The Nation (Thailand)
19 August 2015
- RSIS
- Media Mentions
- Future Looks Bleak for Shwe Mann, and Democracy in Myanmar
Future Looks Bleak for Shwe Mann, and Democracy in Myanmar
President Thein Sein, now seen as the top contender for a second term after the ouster of Shwe Mann and several members of his faction from the top echelons of the USDP, arrived at the party’s headquarters in Nay Pyi Taw on Monday for a rare visit and confab with the new executive committee.
Nothing has so far emerged about what was discussed.
It came as Shwe Mann met opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi for an hour on Monday.
The two are known to have developed a close working relationship – one of the factors that pundits say led to the internal party coup against him last on Wednesday night.
It was also not known what was discussed at their meeting.
… But in a telephone interview, Kyaw San Wai, who is a senior analyst at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, said: “He has no cards up his sleeve.
“For now, Thura Shwe Mann has had his wings clipped, so it is not that dramatic. But with an institution like the military against you, it is probably smarter to go quietly.”
RSIS / Online
