{"page":"\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/resources-572d6a42.css\" /\u003e\n\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/lp_boclips_stylesheets-f4d0de30.css\" media=\"all\" /\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-title='By-elections to be held on Sunday a test of 2010 political reforms' data-url='/boclips/videos/5c54c1e7d8eafeecae155a64' data-video-url='/boclips/videos/5c54c1e7d8eafeecae155a64' id='bo_player_modal'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='boclips-resource-page modal-dialog panel-container'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='react-notifications-root'\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-header'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-type'\u003e\n\u003ci aria-hidden='true' class='fai fa-regular fa-circle-play'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\nVideo\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch1 class='rp-title' id='video-title'\u003e\nBy-elections to be held on Sunday a test of 2010 political reforms\n\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-actions'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='mr-1'\u003e\n\u003ca class=\"btn btn-success\" data-posthog-event=\"Signup: LP Signup Activity\" data-posthog-location=\"body_link_boclips\" data-remote=\"true\" href=\"/subscription/new\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGet Free Access\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e for 10 Days\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e!\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-body'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-info'\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-label='Hide resource details' class='rp-hide-info' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Expand resource details' class='rp-expand-info fai fa-solid fa-up-right-and-down-left-from-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Compress resource details' class='rp-compress-info fai fa-solid fa-down-left-and-up-right-to-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-rating'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='resource-pool'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-label'\u003ePublisher:\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-name'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='text'\u003e\u003ca href=\"/search?publisher_ids%5B%5D=\"\u003e/search?publisher_ids%5B%5D=\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-description'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='short-description'\u003eWah Thin Kha Village - 29 March 20121. Wide of sun behind twin stupas of a pagoda2. Close of monk reading Buddhist prayers into a microphone3. Close of monk's hand on the scripture4. Various of woman drawing water from a well5. Campaign...\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='full-description hide'\u003eWah Thin Kha Village - 29 March 2012\u003cbr/\u003e1. Wide of sun behind twin stupas of a pagoda\u003cbr/\u003e2. Close of monk reading Buddhist prayers into a microphone\u003cbr/\u003e3. Close of monk's hand on the scripture\u003cbr/\u003e4. Various of woman drawing water from a well\u003cbr/\u003e5. Campaign poster in village for National League for Democracy with photo of Aung San Suu Kyi\u003cbr/\u003e6. Wide of farmers cutting rice in rice field\u003cbr/\u003e7. Close of farmer Shwe Tin, 52 years old, cutting crop in field\u003cbr/\u003e8. Close of crop as he cuts it down\u003cbr/\u003e9. SOUNDBITE: (Burmese) Shwe Tin, rice farmer:\u003cbr/\u003e\"We have some hope but I don't know if it'll come to anything. It'll be good for us if she can help.\"\u003cbr/\u003eFILE: Dawei - February 2012\u003cbr/\u003e10. Various of Aung San Suu Kyi campaigning\u003cbr/\u003eBangkok - 28 March 2012\u003cbr/\u003e11. Wide of Myanmar analyst Larry Jagan giving a lecture\u003cbr/\u003e12. Close of hand and notebook\u003cbr/\u003e13. SOUNDBITE: (English) Larry Jagan, Writer on Myanmar:\u003cbr/\u003e\"Aung San Suu Kyi's credibility is not going to be damaged. The fact that she's being more practical and entered politics, I think, will only enhance her image.\"\u003cbr/\u003eFILE: Naypyitaw - February 2012\u003cbr/\u003e14. Exterior of national parliament\u003cbr/\u003e15. Various of the national parliament in session\u003cbr/\u003eYangon - 30 March 2012 \u003cbr/\u003e16. SOUNDBITE: (English) Andrew Heyn, UK Ambassador to Myanmar:\u003cbr/\u003e\"I think these by-elections are crucial at a number of different levels. And I think first of all because they are being seen, both inside the country and outside, as a litmus test of the reform programme. And I think if these elections are credible, then there will be a sense both internally and externally that the reform process here has a certain momentum behind it and that will inevitably colour the response of the international community in terms of any lifting of restrictive measures.\"\u003cbr/\u003e17. Various of Suu Kyi coming out of her house and facing journalists at a news conference on her lawn\u003cbr/\u003eWah Thin Kha Village - 29 March 2012\u003cbr/\u003e18. Close of rice farmer cutting paddy\u003cbr/\u003e19. Wide of farmers cutting paddy in field\u003cbr/\u003eVoters in Myanmar go to the polls on Sunday in 45 by-elections that are being called a \"litmus test\" of the extent of reform since the new government took power in 2010.\u003cbr/\u003eIf they're judged free and fair they could lead to the end of long-standing Western sanctions against the rulling military junta in Myanmar.\u003cbr/\u003eBut there's another reason they're significant.\u003cbr/\u003eThey could see democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi - the former government's fiercest critic - become an elected MP, and take her place in the country's Parliament.\u003cbr/\u003eAfter almost 50 years of military rule, during most of which Suu Kyi was under house arrest, her candidacy has raised hopes of a more representative government.\u003cbr/\u003eIt could also set the stage for her to run for president during the next national poll in 2015.\u003cbr/\u003eLife in Kawhmu, Suu Kyi's constituency, is deeply traditional.\u003cbr/\u003eIn Wah Thin Kha village the days move to the rhythm of Buddhist prayers, broadcast from the temple. \u003cbr/\u003eThere's no running water here, and no electricity; decades of military government brought them few necessities, let alone comforts. \u003cbr/\u003eBut now there's a scent of change.\u003cbr/\u003eSuu Kyi is standing for election as their member of parliament.\u003cbr/\u003eFarmers here don't ponder politics much. For men like 52-year-old Shwe Tin, putting food on the table is more than enough to think about.\u003cbr/\u003eBut even farmers can have hopes, no matter how cautious, that the great democracy icon might bring them a better life.  \u003cbr/\u003e\"We have some hope but I don't know if it'll come to anything. It'll be good for us if she can help,\" Shwe said.\u003cbr/\u003eThat Suu Kyi is set to enter Parliament is the most remarkable sign of the change in Myanmar's politics. \u003cbr/\u003eBut even if her party sweeps the board at these by-elections it will still be a tiny minority in parliament.\u003cbr/\u003eSome fear she's made a mistake; she's given the government legitimacy but is getting little in return.  \u003cbr/\u003eThat's not so, believes one analyst.\u003cbr/\u003e\"Aung San Suu Kyi's credibility is not going to be damaged. The fact that she's being more practical and entered politics I think will only enhance her image,\" said Larry Jagan, a veteran writer on Myanmar.\u003cbr/\u003eFor the government, allowing her a platform here, in Parliament, is dangerous.\u003cbr/\u003eShe could lay the foundations for a landslide win in the 2015 general election.\u003cbr/\u003eSo why take the chance?\u003cbr/\u003ePartly because there's a great prize on offer; the lifting of economic sanctions by the West.\u003cbr/\u003eThe by-elections are the key.\u003cbr/\u003e\"They are being seen ďż˝ as a litmus test of the reform programme\", said the UK's ambassador in Yangon, Andrew Heyn, adding that the elections \"will inevitably colour the response of the international community in terms of any lifting of restrictive measures.\"\u003cbr/\u003eBut that process may not be smooth.\u003cbr/\u003eOn Friday Aung San Suu Kyi told journalists that the elections could not be considered \"free and fair\" due to interference and intimidation on the campaign trail.\u003cbr/\u003eThat hope for a better life for the people of remote Wah Thin Kha village may be as precarious as ever, even with an icon of democracy for an MP.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='action-container flex justify-between'\u003e\n\u003cbutton aria-expanded='false' aria-label='Read more description' class='rp-full-description' type='button'\u003e\n\u003ci class='fai fa-solid fa-align-left'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003cspan id='read_more'\u003eRead More\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/button\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-report'\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-labelledby='resource-details-heading' class='rp-info-section'\u003e\n\u003ch2 class='title' id='resource-details-heading'\u003eResource Details\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-resource-details clearfix'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='detail'\u003e\n\u003cdl\u003e\n\u003cdt\u003eCurator Rating\u003c/dt\u003e\n\u003cdd\u003e\u003cspan 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