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Subscribe to RSSOpposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is poised to win a seat in parliament and join a government that's embracing reform, but still dominated by the military. NBC's Ian Williams reports.
YANGON, Myanmar – It was like carnival time in Mingalar Taung Nyung Township on Friday. A cavalcade of packed cars, mini-buses and trucks cruised the streets of this rundown Yangon suburb, music blaring, while the euphoric passengers sang, waved and danced.
"Aung San Suu Kyi!" they shouted, while bystanders cheered them on.
A group of monks raised their fists and shouted back: "Aung San Suu Kyi!"
Myanmar is preparing to go to the polls Sunday in only its third election in 50 years. Suu Kyi, the country’s pro-democracy leader, is running for one of 45 parliamentary seats.
Images of Suu Kyi were everywhere – on t-shirts, posters, flags and red bandanas, together with a fighting peacock, the symbol of her party, the National League for Democracy.
Just one year ago, openly displaying these images could have quickly landed you in jail.
‘Will she win?’ I asked one man, who clearly thought it was one of the silliest questions he’d heard in some time. "100 percent certain," he said, his voice hoarse from all the shouting. "100 percent certain."
High stakes
Suu Kyi herself is being far more cautious about Sunday's vote, accusing her opponents of widespread intimidation.
Ian Williams / NBC News
A jeep decked out with special speakers to blare music helped whip up pre-election excitement in a suburb of Yangon, Myanmar on Friday.
"We hope the courage and resolution of the people will overcome the intimidation and irregularities that have been taking place," she said at a press conference early Friday.
She's not been out campaigning since she took ill earlier this week from fatigue and exhaustion. The 66-year-old looked stronger Friday and joked about her health: "I'm feeling a little delicate, so any tough questions and I'll faint straight away," she joked.
By most accounts the enthusiasm on the streets of Mingalar Taung Nyung has been repeated across the country, even though only 45 seats are being contested. That's only a fraction of the 659 seats in what will still be a military-dominated parliament, even if Suu Kyi’s party grabs all the seats it's contesting Sunday.
All the same, the stakes have never been higher. A clean election will mark another step towards the lifting of sanctions against Myanmar. And the mere fact Suu Kyi and her party, the National League for Democracy, have returned to politics is seen in itself as a huge step forward - though only a first step.
Tough job for election observers
Myanmar has invited more than 150 international election observers to monitor the election, although one observer I met Friday said it was like nothing he'd ever seen before.
Ian Williams / NBC News
Young people participate in pre-eletion rallies in Mingalar Taung Nyung Township, a suburb of Yangon, Myanmar on Friday. They are wearing the colors of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party.
There has been no access to Myanmar's election commission or to electoral lists, and it’s not clear whether access will be grated to polling stations or vote counting. That makes their job very difficult.
"There could be massive fraud or no fraud – I’m not sure we'll be able to judge the difference," one observer said to me.
Devoid of their usual tools, their judgments will be impressionistic at best, though as one said to me: "The mere fact this is happening at all in Myanmar is a huge step."
Suu Kyi seems to share that view. Her accusations of irregularities are aimed primarily at local opponents, for whom old habits die hard. She's said many times that she does not doubt the sincerity of Myanmar's President Thein Sein, the former general who started the reform process last year with an easing of censorship and the release of political prisoners.
Many analysts believe it would rather suit hem to have Suu Kyi in parliament.
Ian Williams / NBC News
A bus decorated in the color's of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party rides through the streets of Mingalar Taung Nyung Township, a suburb of Yangon, Myanmar on Friday.
For her, there is a much bigger dynamic at work than the raw election numbers.
Genie out of the bottle
"It's the rising political awareness of our people that we regard as our greatest triumph," Suu Kyi said Friday.
Hardliners are certainly capable of pushing back such as in 1990 when the election victory by the National League for Democracy was simply overturned by the military.
However, this feels different. It was hard not to get caught up in all the emotion on the street today.
It seems like the start of something more enduring, a process that the military will likely find hard to turn off or turn around, even if they wanted to.
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At least it appears to be very piece full ....
Looks promising ....
And you are so illiterate you can't even spell "peaceful". So we should be interested in your ignorant comment because.........
Can't tell an intentional misspelling when you see it? Sad.
The police are everywhere. The FBI agents are everywhere. The U.N. peacekeepers are everywhere. The butterflies are out in force. The field mice are invading San Francisco.
And now we have the Grammar Police, who cannot read, on the vine again. (That is why I visit Newsvine everyday.....a chuckle every minute)
What kind of pieces will it be full of? I do hope that it is peaceful, though.
A mazing turn around for this country , the leader of this country may know now how danger Chinese is ?
I wish them the best.... Maybe at least some countries are getting the message.
For the latest on the displaced people from Myanmar...
see http://myanmarrefugees.blogspot.com/2010/03/burma-refugees-starving-to-death-in.html
Yeesh, 45 out 659 seats? Don't trip over yourselves in your rush to hand over power, soldiers!
Seriously though, this is pretty good. Hope this momentum continues.
As I stated last week - What they are not telling you...
1. There are only 45+seats being voted on...
2. The ruling body has over 659+seats...
3. To make any changes to the Government, it takes a 3/4 majority. The Military is still holding these seats, they are now just wearing civilian clothes...
4. Myanmar's assuming the ASEAN chairmanship in 2014 and 2015 ASEAN is being activated...
5. These supposed changes are resulting in BILLIONS of AID and Investment dollars flowing into Myanmar...
But it sure looks pretty in the PHOTO-OPS... Ha! Ha!
Come live in Asia, it will give you a whole new out-look on how the World/USA MEDIA reports the NEWS...
Bernard Madoff could take a few lessions from Myanmar's leadership and their PONZI scheme...
They STILL CAN'T BEAT OUR CORPORATE REPUBLICAN PARTY'S election CARNIVAL! They don't have ETCH-A-SKETCH and we do !! It's a circus carnival everyday here! We, the 99% American People, can't afford the OIL CORPORATES GASOLINE but we can LAUGH LIKE HELL at the Republican Corporates' Puppet "ETCH-A-SKETCH"
Wow, it looks like the Obama Bucks are running out soon.
Better hurry down to the local Mini-Mart and purchase at least $ 10 of Mega Millions tickets with those food stamps, 99 percenter.
Ahhh, Burma! Looks promising! Really good people.
B U R M A
You still refer to Thailand as Siam???
Great piece, but the use of "Myanmar" to refer to the country instead of "Burma" (at least without explanation) is disappointing, as the choice of name is itself a politicized statement, particularly in an article about Burma's moves toward a more open political climate and a new power structure.
This is true. It's almost as bad as the media referring to Tibet as 'China'.
Not a lot many Americans know this, the monks were the one who overthrew the military junta, there's a film about it (Don't know the title). It showed how the monks who NEVER EVER took part in political matters for hundred of years finally had enough and over 100,000+ monks created a massive protest movement. Remember that these are Buddhist monks that swore never to interfere with political or public life and they broke that vow when they had enough with the suffering of the people. The junta feared the monks because many of their soldiers, officers, and even some generals are Buddhist and highly respectful of the monks. This spread all over Burma and created the foundation toward democracy. It's amazing how only monks, not arms, or violent took away the terrible military junta even if it is a little amount.
Mouzie, your heart's in the high place but this isn't strictly true. Buddhist monks demonstrated quite often against the British colonial regime before World War II, and occasionally against the Burmese government during the parliamentary period (1948-1962). Monks were very much involved in the anti-Ne Win (the 1962-1988 military dictator) demonstrations of 1974 and 1988. Soldiers,in fact, wounded or killed many monks in 1988. The demos you refer to occurred in 2007.
"Greater things you will do" and, according to Bible Scholars, Jesus spoke of a spiritual revolution.
Everyone who's worried about the "Myanmar/Burma" debate, get over it. Myanmar is the FORMAL name that the country has always had. Burma was always the common name. As an example.... United States of America (USA).... vs just plain America... or even saying "The States". Most people, in Myanmar/Burma don't give a SH!T which you use! Get over it!
Roadkill is correct. I'm Burmese living here(US) since '72. Myanmar and Burma means the same thing - the Burmese language has a formal dialect and an informal one - "Myanmar" is formal, "Burma" informal. The real issue: Will this seemingly slant?/look?/walk? towards democracy happen? After all these years, I'm afraid I don't have too much faith :/
Most encouraging developments in Burma. Let's hope they can keep on track for really open politics. It's such a pleasure to read about this after all the disgusting news coming out of the US political world!
@Don-1618151
I was referring to the monks in Burma, but not those worldwide. But thanks for clearing it up for everyone else. :3
Wow I wonder what it is like to live in a Country that has free Elections, even if only once like Myanmar.
I was born in America over 50 ago and never once have I seem a "free" election that wasn't preordained by the Mega who picked who the winner would be!
You can vote for my Brother Darell or you can vote for my other Brother Darell but you silly Americans you can only vote for my Brother Darell.
At least in Myanmar they fought for and won the Right To Choose...That's a Fact not a Perception and this is merely another example of our Two Faces of the Same Political Party...The Mega Corporate Money Party.
Freedom for everyone else but US!
Join OWS for the 1st American General Strike of Our Generation May 1st 2012 and help drive a wedge into the Heart of these Wall Street Banksters and their Corporate Lobbyist who control our Government & Nation and let US fight for OUR OWN FREEDOM!
"I don't think we can consider it a genuine free and fair election if we consider what has been happening here over the last few months," the Nobel laureate told a news conference ahead of Sunday's vote.
It said that in the constituency of Kawhmu near Yangon, where Suu Kyi is standing, the names of hundreds of dead people were found on the electoral roll, while more than 1,300 valid voters were left off.
President Thein Sein acknowledged in a recent speech that there had been "unnecessary errors" in ballot lists, but said that the authorities were trying to ensure the by-elections will be free and fair... see http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia/286778/suu-kyi-says-poll-will-not-be-fair
Sounds like Chicago voting...
CHICAGO — It's not on a par with how Chicagoans used to keep voting after they died. Or with the curious case of the man in the 1980s whose signature wound up on a local ballot application – twice— even though he had no fingers or thumbs.
Exactly 50 years ago, Daley's father, Mayor Richard J. Daley, delivered big vote totals in the city to help John F. Kennedy win the presidency in 1960, fueling conspiracy theories that are debated to this date... see http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/26/chicago-voting-problems-n_n_801408.html
Thanks for the President Obama and the Secretary of State Mrs Clinton. Thanks.
Pray that Aung will be enstrengthened and protected. We may be different from so many aspects, such as religion. But taking care of the earthly business first, such as democracy, will be giving more freedom to people to hear more choices of religions.
Aung needs sufficient hydration, high protein and rich in Iron and high Vit. C diet.
Remind me again, what Obama & Hillary did in Myanmar???
Oh yea, a photo op, cheek kisses, and concrete action on American concerns must be completed first. Including, Clinton said the country's leaders must end violent campaigns against ethnic minorities and break military ties with North Korea...
This could be the case in Syria, too....if Assad and his bunch of gorrillas had any confidence in their fellow citizens...
Thanks to the brave citizens of Burma who have stood strong against a dictatorial tyranny and to the foreign policy of the Obama administration implemented by Secretary of State Clinton. Perhaps democracy is being born in Myanmar.
Myanmar's leadership has been trying to reconcile with the ethnic populations sense the Military came to power. They are still working on this issue, with little gain after 30+years...
The country is based on graft and tea money pay-offs. The Military rulers never could win this battle , so they just joined into the party...
About 5+years ago, there was a realization that depending on China was a one-way street. Myanmar was being raped of their resources and their citizens were little more than slaves. This was when their Military leaders started making overtures to other foreign nations and they realized that this is where their golden future was, NOT with China...
As a Myanmar/Thai reporter has stated, when he was describing the changes, after his latest visit. "After decades of darkness and lost hope, there is now a light. Whither this is going to be a perminate change, both he and the Myanmar people are still waiting." It is his opinion that San Suu Kyi is placing her hopes on ONE person and this is a mistake...
A year ago, Myanmar was shooting Thai helicopters out of the sky. The drug flow & poppy growth is on-going, with INCREASING crop levels. There are still tens of thousands of displaced people in Thailand with NO possibility of legal status in either country. The many ethnic populations of Myanmar are still facing extinction and lose of their ancestral homes/land. Stable infrastructure is non-existent and does not even exist in many regions...
While China's influence is DECREASING, which is a good thing. There are numerous foreign countries/businesses showing interest. But the vast majority of this is based on cheap labor and access to natural resources at below market rates. Just another country being plundered by the world and a select few internal leaders...
I wouldn't call them leaders.