13 December 2015•Update: 14 December 2015
YANGON
Myanmar’s Nobel peace laureate who led her opposition party to victory in last month’s election joined her campaign to clean up garbage across the country Sunday.
Aung San Suu Kyi participated in the “Environmental Beautification Campaign” alongside around 100 residents of her constituency of Kawhmu, a township of Yangon.
Than Hla, a 74-year-old local, told The Irrawaddy news service, “I have never witnessed this kind of scene in my life… We have had many leaders, but she has given excellent advice to us, to start the change with this activity.”
Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) is set to form Myanmar’s new government in early 2016 following a landslide win in the Nov. 8 election.
In its journal, D-Wave, the party earlier this month had called on lawmakers, its members and the public to participate in the cleaning drive set to launch on Dec. 13.
NLD member Zin Mar Aung, who is due to assume the Lower House seat for Yangon’s Yankin township, said that officials from the local government and fire station had joined Red Cross members and residents in the program.
“We plan to do it regularly,” she told The Irrawaddy. “We are not just picking up trash, we would like to be able to change behavior over the long term by raising awareness among the public.”
News website Mizzima reported that NGOs have found that littering has become a growing problem in Myanmar, prompting some groups to respond with cleanup activities, especially in areas attracting tourists.
While Suu Kyi is barred from the presidency by a constitutional clause saying that no one with foreign relatives can take the job -- believed to have been written with her two sons in mind – she vowed to be "above" the president, after her party secured a parliamentary majority.
