Myanmar’s new government sworn in: Peace Now
In a joint session of parliament the president Htin Kyaw promises "loyalty" to the people of Burma and outlines the challenges facing the new government. The priority is a nationwide cease-fire with ethnic minorities. 17 new ministers also sworn in, including Aung San Suu Kyi. On April 1, the inaugural session.
Naypyiadaw (AsiaNews) - In a joint session of parliament the new president of Myanmar has sworn his oath, together with the two Vice Presidents and the new ministers. Htin Kyaw, a faithful supporter of Aung San Suu Kyi and the first non-military president in 50 years, will officially take office on April 1, succeeding the retired General Thein Sein. The new ministers also included the leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD), who will head the ministries for Foreign Affairs, the Presidential Office, the Education and Energy.
The "Lady" is the only woman in the new government, which is composed of 17 of her own men. As per the Constitution, the Ministries of Defence, Home Affairs and Borders were awarded to three military officials.
In a short speech to the members of the Chambers, Htin Kyaw promised "loyalty" to the people of Burma and outlined the challenges facing the new government. The priority, he said, is to reach a nationwide cease-fire, to stop conflicts between ethnic minorities and the central government that continue for decades. "National reconciliation" is one of the points on which Aung San Suu Kyi has insisted most in recent weeks, choosing as vice presidential candidate Henry Van Thio, a Christian Chin, a sign of willingness to involve everyone in the democratic process.
The new president also spoke of the need to reform the constitution to align it to modern democratic values. According to many analysts, this will be a point of friction between the new government and the military which holds 25% of parliamentary seats, and thus will be able to veto on any attempt to change the Charter, for which more than 75% of votes are required.
The Constitution also contains a specially tailored law which prevented Aung San Suu Kyi from running for president, a position that is closed to those who have family members not of Burmese nationality (her two sons are British). Despite this, the NLD leader said she will rule "over the president."
The democratic process was born after the landslide victory of the NLD in the November elections. The vote has raised hopes in the population, according to Card. Bo, archbishop of Yangon. In his message for Easter he stated that "the river of democracy is slowly pouring into the desert of despair" and he listed the many "signs of the resurrection of the country that we see around us".
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