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burma convention part III



          Copyright 1994 The British Broadcasting
Corporation                            BBC Summary
of World Broadcasts

                       September 22, 1994,
Thursday.....SECTION: Part 3 Asia - Pacific;
SOUTHEAST ASIA; BURMA; FE/2107/B ; .....LENGTH:
1882 words.....HEADLINE: NATIONAL CONVENTION; U
Aung Toe's report to National Convention, Part III.....
    Summary: organization of the
government; procedure governing the appointment of
ministers; procedures governing the impeachment of
ministers; procedure governing the appointment of
an Attorney-General .
Radio Burma, Rangoon, in Burmese 1330 gmt 2nd to
5th Sep 94
Excerpts from "third part" of speech by U Aung
Toe, chief justice and chairman of the National
Convention Convening Work Committee, to the
National Convention plenary session at Rangoon's
President's Residence compound on 2nd September;
subheadings inserted editorially . (see FE/2106
for the second part of the speech)
Organization of the government
Esteemed Chairman, the studies of the National
Convention Convening Work Committee in connection
with executive organization to be included in the
chapter "The Executive" will now be clarified.
Some of the basic principles already laid down by
the National Convention are as follows:
- the head of the executive is the President of
the State;
- the executive power of the State is distributed
among the administrative bodies of Pyidaungsu
[union], regions, and states;
- self-administrative power shall be distributed
to self-administered areas as stipulated by the
State Constitution;
- Pyidaungsu, regions, states, self-administered
areas and districts' executive bodies include
tatmadaw [Defence Services] member representatives
nominated by the C-in-C of the Defence Services to
undertake responsibilities of the defence,
security, border administration, etc;
 - for national races of which representatives are
so permitted to participate in legislatures of
regions, states, or self-administered areas,
representatives are to be permitted to participate
mainly to undertake their national race affairs.
Basic principles are to be laid down in specific
detail in connection with organization of
executive affairs based on those principles. 
In accordance with the basic principle "the
executive power of the State is distributed among
the administrative bodies of Pyidaungsu, regions,
and states" already laid down, the Pyidaungsu
government and the respective governments in every
region and every state are to be formed so that
the executive power of

                 PAGE    3             The British
Broadcasting Corporation, September 22,
1994.....the State can be distributed among them.
First, the organization of the Pyidaungsu
government will be clarified. In accordance with
the basic principle "the head of the executive is
the President of the State" the Pyidaungsu
government is to be led by the President of the
State. Vice-presidents will be included in the
Pyidaungsu government to assist the President of
the State. The President of the State is to
appoint members of the government and assign
duties to them so that powers distributed and
vested can be executed. Members of the government
should be called " Pyidaungsu Ministers" to make a
clear reference of the basic principle "The State
shall be known as Pyidaungsu Thamada
Naing-Ngan-Daw [Republic of the Union]" .
Moreover, the Attorney-General of the State, to be
known as the Attorney-General of the Union, should
be a member of the government available to provide
legal advice when the occasion arises. So, the
Union Government should be formed with the
President of the State, vice-presidents, union
ministers and the Attorney-General of the Union.
The President of the State, being the head of the
executive, shall have the right to designate union
ministries as necessary taking into account the
general conditions in the country such as
security, maintenance of law and order, economic,
social and transportation fields. Moreover, he
should have the right to allocate the number of
union ministers that should be included in forming
the Union Government.
Procedure governing the appointment of ministers
The President of the State is to select, appoint
and assign duties to union ministers. There should
be qualifications for selecting union ministers so
that examinations can duly be made. A union
minister should be a person who has attained the
age of 40 years and should possess qualifications
prescribed for the Pyithu Hluttaw [people's
assembly] representatives. Moreover, he should be
loyal to the State and its citizens...
Esteemed Chairman, it is observed that in certain
countries the President of the State, who is also
the head of the executive of the State, appoints
ministers without seeking the approval of any
person or any organization. In certain countries,
however, the President of the State appoints
ministers after obtaining the approval of the
Hluttaw. In the constitution to be written, the
President of the State should adopt the method of
appointing the union ministers after obtaining the
approval of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw [union
assembly].
The President of the State should have the right
to select from among the Hluttaw representatives
or non-Hluttaw representatives suitable persons
who possess prescribed qualifications. The
President of the State is thus permitted to select
from among non-Hluttaw representatives to provide
him with access to experienced intellectuals and
intelligentsia if necessary. In accordance with
the principle "Pyidaungsu, regions, states,
self-administered areas and districts'executive
bodies are to include tatmadaw member
representatives nominated by the C-in-C of Defence
Services to undertake responsibilities of the
defence, security, border administration, etc."
The President of the State is to obtain the
nominated list of tatmadaw members from the C-in-C
of Defence Services in order that he may appoint
ministers for defence, security/home affairs and
border affairs. The C-in-C of Defence Services
himself is to nominate only those who possess
qualifications prescribed for union ministers.

                 PAGE    4             The British
Broadcasting Corporation, September 22, 1994
The President of the State is to prepare the
consolidated list of persons he has selected and
that of tatmadaw members obtained from the C-in-C
of Defence Services for appointing union
ministers, submit them to the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw
and seek its approval. But the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw
has no right to refuse a person or persons
contained in the list unless it can prove the
person or persons concerned do not possess
qualifications prescribed for the union ministers.
If the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw replies that it does not
approve the person or persons in the list
submitted by the President of the State he should
have the right to submit the list furnished with
new names and seek the approval of the Pyidaungsu
Hluttaw again. In appointing the union ministers,
the President of the State must state the ministry
or ministries which each union minister is to take
charge of .
The President of the State should have the right
to consult with the C-in-C of Defence Services if
he wants to appoint tatmadaw members as ministers
for ministries other than defence, security/home
affairs and border affairs.
The President of the State to inform the
Pyidaungsu Hluttaw when he appoints the union
ministers. As the union ministers have been
appointed by the President of the State, it should
be stipulated that they shall be directly
responsible to the President of the State...
Procedures governing the impeachment of ministers
Esteemed Chairman, any Pyidaungsu minister can be
subject to impeachment for treason, violation of
the constitution, misconduct and can be declared
disqualified as union minister according to the
constitution.    If any union minister is to be
impeached, the proceedings should take place in
accordance with the basic principle prescribed
under the constitution for the impeachment of the
President. When the Hluttaw has found that the
charge has been sustained and the said union
minister is not fit to remain in office, the
President shall remove the minister concerned...
If deputy ministers for defence, security/home
affairs and border affairs are to be appointed and
assigned duties, then the President will ask the
C-in-C of Defence Services to nominate candidates.
Moreover, if tatmadaw members are to be appointed
as deputy ministers of other ministries, then the
President is to coordinate with the C-in-C of
Defence Services and take necessary steps. The
President, in appointing and assigning duties to
deputy ministers, must nominate the ministries
concerned. The deputy ministers, through the
respective union minister, are responsible to the
President...
The President has the right to order the
resignation of any union minister or deputy
minister if they are unable to perform the duties
assigned to them. If they fail to comply with that
order then they can be removed from office. If
such a person is a tatmadawman, then the President
is to coordinate with the C-in-C of the Defence
Services.
If the post of union minister or deputy minister
falls vacant due to resignation, removal from
office, death, or any other reason, the President
has the right to appoint and assign duties to a
new union minister or deputy minister in
accordance with the provisions of the
constitution. The term of

                 PAGE    5             The British
Broadcasting Corporation, September 22,
1994.....office of such union ministers and deputy
minister should be the same as the remaining term
of office of the President.
In accordance with the basic principle laid down
as "the three branches of State power, namely,
legislative, executive and judicial powers, are to
be separated as much as possible and exert
reciprocal control, check and balance among
themselves" , someone who is a representative of
one of the Hluttaws has to resign as a Hluttaw
representative from the day he is appointed union
minister or deputy minister.
It is also considered that if the union minister
or deputy minister is a civil servant, it is not
appropriate for him to resume duties in his own
office or any government office. Hence, it is to
be prescribed that from the day they are appointed
union minister or deputy ministers, it is to be
assumed that he has retired from civil service in
accordance with civil service rules and
regulations.
The union minister or deputy minister must work in
the interest of the State and the public.
Therefore, a provision should be included that if
they happen to be members of a political party,
they should not take part in the party activities
of that party organization from the date they are
appointed and assigned duties up to the end of the
term of their office. The duties, rights, and
privileges of union ministers and deputy ministers
are to be prescribed by law...
Procedure governing the appointment of an
Attorney-General
The President of the State will appoint suitable
candidates to the post of Pyidaungsu Attorney-
General. The President should have the right to
choose the person from among the Hluttaw
representatives or non-Hluttaw representatives.
After that, the nomination is to be sent to the
Pyidaungsu Hluttaw for approval. The person should
be 45 and should possess qualifications prescribed
for Pyithu Hluttaw representatives.
Moreover, he should be a person who has been for
at least five years a judge of the Tayar Hluttaw
[High Court] or for at least 10 years a judicial
personnel or a law personnel in a position not
lower than the level of region or state or an
advocate of the Tayar Hluttaw of at least 20
years'standing or a person who is assumed by the
President to be a legal expert of prominent
repute. The Pyidaungsu Attorney- General must also
be loyal to the State and the
citizens...



Michael Beer
mbeer@xxxxxxxxxxx