Myanmar Talks Could Open Door to Presidency for Aung San Suu Kyi
By WAI MOE and THOMAS FULLER

NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar — The democracy movement of the Nobel Peace laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is negotiating with Myanmar’s military over the composition of the next government, including a possible deal that would allow her to be president, two senior members of her party said on Friday.

The officials said the party had offered senior government posts to the military as part of a deal in which the military would allow Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi to be president.

The precise details of the negotiations remain murky, and the party members spoke on the condition of anonymity because, in the words of one, “now is a very sensitive time.”

Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy, won the election in November by a landslide, ending five decades of military rule here. But the country’s Constitution, which was written by the military, bars her from the presidency because her two children have foreign citizenship, as did her husband, who died in 1999.

The Constitution can only be amended with the consent of the military.

Relations between Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, a former political prisoner, and the military are seen as crucial to the success of her government. In addition to the lock on the Constitution, the military retains control of a quarter of the seats in Parliament and several key ministries.

Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi has long desired the presidency and has campaigned to amend the Constitution to allow it.

During the election campaign she said she planned to have her party elect a proxy who would answer to her, putting her “above” the president.

But now members of her party say they are hopeful that she can assume the post herself.

The party has a solid majority in the new Parliament, which convened for the first time this week. The negotiations have been largely held in the shadows of the week’s parliamentary session.

“The negotiations have been through brokers,” said U Zaw Htay, a member of the government’s transition team who served as a director in the office of departing President Thein Sein.

Among those believed to be brokering the negotiations is Thura Shwe Mann, the former speaker of the lower house of Parliament who, despite having been a top official in the repressive dictatorship, has since become an ally of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s.

One senior member of the National League for Democracy said the party was considering offering the post of chief minister, the top regional executive job, in three important places: the city of Yangon, Rakhine State and Shan State. Yangon is the country’s commercial capital, while Rakhine and Shan are restive states in which the military has a large presence.

Members of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s party have been outwardly optimistic that she will be able to become president.

U Tin Oo, a former general and co-founder of the National League for Democracy, said this week that Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi would “definitely become president.”

But the military-run Myawaddy newspaper ran a commentary on Monday, the day that the new Parliament opened, saying that amending the Constitution would be against “the national interest.”

官位換實權 翁山蘇姬總統有望

紐約時報報導，緬甸民主運動領袖翁山蘇姬領導的「全國民主聯盟」（全民聯）正與軍方談判新政府的組成，全民聯兩位高階成員表示，全民聯有意以提供政府高級職位給軍方，交換軍方同意修憲讓翁山蘇姬出任新政府總統。

紐時報導，全民聯一高階成員說，該黨正考慮提供三個重要地點，仰光市、若開邦及撣邦的首席部長（地區行政首長）職位給軍方。仰光是商業首都，若開邦、撣邦是軍方派有大批兵力的動盪省。

緬甸國會二月一日開議，就在全民聯的國會議員在議場面對鏡頭微笑的同時，軍方將領也在離國會不遠的軍事總部開會，每人心中只有一個問題：誰將成為下一位緬甸總統？

兩個會議平行進行，突顯緬甸政權轉移之複雜。在公開的議場中軍方與全民聯國會議員握手致意，在閉門會議中最高權力斡旋者則正試圖解決如何治理緬甸的問題。

國會議員與熟知過程的外交官指出，一月廿六日武裝部隊總司令敏昂萊與翁山蘇姬會面後，有關新政府組成問題的談判進入關鍵階段。部分在仰光的外交官指出，敏昂萊可能妥協，讓翁山蘇姬成為總統，換取翁山蘇姬承諾不會侵害軍方的龐大經濟利益，也不會就軍政府統治時期進行秋後算帳。

全民聯去年十一月以壓倒性勝利贏得大選，終結軍方五十年的統治。緬甸軍方主導制定的憲法禁止配偶和子女為外國籍者出任總統，翁山蘇姬受此限制而無法擔任總統。翁山蘇姬一直渴望成為總統，並要求修憲，但軍方始終拒絕，翁山蘇姬因此表示打算讓該黨全民聯在勝選後推選一代理總統，由她從凌駕總統的職位上實際掌權。

詢及修憲讓翁山蘇姬出任總統的可能性，一少將表示，並不完全排除。

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/06/world/asia/myanmar-military-aung-san-suu-kyi-president.html

2016-02-07．聯合報．A13．兩岸/國際．編譯王麗娟