ミャンマー―不公正きわまる総選挙

2010/11/08
--The Asahi Shimbun, Nov. 6
EDITORIAL: Unfair elections
ミャンマー―不公正きわまる総選挙

On Sunday, Myanmar (Burma) held its first national elections in 20 years.
　ミャンマー（ビルマ）で７日、２０年ぶりに総選挙が実施される。

The country's military government led by Senior Gen. Than Shwe, chairman of the State Peace and Development Council, touted the elections as the final step in a power transfer to a civilian government.
タン・シュエ国家平和発展評議会議長率いる軍事政権は「民政移管への仕上げ」と位置づけるが、

But there was little enthusiasm about the poll among the impoverished population of Myanmar, according to media reports.
盛り上がりは国中でほとんどみられないと伝えられている。

Under a Constitution established in 2008, the military appoints a quarter of the members of both houses of the parliament. The remaining seats are contested in elections.
　２００８年に制定した憲法により、上下院の４分の１は軍が指名する。投票で決まるのはその残りだ。

The parties supporting the ruling junta fielded candidates in almost all electoral districts. Candidates who were officers in uniform until recently were expected to prevail thanks to their financial muscle and access to patronage resources.
　軍政の翼賛政党がほぼ全選挙区に候補を立てた。軍服を脱いだばかりの候補者たちが資金力や利益誘導などで圧勝する見通しだ。

The National League for Democracy (NLD), the main opposition party led by Aung San Suu Kyi, was dissolved by the military regime after it decided to boycott Sunday's elections.
　アウン・サン・スー・チーさんが書記長を務める国民民主連盟（ＮＬＤ）は解党に追い込まれ、投票ボイコットを呼びかけている。

A splinter group from her party formed the National Democratic Force (NDF), but it was too little, too late. The NDF could not field many candidates and it had no blessing from Suu Kyi.
メンバーの一部が国民民主勢力（ＮＤＦ）を結成したが候補者は少なく、スー・チーさんの支持もないので多くは望めない。

While the parties supporting the ruling junta mounted vigorous election campaigns, the pro-democracy groups didn't even have enough money to put up campaign posters.
　軍政派だけが盛んに選挙運動を展開する一方、民主化勢力は資金難でポスターを張ることもままならない。

With the election results completely predictable, the cynical mood among voters was not surprising.
勝負の行方も決まっていれば、国民がしらけるのは当たり前だ。

These were elections without legitimacy in the first place.
　そもそも正統性のない選挙である。

The military junta unilaterally nullified the results of the general elections in 1990, which had given the NLD 80 percent of parliamentary seats.
　軍政は、ＮＬＤが８割の議席を獲得した１９９０年の総選挙の結果を一方的にほごにし、不法な統治を続けた。

The junta unjustly detained Suu Kyi and her allies and kept them under house arrest.
スー・チーさんらを不当に拘束・軟禁し、今回の選挙から排除した。

すべて自らの権益を守るためだ。

There is no fairness in the way the elections were administered.
　選挙の実務も、公平さは確保されていない。

The junta required a high deposit for registering a candidate, making it difficult for the less-affluent opposition to run.
供託金を高額にして、野党候補の立候補を難しくした。

It also barred voting in a number of districts where ethnic minority groups have resisted military rule.
軍政に抵抗してきた少数民族が多数を占める地域では選挙の中止を決めた。

The government has even refused to accept foreign poll monitors and barred foreign journalists from entering the country to cover the elections.
　外国からの選挙監視団は断り、外国メディアの入国も認めない。

The military rulers apparently learned a lesson from their "mistake" of allowing foreign reporters to cover the last general election on polling day.
前回の総選挙で投票日に外国人記者らに取材を許したことが、大敗につながったという「教訓」からだろう。

There was little, if any, transparency in the election process on Sunday.
選挙の透明性はないに等しい。

Following the elections, a newly elected parliament will choose the president and form the Cabinet.
　選挙後、招集された国会が大統領を選び、組閣する。

That will complete the political process the junta describes as the country's "road map to democracy."
軍政のいう「民主化ロードマップ」の完成だ。

It can be said the elections were designed solely to give a semblance of legitimacy to military control of the government and the parliament.
　軍による政府と議会の支配を合法化する選挙といえる。

Since an amendment to the Myanmar Constitution requires a three-quarters majority in the parliament, the elections merely perpetuate the military dictatorship.
憲法改正には国会で４分の３を超す賛成が必要であり、圧政の固定化をも意味する。

Than Shwe, Myanmar's paramount leader known for his aversion to foreign travel, visited India in July and China in September.
　外遊嫌いのタン・シュエ議長が７月にインド、９月に中国を訪問し、

In meetings with these countries' leaders, he asked for their support for the elections.
首脳会談で総選挙の実施に理解を求めた。

The biggest obstacle to a fair election called for both in and outside the nation is China, which has its sights on resources in Myanmar and a supply route to the Indian Ocean.
　公正な選挙を求める内外の声を阻む最大の壁は、ミャンマーの資源とインド洋への補給路確保をねらう中国だ。

India, which is scrambling to build closer ties with Myanmar's military junta in response to China's moves, has expressed no critical view of the polls.
対抗して軍政に急接近するインドも、選挙に否定的な姿勢はみせない。

The governments of these and some other countries, including Thailand, which is importing natural gas from Myanmar, are showing little sympathy for the people of a neighboring country who have been suffering badly from often brutal violations of human rights.
天然ガスを輸入するタイなども含め、これらの政府には、人権侵害に苦しむ隣国の民への想像力が欠けている。

The Japanese government has been arguing that any election in Myanmar from which Suu Kyi is barred cannot be considered to be free or fair.
　日本政府はスー・チーさんが参加しない選挙は「自由で公正」とは認められないと指摘してきた。

Since Sunday's elections didn't meet this condition, Tokyo must take a tough stance toward Myanmar's new government.
それが果たされない以上、新政府に対して厳しい姿勢で臨まなくてはならない。