Suspect charged after Vancouver car ramming leaves 11 dead    Suspect in killing of general claims he was paid by Ukraine    North Korea confirms troop deployment to Russia for first time    Rock & Roll Hall of Fame picks Outkast but not Oasis    400-800 year old giant coral colony discovered within AMAALA waters in the Red Sea    Makkah police arrest Yemeni and Egyptian suspects of fake Hajj campaign    Kafalah grants 1,900 loan guarantees worth over SR4.8 billion to SMEs during 1Q 2025    Council of Senior Scholars reaffirms performing Hajj without a permit is a sinful act    HR Ministry launches 'Ajeer Al-Hajj' service for seasonal work during Hajj 2025    stc reports strong first-quarter 2025 results with 11% rise in net profit    King and Crown Prince offer condolence to Iranian president over the deadly port explosion    Saudi Awwal Bank records SR2.1 billion net profit after zakat and income tax for 1Q25    Virgin Atlantic celebrates one month of nonstop service between London and Riyadh    Al Ahli cruise past Buriram into AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Duran leads Al Nassr past Yokohama Marinos into AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Saudi orchestra to perform at Sydney Opera House in May    Al Hilal thrash Gwangju to reach AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Saudi Theater Commission launches its Work and Learn Project in UK    The season has begun — and one comment shook us all    Average life expectancy in Saudi Arabia rises to78.8 years    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Suu Kyi hopes to be Myanmar president
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 07 - 06 - 2013

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi smiles during a debate with Myanmar President's Office Minister Soe Thane on the second day of the three-day World Economic Forum on East Asia at Myanmar International Convention Center in Naypyitaw, Myanmar on Thursday. — AP

NAYPYITAW, Myanmar — In her clearest statement yet of her political ambitions, Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi told international business and political leaders on Thursday that she hopes to become her country's next president.
Delegates attending the Asian edition of the World Economic Forum in Myanmar's capital heard visions of the country's future from Suu Kyi and from the other key figure transforming it today, President Thein Sein. More than 900 people from 50 countries are attending the meetings.
The official themes of the conference are regional inclusiveness and integration, but the focus is on host country Myanmar and its political and economic transformation.
Suu Kyi, a former political prisoner and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has persevered for decades in promoting democracy. She and her National League for Democracy party were frozen out of politics by the military regime that governed until 2011.
In 2012, she and several dozen party members won parliamentary seats. However, a clause in the army-dictated constitution disqualifies her from becoming president and would have to be amended before she could run.
Suu Kyi will be 70 when the next general election is held in 2015.
“I want to run for president, and I am quite frank about it,” Suu Kyi said. “There are those who say that I shouldn't say that I want to run for the presidency, but if I pretended that I don't want to be, I wouldn't be honest. And I want to be honest to my people.”
Her comments were the most direct she has made about her political plans. In April, she told reporters in Japan that it would be odd for someone to become the leader of a political party who didn't want to become the head of government.
Asked Thursday if she was optimistic the constitution would be changed to allow her to become president, she replied: “I don't believe in indulging in optimism. Changes have to come by endeavor. We are going to work for the constitution to be amended.”
Constitutional change requires the cooperation of the military, which controls enough seats in parliament to veto any amendments, and Thein Sein's military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party. Earlier this year, factions within the USDP indicated they supported change, and Suu Kyi has been careful to refrain from any sharp criticism of the military.
Suu Kyi's charisma and popularity have caused her to overshadow Thein Sein, a reserved former general. But he remains the country's key figure for implementing a policy of political reconciliation allowing Suu Kyi to challenge and perhaps succeed him.
“We are working hard to move from military rule to democracy, to end the multiple armed conflicts that have ridden this nation since independence in 1948, and to reform the economy away from the centralized economy to one based on the free market,” Thein Sein told the forum.Suu Kyi urged more reforms. “In order to have rule of law we need an independent judiciary, but the judiciary is not independent,” she said. — AP


Clic here to read the story from its source.