HtinKyaw has been elected President of Myanmar. He is a close friend and confidant of AungSaanSuuKyi. The military has relinquished control of Government and Parliament. But it still has a say on important issues. The question is to what extent SuuKyi will be above the President. Amending the Constitution to enable her to be President runs into many hurdles. In her present capacity, she will be free from the likely conditions the Junta could have laid down for co-operation. The scope and pace of reform may now worry the Military. The Junta has one fourth of the seats in Parliament which can block a Constitutional amendment but not legislation. The Ministries of defence, home and border affairs will be under the Army’s control.
The National League of Democracy (NLD) will now have to juice up the economy. Then there are matters like insurgency, the plight of Rohingyas and so on. New Delhi has to embark on a new relationship with Myanmar. In the past, it gave support to the Junta mainly to ensure that China did not hold complete sway over it. Now it should be easier to hold hands with democracy.
New Delhi is particularly interested in strengthening ties with Myanmar under the new regime. The NLD Government can help in flushing out rebels from north eastern India sheltering in northern Myanmar jungle hideouts. It can also stop smuggling into Manipur impairing the economy of the state which suffers a lot from frequent economic blockades.
