National League for Democracy (NLD) chairperson Aung San Suu Kyi held direct talks with Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing for the first time yesterday, 2 December, to discuss handing over power to the party that won the 8 November election with a landslide majority.
Security was extremely tight around the Commander-in-Chief’s office with numerous security guards and sniffer dogs checking invited media.
The private meeting of the two leaders began at 2 pm and ended at 2:57 pm.
The Commander-in-chief told the assembled news media that they had agreed to cooperate for the country and that the meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi had produced good results.
Earlier that day, Suu Kyi had also met with President Thein Sein.
Commenting on the earlier meeting, Information Minister Ye Htut said, “There is no custom [in Myanmar] in which [any] existing government has peacefully and smoothly handed over power to the winning party. Anyway, we will create that custom. This is the final process of our reform. In today's meeting between the two leaders,both of them have agreed [to a smooth handover of power].
After the meeting between President U Thein Sein and Suu Kyi, Ye Htut had said that the current government can guarantee they will transfer power peacefully and smoothly and that December 2 had become an historic day which shows that Myanmar can create a “dialogue-culture” for democratic reform. But, he also noted, “we all have to carefully wait and see until January 31 [the day the new parliament will convene] and March 31 [the day the power will be really handed over].”
