Aung San Suu Kyi meets with Myanmar military chief for third time

Aung San Suu Kyi has met with the Myanmar military chief Senior Gen Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyitaw for the third round of powersharing talks since the National League for Democracy won the general elections last November in a landslide victory, local media reports.

The meeting, which was also attended by the military’s head of security, LtGen Mya Tun Oo and lead negotiator in peace talks with ethnic armed groups LtGen Ye Aung, was held Wednesday at the Naypyitaw command center.

The NLD chairwoman and Nobel Peace Laureate had earlier met with the military government in December and January to discuss the transfer of power to the NLD, which won 80 percent of the vote in the last general elections and now holds a sufficient majority to choose the country’s next president.

“The two sides frankly discussed matters related to the rule of law and approaches to be taken to build permanent peace,” said the commanderinchief’s office in a statement, as cited by The Irrawaddy newspaper.

The negotiations prompted President U Thein Sein to cancel his trip to the United States summit held with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Sunnylands, California on Monday and Tuesday, sending vice president UNyan Thun in his place.

According to the Myanmar Times, a key point being discussed is the provision in the 2008 Myanmar constitution that bans presidential candidates from having children or a spouse holding other citizenships, effectively barring the international icon Suu Kyi from the presidency.

The military and the NLD have until March 17 to select their candidates for the presidency, less than three weeks ahead of the expected transition to NLD leadership on the 1st of April.