Sir, – I refer to your editorial "Generals must step aside" (November 12th). It would be wonderful for the long-suffering people of Burma if that happened. Of course the generals should step aside, in light of the sweeping victory of Aung San Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy (NLD). But (and this is a big but), will they? Certainly not willingly, I suggest.
Let us not forget the landslide victory won by Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD in 1990, a truly democratic result, which was immediately annulled by the generals. All Aung San Suu Kyi “won” was long years of house arrest during which time she also spent time inside prison. These generals, having wielded supreme power for over half a century, are wily and did not go into the recent elections blindly. Under the constitution brought in by the generals, 25 per cent of parliamentary seats are reserved for military personnel. And here is the crux – to change the constitution requires more than 75 per cent of the electorate to vote in favour. Furthermore there are many other provisos in the constitution to ensure that power does not pass out of the hands of the military leaders.
Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD will need the support of the United Nations, the European Union, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), and all of the democratic and civilised nations of the world, if Burma is to achieve real, unadulterated democracy.
It is to be hoped that our own Government will play its part to ensure that this happens. – Yours, etc,
GEAROID KILGALLEN,
Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin.