Daily Times

NAYPYITAW: The commander-in-chief of Myanmar’s military said on Friday the army was carrying out its duty under the leadership of the newly elected civilian government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, aiming to assuage worry over tension between them. Relations between the armed forces and Suu Kyi will define the success of Myanmar’s emergence from decades of isolation and military rule that began when the army seized power in 1962. “We don’t have any reason to reject the leadership of the elected civilian government,” Senior General Min Aung Hlaing at a rare news conference at the military headquarters on the outskirts of the capital, Naypyitaw. The army is the single most powerful institution in the Southeast Asian country. It ruled directly for nearly 50 years then, in 2011, handed over to a government led by retired officers which organised an election in November last year. Suu Kyi’s party won by a landslide after years of opposition to military rule. A government controlled by Suu Kyi took over in April after a transition dominated by discussion over the army-drafted constitution, which bars Suu Kyi from the presidency. The military maintains a significant political role with control of three security ministries. It also holds a quarter of seats in parliament which gives it a veto on changes to the constitution.