General Tin Aye quits

Former general, now member of parliment, Tin Aye, has resigned from Burma's new parliment, only two weeks after it first convened. Aye was the sixth most important general in Burma before he resigned to join the USDP party in the election, and in the new government he was in the running to become defence minister, but he didn't get the job. Many analysts believe the unexpected resignation is a sign that the new government is not going to plan, as senior military figures are not happy having to share power with each other for the first time.

I feel that this resignation is the beginning of the new regime starting to fail, as Burma has not been under a democratic governemnt in half a century, and the generals turned polititions are not used to having to work together as a parliment and share their power. 

Than Shwe out of the running.

Last week it was revealed that Than Shwe, a military general who has been Burma's leader since the late 1980's, is not in the list of presidential nominees for the countries new government. Although he is not going to be president, it is highly unlikely that he will relinquish much power, and i expect that he will continue to have an important role in the governance of the country, or at least a leading military position. Aung San Suu Kyi is undecided as to how this turn of events will play out in Burma, as even if he is not president, being in charge of the military will give him as much power as the president, if not more. I feel that really, leaving Shwe will not really affect the country hugely, as no matter what, the military and himself will always play a dominant role in the governing of Burma. 

The actual nominees for the presidency consist of two USDP backed candidates, and two more candidates from parties representing ethnic minorities. The fifth candidates name has not been released to the public. I feel that while it is a good sign that the parliament put forward two candidates from parties representing ethnic minorities, especially due to their previous mistreatment in Burma, it is highly unlikely, if not impossible, that one of them will ever be elected president,  

Parliment is opening...

Even though official election results have not been released, the new government will meet tomorrow as a 'democratically' elected government for the first time since the general elections in november. The military junta-linked party have also said that they won the elections with about 80% of the votes, and a quarter of the seats in parliament have been reserved for the military. The country's newspaper, 'The New Light of Myanmar' states that the elections have created a feeling of independence and patriotism, and that the election results were the 'fruit of democracy'.