Burmese people have the right not to vote in the upcoming election, detained Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi told her lawyer on Friday. She also commented on US Sen. Jim Webb's support of the election.
“Daw Suu said that just as the people have the right to vote, they also have the right not to vote,” Suu Kyi's lawyer Nyan Win told The Irrawaddy shortly after meeting with her on Friday afternoon.
Although her comment seems to allude to the possibility that she and her now-disbanded National League for Democracy (NLD) may call for a boycott of the planned election, Nyan Win declined to elaborate on her comment. During a two-hour meeting that focused on legal issues relating to repairs to her home, Suu Kyi also said that she believed Webb's views on the election were his personal opinion only, and did not reflect his official position as chairman of the East Asian and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
Webb, a strong advocate of US engagement with the Burmese regime, canceled his scheduled visit to Burma earlier this month amid fresh reports that junta was trying to develop nuclear weapons.
On Wednesday, the Democratic lawmaker called for support of Burma's election, saying it was a step forward and that the junta would allow at least some opposition figures to stand for seats.
Nyan Win also said that Suu Kyi heard about Burma's alleged nuclear program, but she did not wish to make any comment on the issue at this point, as there was not enough information available.
Suu Kyi decided against her party re-registering under the regime's “unjust” election laws. The NLD was dissolved in May for its failure to meet the regime's party registration deadline.
“Daw Suu said that just as the people have the right to vote, they also have the right not to vote,” Suu Kyi's lawyer Nyan Win told The Irrawaddy shortly after meeting with her on Friday afternoon.
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| A woman sits under an iron fighting peacock sculpture, used in the National League for Democracy's (NLD) campaign in the 1990 general election, during a ceremony to mark the 20th anniversary of the election in which the NLD won 392 of 485 parliamentary seats at NLD Vice-Chairman Tin Oo's house in Rangoon on May 27. (Photo: Reuters) |
Webb, a strong advocate of US engagement with the Burmese regime, canceled his scheduled visit to Burma earlier this month amid fresh reports that junta was trying to develop nuclear weapons.
On Wednesday, the Democratic lawmaker called for support of Burma's election, saying it was a step forward and that the junta would allow at least some opposition figures to stand for seats.
Nyan Win also said that Suu Kyi heard about Burma's alleged nuclear program, but she did not wish to make any comment on the issue at this point, as there was not enough information available.
Suu Kyi decided against her party re-registering under the regime's “unjust” election laws. The NLD was dissolved in May for its failure to meet the regime's party registration deadline.
