• Burmese
Friday, July 18, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
28 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Burma

Suu Kyi Wraps Back-to-Back Rallies Urging Pre-2015 Charter Change

Zarni Mann by Zarni Mann
May 19, 2014
in Uncategorized
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
Suu Kyi Wraps Back-to-Back Rallies Urging Pre-2015 Charter Change

Aung San Suu Kyi addresses a crowd of supporters in Mandalay on Sunday. (Photo: Teza Hlaing / The Irrawaddy)|A crowd of supporters of constitutional change listens to Aung San Suu Kyi speak at a rally in Mandalay on Sunday. (Photo: Teza Hlaing / The Irrawaddy)|A National League for Democracy supporter holds up a portrait of Aung San Suu Kyi at a rally for constitutional reform on Sunday in Mandalay. (Photo: Teza Hlaing / The Irrawaddy)|Aung San Suu Kyi addresses a crowd of supporters in Mandalay on Sunday. (Photo: Teza Hlaing / The Irrawaddy)|A National League for Democracy supporter claps his hands at a rally for constitutional reform on Sunday in Mandalay. (Photo: Teza Hlaing / The Irrawaddy)|88 Generation Peace and Open Society leader Min Ko Naing speaks to the crowd at a rally for Constitutional reform on Sunday in Mandalay. (Photo: Teza Hlaing / The Irrawaddy)

10.5k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

MANDALAY — National League for Democracy (NLD) chairwoman Aung San Suu Kyi challenged Burma’s government—still dominated by current or former military officials—to amend the country’s controversial Constitution by year’s end, at a rally that drew more than 20,000 people in Mandalay on Sunday.

“I want to challenge them [military officials] to amend the Constitution within this year, from within the boundaries of the law and via the Parliament. If they truly love the country, respect the citizens: Think of the future of the country and be brave enough,” Suu Kyi said before supporters gathered at an athletics field on Sunday morning.

Suu Kyi also reminded the crowd that her father, Gen. Aung San, founded the army more than 70 years ago as an institution charged with protecting the country and its people.

RelatedPosts

Myanmar Junta Airstrikes Protecting Irrawaddy Flotilla Kill 20

Myanmar Junta Airstrikes Protecting Irrawaddy Flotilla Kill 20

July 18, 2025
180
Myanmar Crisis Spells Opportunity for U.S.-India Cooperation

Myanmar Crisis Spells Opportunity for U.S.-India Cooperation

July 18, 2025
128
Myanmar Junta Using Conscripts as Cannon Fodder, Defectors Say

Myanmar Junta Using Conscripts as Cannon Fodder, Defectors Say

July 18, 2025
179

“The army exists not to govern the country but to protect it. It is unpleasant to hold onto something that doesn’t belong to you,” she said, referring to military representatives’ guaranteed 25 percent of seats in Parliament. “I have to question why they want to do this, as it is to the detriment of your dignity and the country suffers [as a result].

“I want to urge them to show their ability to the world—that they have no intention of holding to power, and show how much they can sacrifice for the sake of the country,” she added.

Repeating a line that she put forward a day earlier in Rangoon, the opposition leader said the first priority for reform of the charter was Section 436. The section is key to further constitutional amendments, requiring more than 75 percent of Parliament to support proposed amendments and giving the military an effective veto over changes.

Suu Kyi and her NLD are also pushing for changes to Article 59(f), which bars her from running for president in an election slated for 2015 because she married a foreign national and has two foreign passport-holding children.

Suu Kyi on Sunday encouraged her supporters to write letters to Commander-in-Chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing and other military officials, urging them to cooperate in building a better future for the country.

Sunday’s public meeting was organized in collaboration with the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society, a prominent civil society group comprised of leaders of Burma’s 1988 pro-democracy student uprising. An estimated 25,000 supporters from Mandalay and surrounding cities including Pyin Oo Lwin, Nyaung Oo, Pakokku and Mogoke, as well as some who traveled from as far away as Kachin, Karenni and Chin states, came out to show their support.

Streets in Mandalay were clogged with vehicles carrying people with the NLD’s red-and-yellow flags, while the speaking venue, Aung Pin Lae sports grounds, was the scene of activity from 3am to welcome Suu Kyi’s second visit to the town since 2012.

Speaking before the crowd in Mandalay, Burma’s second largest city, the prominent 88 Generation leader Min Ko Naing encouraged all citizens to participate in an upcoming nationwide signature campaign in support of constitutional change.

“The people are like the sky, which is always there for us, and the government or the men in power are like the clouds, which visit the sky temporarily. We need people power to create a better future for the country,” Min Ko Naing said.

The former student leader said the 2008 Constitution, which passed in a referendum held shortly after Cyclone Nargis devastated the country’s Irrawaddy Delta, needed amending if the country was to exist as a genuine, federal democracy.

Min Ko Naing also addressed a warning made recently by President Thein Sein, who visited the town just three days ahead of Sunday’s gathering and claimed the push for constitutional change risked sparking unrest.

“We have the freedom to educate the people on what is going on with the politics of the country,” Min Ko Naing said. “We are peacefully working within the bounds of the law. Warning that there will be unrest is just in fear of losing face for what they have done in the past.”

The NLD-88 Generation rally for constitutional reform in Mandalay was the second organized by the collaborating groups in as many days. The first meeting was held on Saturday in Rangoon, where some 15,000 supporters came out to show support for the cause.

Rally organizers say they plan to travel to other cities across all of Burma’s 14 states and divisions, while signature campaigns across the country will begin on May 27 and will run through July 19.

Your Thoughts …
Zarni Mann

Zarni Mann

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang
Burma

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang

by Hein Htoo Zan
November 28, 2023
98.5k

Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army troops are opening roads and pathways through forests for people to flee Kokang’s capital as...

Read moreDetails
Burning Alive in Myanmar: Two Resistance Fighters Executed in Public
Burma

Burning Alive in Myanmar: Two Resistance Fighters Executed in Public

by The Irrawaddy
February 7, 2024
90.4k

People’s Defense Force says junta troops told every household in the village to send one member to witness the double...

Read moreDetails
Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State
War Against the Junta

Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State

by The Irrawaddy
November 29, 2023
87.1k

Brotherhood Alliance member says it now has complete control of Kokang’s northernmost section after the junta’s Light Infantry Battalion 125...

Read moreDetails
Depleted Myanmar Military Urges Deserters to Return to Barracks
Burma

Depleted Myanmar Military Urges Deserters to Return to Barracks

by The Irrawaddy
December 4, 2023
59k

The junta said deserters would not be punished for minor crimes, highlighting the military’s shortage of troops as resistance offensives...

Read moreDetails
As Myanmar’s Military Stumbles, a Top General’s Dissapearance Fuels Intrigue
Burma

As Myanmar’s Military Stumbles, a Top General’s Dissapearance Fuels Intrigue

by The Irrawaddy
April 19, 2024
47k

The junta’s No. 2 has not been seen in public since April 3, sparking rumors that he was either gravely...

Read moreDetails
Enter the Dragon, Exit the Junta: Myanmar’s Brotherhood Alliance makes Chinese New Year Vow
Burma

Enter the Dragon, Exit the Junta: Myanmar’s Brotherhood Alliance makes Chinese New Year Vow

by The Irrawaddy
February 12, 2024
44.8k

Ethnic armed grouping says it will continue Operation 1027 offensive until goal of ousting the junta is achieved. 

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Burmese Protesters Kidnap Chinese Workers at Letpadaung Mine

Burmese Protesters Kidnap Chinese Workers at Letpadaung Mine

Anti-Dam Protesters Complete Marathon Irrawaddy March

Anti-Dam Protesters Complete Marathon Irrawaddy March

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

What the ‘Snake Charmer’ Analogy Gets Wrong About Myanmar

What the ‘Snake Charmer’ Analogy Gets Wrong About Myanmar

3 days ago
1.4k
Myanmar Junta’s Recapture of Nawnghkio Shows Strategic Missteps by TNLA

Myanmar Junta’s Recapture of Nawnghkio Shows Strategic Missteps by TNLA

1 day ago
1.3k

Most Read

  • Myanmar Junta’s Power Transfer Looms, but Real Control to Remain With Regime Boss

    Myanmar Junta’s Power Transfer Looms, but Real Control to Remain With Regime Boss

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta’s Recapture of Nawnghkio Shows Strategic Missteps by TNLA

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Karen Fighters Push for Myanmar Junta Outpost on Thai Border

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Belarus Universities Teach Myanmar Junta How to Kill: JFM

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Indian Army Accused of Deadly Strike on Separatists in Myanmar

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.