DHAKA: Myanmar’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Saturday called on the powerful military to get involved in reforming the country’s junta-era constitution, which currently bars her from becoming president.

The Nobel laureate, who has repeatedly asserted her readiness to take on the top political job, said the nation’s ‘tatmadaw’ army was ‘essential’ in amending the charter, which is currently being debated by a parliamentary panel that includes soldiers.

‘The tatmadaw must not remain in a dilemma about whether to take part in amending the constitution. It must take part in it,’ she told members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) at a ceremony to mark Myanmar’s independence from colonial rule, reports The Straits Times.

Myanmar’s president Thein Sein, a former general who has won international praise for reforms since he took power in 2011, on Thursday lent his support to constitutional reform in a monthly speech published in state media.

BDST: 1834 HRS, JAN 04, 2014
Edited by Robab Rosan, Current Affairs Editor