Speaking at a central committee meeting of the National League for Democracy (NLD) in Rangoon on Saturday, chairperson Aung San Suu Kyi vowed that the party would “never give false hope” to the people of Burma.

“The National League for Democracy has weaknesses,” she said in her opening remarks. “But there are two kinds of weaknesses. One is because of the restrictions we face. The other is due to a lack of experience in democratic politics. Then, of course, we each have individual weaknesses. However, I dare to announce that we will never give false hope to the people of Burma.”

The enigmatic NLD leader was speaking at the third meeting of the party’s central committee, hosted at the Doeyoyar restaurant in Rangoon on 7- 8 June.

The main focus of the meeting was to elect a board which will oversee the NLD’s selection of candidates for by-elections later this year and the general election next year.

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Central executive committee member Win Myint said that delegates also discussed the current political situation in Burma; examined reports submitted by the central committee; reviewed the party’s rules and regulations; and debated future plans.

With regard to the current parliamentary debate on proportional representation, Win Myint said that the issue was broadly discussed at the committee meeting and that the party would not accept any such proposal. He added that Burma had no history of proportional representation, and that the topic was “not currently relevant” in the political arena.

At a press conference after the meeting, NLD spokesperson Nyan Win addressed the issue of the party’s relationship with ethnic parties and ethnic groups.

“The main duty of the NLD is to compete,” he said. “But we will do so by peaceful means. We compete in peaceful ways. We will compete with all the ethnic groups as well as other parties. But as we are all part of the Union of Myanmar [Burma], it is crucial for us to have relations with ethnic groups. Recently we met with KNU leaders. Other relations to date with ethnic parties are smooth.”