US criticises Myanmar military after law change fails

29 June 2015
US criticises Myanmar military after law change fails

The United States has said that an effective legislative veto held by Myanmar’s military was undemocratic and reiterated calls for changes to the constitution, a day after lawmakers from the armed forces bloc rejected any significant amendments to the charter Reuters reported on 26 June.
“There are provisions in Burma’s constitution, such as the lack of civilian control of the military and the military’s veto power over constitutional amendments, that contradict fundamental democratic principles,” a spokesperson from the US Embassy in Yangon said.
Washington has reengaged with Myanmar since a quasi-civilian government took power in 2011, ending 49 years of military rule.
The United States has pushed for the country’s military to be reined in, submitting to civilian control and stepping back from the political arena.
Military MPs said that while they are not opposedto changing the constitution in the future, the time was not right and doing so now might risk instability.
“We are making the country’s situation stable by putting 25 percent of military MPs in parliament,” said Brigadier General Tin San Hlaing, a military MP.