support.

''She is very much softer now. During a meeting with central committee members, she said that the past was a confrontational political period, but that we are in a transitional political period now.

''She took a confrontational approach to military rule in the 1990s, supporting civil disobedience and even calling on people to demonstrate against the military government.''

But NLD hard-liners and some of Mrs Suu Kyi's supporters seem dissatisfied with their leader going from a symbol of opposition to military repression to a politician.

NLD FLEXES ITS DEMOCRATIC MUSCLE

The NLD was suppressed when the country was under military rule, and was unable to hold democratic elections for party positions. Mrs Suu Kyi readily admits that the NLD used centralism for the sake of the party's survival over the past 25 years, with party leaders appointing officials without elections.

But times change, and the NLD announced that its first national congress would see the democratic election of its party leader. Many observers, including foreign diplomats, international and local media and other political parties, including the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party, attended the congress to observe how the democratic process would work.

Nyan Win, a member of the central executive committee, explained the way they selected the party's chairperson: ''A member of the central committee proposed Daw Aung San Suu Kyi for the position of party chair. The proposal was accepted by all the central committee members.''

And despite the rumours and disquiet in some quarters, Mrs Suu Kyi was elected to chair the party with 100% support from the 120 central committee members.

However, democracy within the NLD reaches only so far. The 15 central executive committee members are still selected by the party's chairperson, rather than elected by members.

''We urged the chair to select central executive committee members herself because she'll have to work with them,'' Nyan Win added.

Maung Maung Oo, a member of the central committee from Yangon division, said that ''because it is the party's first such experience in 25 years, not everything has run smoothly. There are problems at the grass-roots level because people could not apply democratic practices _ they simply want to take leading positions in the party.''

He said the NLD had not had a systemic organisational structure in the past, preferring to handpicked people instead.

''Today, I was elected by party members. I wasn't a handpicked candidate any more. So I have more confidence in my position,'' he said. ''I can say definitely that we will do better in the future.''

But while it is normal that not everyone in a political party should hold the same views, a group of conservative NLD members still exists, and they are not happy with the direction the party is taking.

As one unnamed party member said, ''Rumours and personal attacks on Daw Suu are increasing because of her changing attitude. It will have an impact on the future of the NLD.''

OPPORTUNITY TO CHANGE

While Mrs Suu Kyi's strategy has clearly changed, winning the hearts and minds of the NLD's 1.2 million members and supporters may prove a tougher nut to crack.

Many were interrogated or arrested and served long prison terms under the military regime, the bitter memories of which still remain.

Even former NLD members who betrayed the party under the military regime have not been forgiven by the majority of party members.

During the congress, four former NLD members who left the party and moved to the break-away group the National Democratic Front made an appeal to return to the mother party, but this was rejected by a large majority of congress delegates.

The central executive committee member said: ''We can't accept those who betrayed our party. If we accept these people back now they will do the same thing again in the future.''

Mrs Suu Kyi's comments during one meeting of the central executive committee surprised members.

''She said that we could even forgive our enemies, so why shouldn't we forgive each other. I don't agree with her. She is too soft now.''

And Mrs Suu Kyi clearly stated her ultimate goal in her closing speech to the congress.

''We have to rebuild a good relationship between the army and citizenry as it was once.''

NLD policy on defence and security states: ''The party believes that the army is an essential organisation of a nation and it must stand as an army which obtains love and respect of [the] people.''

Irrespective of NLD party policy and Mrs Suu Kyi's own opinions, the party's newly-elected leader maintained her call for an amendment of the 2008 constitution to remove the mandate for a 25% quota of non-elected military representatives in parliament.

And Mrs Suu Kyi may have support from an unlikely quarter. During a visit to Finland this month, President Thein Sein was quoted as saying: ''There will likely be a gradual decrease [of military power in parliament] but I cannot ensure that this could happen before 2015 elections.''

That might be what Mrs Suu Kyi referred to recently as ''the period during which we have an opportunity to make changes''.

As she said in her closing speech to congress: ''We must grab the opportunity which can change this country. If we cannot grab this opportunity, we will become historic culprits.''

There was another rumour circulating at the NLD congress. This one more optimistic about Mrs Suu Kyi's prospects. It claimed a ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party official had said that Mrs Suu Kyi will become president after the country's next election in 2015.