“If the Northeast MPs are united, you can have a Prime Minister,” says Zozam, Chin State MP

New Delhi, Sept 22, 2013: “I am not happy to be an MP with no work to do. Many MPs are faithfully napping in the arms of the higher authorities. If there is no free and fair election next year, I will not contest,” said Mr Zam Cin Pao, alias Zozam, an MP from Chin State and Chairman of the Chin National Party, during a meeting with Chin students, social activists, research scholars, and journalists from Northeast India.

Mr Zozam was accompanied by Dr Aye Maung, MP from Sittwe, Rakhine State, Mr Isaac Khen, Executive Director of the Gender and Development Initiative, Myanmar, and Ms Ei Ei Toe Lwin, Senior Reporter at The Myanmar Times. The discussion, organised by the Burma Centre Delhi, was held at Nagaland House, New Delhi, on the evening of 20 September. Dr Alana Golmei, Director of the Burma Centre Delhi, delivered the welcome address. Burmese officials had also been invited by the Centre for a conference on 19 September. Dr Aye Maung left the discussion early to attend an important meeting in Rakhine State on 22 September.

Speaking on humanitarian grounds, Mr Khen, a human rights activist, made three key suggestions. He emphasised strengthening ties between Myanmar’s ethnic groups and Northeast Indians, transcending geographical boundaries to foster shared cultural and social ties.

Mr Khen urged Chin students to return to Myanmar. “We need you. It is very important for ethnic minorities to participate in mainstream politics,” he said.

He also called upon Naga communities in Nagaland, India, to extend support to the Nagas in Myanmar, who remain isolated from the mainstream due to geographical barriers.

Mr Zozam remarked, “We must distance ourselves from the one-sided Myanmarese government.” He recounted how he initiated the Federal Union Party (FUP) with just four parties, which has since expanded to 16. “We are also working towards including other Burmese parties,” he said.

The FUP has emerged as Myanmar’s third-largest party, alongside the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and the National League for Democracy (NLD). “We formed the party on a common foundation—federalism,” Mr Zozam added.

He commented that Aung San Suu Kyi’s leadership is what sustains the NLD and warned that the party’s influence may diminish once she is no longer active.

“Young men can introduce new ideas, but older men cannot. If you have a broad vision, you can build a great nation,” he told the Chin students.

Mr Siang Ceu, President of the Chin Students’ Union (CSU), Delhi, briefly recounted the organisation’s origins. He explained that it was founded by exiled students from Myanmar following the 1988 uprising, with CSU Delhi being formally established in 1995.

Mr Zozam criticised many MPs as being ineffective and shared his own experiences, saying, “I picked up English from the streets.” He encouraged Chin students to read books about great leaders and adopt their ideas.

Responding to a query from attendees, Mr Zozam stated, “I am the poorest MP. My salary is barely $200 per month,” adding that even his taxi fares often exceed his earnings.

On the Myanmar government’s airstrikes against Kachin rebels earlier that year, Mr Zozam said he had challenged senior authorities: “Kachins are my brothers and sisters. Why are you fighting them with airstrikes? We need only political dialogue.”

He also recounted how his minister had warned him during a visit to Germany, advising him against meeting South American delegates, solidarity movement campaigners, and Greenpeace activists.

Addressing the Northeast Indian audience, he remarked, “If the Northeast MPs are united, you can have a Prime Minister from the region.”

Myanmar’s 30-month-old democracy, he observed, remains fragile. Many MPs elected in the last polls have little authority, as power remains concentrated within the Myanmar government. As a result, many MPs remain silent spectators in parliament, where crucial national decisions are made.

“The MPs are paralysed by restrictions in a dysfunctional parliament. Their power is dictated by how much the ruling authorities permit them to exercise,” Mr Khen remarked.

As Myanmar’s President Thein Sein prepares to step down, reports suggest he is not currently planning to contest the 2015 presidential election. Meanwhile, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has set her sights on the presidency. Come November 2014, Myanmar’s citizens will exercise their democratic rights in a pivotal election.

~ BRUCE K. THANGKHAL
The Mizoram Post | Manipur Chronicle | Zogam Today

 

 

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