On April 14, Myanmar observes the New Year (Thingyan) through water festival (symbolising purification) and also the victory in election of the pro-democracy leader and chief of National League for Democracy (NLD) Aung San Suu Kyi (66), which started a new era in Myanmar's politics.
''I would like all NLD members to ensure that the victory of the people is a dignified victory," she said in the statement. Words, behaviour and actions that ''can harm and sadden other parties and people'' should be avoided, she said.
''I would like all NLD members to ensure that the victory of the people is a dignified victory," she said in the statement. Words, behaviour and actions that ''can harm and sadden other parties and people'' should be avoided, she said.
Hundreds of people clapped and cheered as a giant screen outside her NLD party headquarters in Yangon announced that the Nobel Peace Prize winner Daw Suu (Aunty Suu), or "The Lady" as she is widely known, had won a parliamentary seat for the first time.
Suu Kyi , daughter of the Myanmar's independence leader General Aung San, has been adored by the overwhelming people of her country since 1988. After 15 years of sacrifice as a political prisoner, she contested a parliamentary seat in Kawhmu, 80 km. south of Yangon (Rangoon).
She was educated in India and Oxford and is very articulate in expressing her views in a crisp manner. Her mother served as ambassador to India after her father was assassinated in 1947.
The last time the people of Myanmar voted was in November 2010 in an atmosphere of resentment. She boycotted the election because her party was deregistered as it said that election rules were unfair.
This time the political environment is different because President Thein Sein has undertaken various reforms since last September. He has realised that programmes for economic growth could not be implemented without reforms and in turn reforms would not be possible without active participation of Suu Kyi in the process.
Seventeen opposition parties took part in the by-elections on April 1 -- Myanmar's third election in half a century, At the recent summit in Cambodia, Asean delegates praised Myanmar President Thein Sein for holding a fair and free poll in which Aung San Suu Kyi and her party won 44 out of 45 by-elections to the 664 seat Parliament and urged the West to drop sanctions.
As Myanmar has changed, so too has Suu Kyi. She has become a realist and decided to cooperate with President Thein Sein. She has described President Thein Sein -- a general in the former military government -- as "honest" and "sincere" and accepted his appeal for the NLD to take part. With the election victory, she will have to undertake a delicate balancing act to maximise her influence.
Her top priorities, she says, are introducing the rule of law, ending long-simmering ethnic insurgencies and amending the 2008 constitution that ensured the military's strong influence over the country.
It is noted that the government has expanded its dialogue with ethnic minority groups in recent months, including Shan, Karen, Kachin and Chin. The latest dialogue is part of a major push by the authorities to make deals with the various separatist groups in the country.
However, no dialogue has yet begun with militant Rohingya groups, including the Arakan Rohingya National Organisation and Arakan Rohingya Islamic Front, who have been reportedly fighting for decades for a separate land in Rakhaine state. Bangladesh cannot support secessionist movement in a neighbouring country.
Given the background, it should not be seen merely as a refugee problem and both countries may jointly develop an effective border management to prevent the flow of migration of Rohingyas to Bangladesh.
Now Suu Kyi's first challenge is what to say about sanctions. Should she publicly urge that sanctions be lifted? President Thein Sein persuaded her to run and ensured that the by-elections went smoothly. He needs to show his former colleagues in the military that his gambit has succeeded.
On the other hand, if she opposes ending of sanctions, she opens herself to the charge of hurting the people and endangering the reform process. Observers say she'll also need to continue to nurture her relationship with President Thein Sein. Both have taken big risks to get to this stage.
Some wonder how the ruling party considers the impact NLD's election victory may have on civilian parliamentary seats in the lower house in the next general election in 2015. Some observers say that she should not be perceived as a threat to the ruling party. She has to work closely with the government to bring permanent reforms towards democracy.
Bangladesh, like Myanmar, also observes the new Bengali year on April 14 with processions, music and dance. Myanmar's new era has rekindle Bangladesh's interest in the country of 55 million people, which is endowed with natural resources such as oil, natural gas, coal, zinc, copper, precious stones, timber, hydropower, and some uranium deposits as well.
Myanmar recently floated its currency (818 local Kyat=$1) with a view to attracting foreign investment. Yangon's approximately 270 hotels are full with foreign investors, and the price of the land and rents of offices or business accommodations are rising steadily. Bangladesh entrepreneurs must not lag behind in seizing the opportunity in Myanmar at a time when the country has opened up for business and investment.
At the July 2011 meeting of the Joint Trade Commission, both countries agreed to increase the ceiling for transaction value to $50,000 per consignment from $30,000.
Officials also discussed the potential for setting up wholesale border markets at Bangladesh's Teknaf and Myanmar's Maungdaw, a border town. They also discussed how to complete border transactions through the Asian Clearing Union payment system
The December visit of the Bangladesh prime minister opened a new vista of relations with Myanmar, and connectivity by air and coastal shipping between the two neighbours will be in place soon. It is reported that the president of Myanmar is likely to visit Bangladesh in May or June.
The writer is a former Bangladesh Ambassador to the UN, Geneva.
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