RANGOON — Aung San Suu Kyi met on Thursday with representatives of more than 40 foreign missions in Burma, receiving a resounding pledge of international support throughout the transition from military to democratic rule.
“She exuded charm and confidence, and [seemed] ready to take the reins of government,” remarked one diplomat, who wished to remain anonymous, after attending the meeting in Naypyidaw.
The diplomat said Suu Kyi, who chairs the National League for Democracy (NLD) “seemed aware of the need to work with the military” to complete the transition, adding that amending the Constitution is expected to be carried out slowly and the party intends to work with the current administration to ensure a peaceful transition in the spirit of national reconciliation.
Suu Kyi’s party secured a landslide victory in a Nov. 8 general election, winning about 80 percent of elected parliamentary seats. Twenty-five percent of the legislature is reserved for military appointees as per the 2008 Constitution, which was drafted by the then-military junta.
The electoral were enough to ensure that the NLD, which had won a 1990 election by similar margins but the results were annulled, will have the power to pass legislation and select the next government early next year.
Another senior diplomat present at the meeting, also wishing to remain anonymous, told The Irrawaddy that there were “a lot of pledges of support from Ambassadors to make the transition and the new government work.”
The diplomat said that Suu Kyi expressed plans for her party to offer some ministerial posts to people who are not members of the NLD.
Held in a parliamentary building that houses the rule of law committee, which is chaired by Suu Kyi, the meeting was attended by more than 50 envoys representing missions from Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, Norway, Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom and others.
