Dear Editor,
Momentous, indeed historic developments have taken place within recent times. First, there was the historic meeting between the Chinese leader and his Taiwanese counterpart in Singapore. China has long refused to recognise Taiwan which it considered a “renegade” breakaway state and continues to insist on its ‘One China’ policy.
The second and no less significant development is the elections in Myanmar, formerly Burma, which from all indications has been won by the National League for Democracy headed by Aung San Suu Kyi, who for fifteen years was placed under house arrest after winning a decisive victory in the 1990 general elections. The military junta refused to accept the verdict of the people and annulled the election results.
The entire world is watching on to see whether they will now yield political power to the elected representatives as promised, thereby bringing an end to over five decades of military rule. Army chief Min Aung Hlaing has congratulated the NLD on its victory at the polls and has pledged to work with the new government which is an encouraging development.
Congratulations are in order for Aung San Suu Kyi and her party for having won roughly 80 per cent of the declared votes so far. This huge margin is enough to negate the twenty-five per cent built-in parliamentary seats reserved for the military.
Yours faithfully,
Hydar Ally
