Suu Kyi says ousted ruling party leader is an ally

 

President Thein Sein purged rival Shwe Mann and his alliesfrom the Ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) in dramatic fashion last week, just months before a landmark election.
"It is now clear who is the enemy and who is the ally," SuuKyi told reporters at the country's parliament, when asked if Shwe Mann's sacking had cost her an ally. "The National Leaguefor Democracy will work with the ally."
She did not detail how they would work together. As chairmanof the USDP, Shwe Mann sought to build ties with Suu Kyi, whichsparked suspicion among some members of the ruling party andcontributed to his sacking. The USDP is made up of many formermilitary officers.

On Tuesday, Shwe Mann denied he had divided the country. "I am not destroying party unity and stability," he said.
Security forces surrounded the USDP compound late onWednesday, locking down the building while the president'sallies met party leaders to removed Shwe Mann's faction from theleadership committee.

 

        "As for the happenings of the middle of the night, this isnot what you expect from a working democracy," Suu Kyi said.

Shwe Mann had antagonised the military by backing Suu Kyi'scampaign to reform the constitution to limit the sway of thegenerals over Myanmar's politics.

She is banned from the presidency under a constitutiondrafted by the military before it handed over power in 2011. Thearmed forces hold a veto over any charter changes.

Suu Kyi's opposition National League for Democracy (NLD)would likely garner more votes in the November election due tothe changes in the USDP, she said.

Her party was already expected to win the most seats in theNovember election, seen as a crucial test of the country'sdemocratic reforms.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE

Shwe Mann still holds the position of speaker of the houseand opened parliament for the last session before the vote onTuesday.

He is under pressure to table a bill that establishes therules for constituents to recall members of parliament and couldlead to his own impeachment. He faces a petition from his ownconstituents.

Suu Kyi said the bill was "ridiculous", as MPs could berecalled by just 1 percent of constituents.

Shwe Mann on Tuesday also denied that he had misused partyfunds, which he said he was accused of in a letter last week. Hedid not give further details.

Shwe Mann's allies vowed to defend him in parliament.

"Most of the USDP lawmakers in the lower house are going tosupport Shwe Mann," said Aung Lynn Hlaing, a USDP member, as heentered parliament.

"Shwe Mann always represents us when we are ignored by thepresident. I think it's not right the way they did what they didin our party."

Tension between the rival camps rose after the USDP lastweek omitted from its list the majority of a group of around 150officers who retired from military service to run as USDPcandidates.

The USDP also sidelined two of the president's closestallies by leaving them off the candidate list.

They were Soe Thein, a powerful minister of the president'soffice, and Aung Min, who was picked by Thein Sein to lead thegovernment's efforts to forge a peace agreement with thecountry's armed ethnic groups.

Shwe Mann's fall from grace bears echoes of the politicalpurges under the junta, leading some to doubt he has a future inpublic life.

"We can be sure they will uproot him by hook or by crook,"said Thein Nyunt, a member of the parliament from the NewNational Democracy Party (NNDP).

"So my best advice for him is 'resign from the speaker'sposition if you want to prevent further perils for you and yourfamily'."