Myanmar Since our 2013 Constitution Project
17 Apr 2018 |
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Lane Cove
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In 2013 we supported the Australia Myanmar Constitutional Democracy Project in holding a workshop on constitution writing in Yangon. At the time, there was significant optimism about Myanmar's prospects for successfully transitioning to democracy, after almost half a century of military rule. Aung San Suu Kyi had been elected to parliament; political prisoners had been released; the government had intensified efforts to sign peace agreements with ethnic armies to end one of the world's longest running civil wars. Five year later, however, Myanmar's government, including Aung San Suu Kyi, presided over a campaign of ethnic cleansing of the country's minority Muslim population, the Rohingya; and committed crimes against humanity in Christian states in the North of the country. Dr Catherine Renshaw who was part of the original workshop in 2013, and who has recently returned from Yangon where she was running more constitutional law workshops, will update us on developments in Myanmar and explain why its transition to democracy no longer seems assured. In 2013, Rotary Lane Cove supported the Australia Myanmar Constitutional Democracy Project in holding a workshop on constitution writing in Yangon. At the time, there was significant optimism about Myanmar's prospects for successfully transitioning to democracy, after almost half a century of military rule. Aung San Suu Kyi had been elected to parliament; political prisoners had been released; the government had intensified efforts to sign peace agreements with ethnic armies to end one of the world's longest running civil wars. Five year later, however, Myanmar's government, including Aung San Suu Kyi, presided over a campaign of ethnic cleansing of the country's minority Muslim population, the Rohingya; and committed crimes against humanity in Christian states in the North of the country. Dr Catherine Renshaw who was part of the original workshop in 2013, and has recently returned from Yangon and Shan State, will update us on developments in Myanmar and explain why its transition to democracy no longer seems assured. Professor Theunis Roux, also a major player in the Constitutional Democracy Project, will join us for this event.