Suu Kyi with ousted ally

Opposition leader Aung Sang Suu Kyi (pictured above, left) criticized the way in which Shwe Mann (above, right), a close political ally, had been violently removed by Myanmar's President Thein Sein, saying Tuesday that her party would work with him.

"It is now clear who is the enemy and who is the ally," Suu Kyi said when asked if the sacking of Shwe Mann, seen as a reformist, had cost her an ally.

Speaking at the country's parliament as it reopened for its final session before November's landmark national elections, she said that her National League for Democracy (NLD) party “will work with the ally,” although she did not specify how.

The president purged rival Shwe Mann and his allies from the military-backed ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) last Wednesday, in which hundreds of armed police raided the party's headquarters in the middle of the night, confiscating computers and preventing some members from leaving, witnesses said.

A setback for democracy?

Myanmar only recently started moving from dictatorship to democracy, but critics say the political purge is reminiscent of the days under the military junta in the southeast Asian country, which some had hoped was behind them.

"As for the happenings of the middle of the night, this is not what you expect from a working democracy," Suu Kyi said in reference to the raids on the USDP headquarters.

Her NLD party would likely win more votes in the November election due to the changes in the USDP, she said.

Her party was already expected to win the most seats in the November election, seen as a key test of the country's democratic reforms.

Concerns have grown over how robust these reforms really are after a media crackdown following Shwe Mann's sacking.

Information Minister Ye Htut said Tuesday that Cherry FM, a radio station with links to Shwe Mann, had been taken off the air Saturday until after the election due to the government's claims about bias.

Military anger over reform proposals led to ousting

As chairman of the USDP, Shwe Mann sought to build ties with Suu Kyi and backed her campaign to reform the constitution to limit the sway of the generals over Myanmar's politics.

Suu Kyi is banned from the presidency under a constitution drafted by the military before it handed over power in 2011 - armed forces can veto any charter changes.

Shwe Mann's moves antagonized the military and provoked suspicion among some members of the ruling party, contributing to his sacking.

Tensions had been building between the president and Shwe Mann, both former generals and members of the governing party.

Conflict within the party escalated further last week when the names of nearly 100 newly-retired military members did not make it onto the USDP's candidate lists, with some hardliners blaming Shwe Mann.

He still holds the position of speaker of the house and in a speech to the joint chambers of parliament on Tuesday, he denied he had divided the country.

"I am not destroying party unity and stability," he said.

He is under pressure to table a bill that establishes the rules for constituents to recall members of parliament and could lead to his own impeachment.

Suu Kyi called the bill "ridiculous" because MPs could be recalled by just 1 percent of constituents.

In response to criticism over the raid on USDP headquarters, Ye Htut said Tuesday that police had a duty to respond to a request for protection made by the party.

mh/jil (AFP, AP, Reuters)