Democratic Voice of Burma |
| Election Commission backtracks on new campaign rules Posted: 01 Aug 2014 10:54 PM PDT Burma's Union Election Commission (UEC) has agreed to seven of nine electoral regulation changes recommended by the country's main opposition party, according to politicians present at the negotiations. Win Myint, central committee member of the National League for Democracy, told DVB that his party met with the UEC on 1 August to propose changes to election and campaign protocol before polls scheduled for next year. The NLD recommended nine changes, seven of which were accepted by the UEC. Among the points accepted was the allowance of a two-month campaign period in the lead-up to elections, as opposed to a one-month period currently stipulated. "They [the UEC] agreed to seven points. One point that they did not agree to was changing the hours for pre-voting, so that the window would end at 6am instead of 4am," said Win Myint. The UEC, he said, explained that they do not have the authority to make that adjustment. The other rejected proposal was a requirement that all UEC members abstain from any affiliation with a political party for 3-5 years before becoming a member. Burma's Constitution currently stipulates that members cannot have a party affiliation, but does not specify a time-frame. The commission said that they have no power to add the requirement as it pertains to the Constitution, not electoral law. Regarding the accepted proposals, the UEC committed to releasing orders to implement the changes, Win Myint said. The NLD's recommendations were submitted to the commission on 21 July, after electoral guidelines were controversially redrafted by the UEC in May. The new rules and regulations, which contained 44 amendments, were released on 28 July. The UEC, a government-appointed oversight body established in 2010 and chaired by former Lt-Gen Tin Aye, has come under fire for tightening control on election regulations in advance of highly anticipated general elections set for late 2015. Another round of by-elections are expected by the end of 2014, in which 31 seats across Burma will be contested. The upcoming elections are seen as a litmus test for Burma's reforms. A 2010 general election — the country's first in decades — was almost universally dismissed as fraudulent, though by-elections held in April 2012 landed 43 opposition party members in the newly-formed parliament, lending some credibility to the new government. Among those opposition members was Aung San Suu Kyi, who was formerly under house arrest. While the 2012 by-election placed her in parliament, the government has faced immense criticism for a Constitutional clause that prohibits her from seeking the presidency in 2015.
|
| The roots of intolerance and prejudice in Buddhism Posted: 01 Aug 2014 09:22 PM PDT Violence related to Buddhism in Sri Lanka and Burma often leaves observers with a sense of bewilderment; many Buddhist practitioners have resorted to violent means in the name of what is essentially a peaceful religion. This contradiction is somewhat easier to understand when viewed from two angles – East and West. For the Asian Buddhist, the idea that the teachings of the Buddha could ever lead to hostility is simply dismissed. Buddhism is airbrushed from the scenes of violence and in its place is left only a threat to the nation, a threat to the culture and a threat to the religion. The Western observer tends to assume that those committing these acts are not 'real' Buddhists. The original teachings have mingled with culture to such an extent as to become unrecognisable – dig beneath the culture, to the text, and there the 'real' message of the Buddha will be found. For the West, Buddhism has to be separated from its cultural environment. This is out of necessity – for it is assumed that Buddhism is not a 'religion' at all. It is a pristine 'other', standing alone and somewhat aloof from the messiness of the masses. For the Asian Buddhist, the West can never culturally understand Buddhism (the West is 'foreign' – modern and corrupt). Whereas for the Western Buddhist, it is precisely these cultural accretions that obscure the real teachings. The East is naïve and lacks sophistication. Both sides, East and West, seek authenticity in Buddhism. Related StoriesBuddhism has portrayed itself, and been described by Western commentators, as the religion untainted by 'religiousness' (dogmatism, violence, fundamentalism). It is the religion of choice for the compassionate, modern individual. Many believe that Buddhism has a pure history in which misdemeanors, carnage, war and hostility has been committed by everyone — except the Buddhist. This is why the recent violence in Sri Lanka and Burma elicits such shock. In seeking the origins of these hostilities, we shouldn’t turn to the core textual tradition, even though some Buddhist groups may refer to particular texts to support their own positions. In the fundamental ideas of the Pali Canon, or the early Sutras of the Mahāyāna tradition, the teachings of the Buddha are based on tolerance and compassion. The roots of intolerance might be found in the reaction of one Buddhist group to another. For example, this sectarian attitude surfaced in the emergence of the Mahāyāna Buddhism. The Mahāyāna identified itself in opposition to what it termed 'Hīnayāna' Buddhist groups. Although Mahāyāna is often translated as 'Great Vehicle' and Hīnayāna as 'Smaller Vehicle' – the term 'hīna' actually means 'inferior', 'low,' 'poor', 'miserable', 'vile', or 'contemptible'. Evidence suggests that some Buddhist schools had uncompromising attitudes towards others. That intolerance was pronounced by the rise of Buddhism in the West (including the Asian 'West'). There is an ongoing debate concerning which group is the most compassionate. The argument has been made that some Buddhist groups in Asia and elsewhere are using this 'stick of compassion' against Burmese Buddhists as a way of distancing the rest of the Buddhist world from the situation in Burma. Buddhist groups have long been vying for the claim of authenticity, an element of Buddhist history that could be at the heart of recent hostilities. Even beyond disputes between differing factions of Buddhism, there is a broader sense of religious superiority. The notion of the superiority of Buddhism is often based upon a supposed scientific resemblance and methodology; Buddhism is better because it is viewed as scientific, rational. Because it is perceived as 'better', Buddhists go to war, discriminate against others, take Buddhism to be essential to national identity, and do things that we might find completely contrary to the Buddha's teachings. There is an historic pride in the fundamental goodness of the Dhamma which causes conflict and hostility. There are enough teachings in the Buddhist Canon that warn against these attitudes, but there are also many examples in Buddhist history where a strong sense of pride in one's own tradition is supported. It is precisely where an attitude in which the most compassionate, the most Buddhist, the most traditional are valued – that intolerance in Buddhist culture comes into focus.
Dr Paul Fuller has taught Religious Studies at Universities in Southeast Asia, the University of Sydney in Australia and at Bath Spa University in the UK. His research interests include early Indian Buddhist philosophy and the Buddhist ideas of Aung San Suu Kyi. His book, The Notion of Ditthi in Theravada Buddhism: The Point of View (Routledge Curzon Critical Studies in Buddhism, 2004) explores the textual basis of discrimination and attachment in the Pali Canon. The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not reflect DVB editorial policy. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from DVB Multimedia Group | DVB Multimedia Group To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.