Lawyer to form party for farmers, workers

Lawyer to form party for farmers, workers

By Soe Than Lynn   |   Sunday, 29 September 2013

Protecting the interests of the common man and woman - that's how the leader of the Party for the Defence of Farmers and Workers says he plans to shake up Myanmar politics.

The party's 22 founding members, led by Mandalay-based lawyer and politician U Sein Hla, submitted an application to the Union Election Commission on September 24.

"We set up this party to protect farmers and workers, who are really treated like second-class citizens," U Sein Hla said last week.

"We can see after 30 months that the president's poverty reduction programs aren't working. We can see that the government is not protecting farmers. In most regions, they are manipulated and mistreated by businesspeople and cronies. The local authorities protect the interests of those people," he said.

The party's first major policy measure will be to ensure that local administrators resolve land disputes in a "fair and square" manner.

"Most of cronies are thieves and the local officials protect them after taking bribes. If they aren't going to protect the farmers, somebody else has to. That's why I registered this new party."

U Sein Hla stood unsuccessfully as an independent candidate in Mandalay in the 2010 general election and in the 2012 by-

elections. He has been a long-time human rights campaigner, helping people who have suffered injustice get recourse through legal channels.

Translated by Thiri Min Htun

Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2013/10/02/lawyer-to-form-party-for-farmers-workers/