Several hardliners will leave Myanmar’s top leadership in an imminent reshuffle, officials said yesterday, as the reformist regime welcomed the parliamentary debut of Aung San Suu Kyi’s opposition.

The move signals growing confidence among reformers in the quasi-civilian government, observers said, and coincides with the ascension of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) to the heart of political decision making.

Around three senior ministers are expected to be replaced soon by more moderate figures in the new line-up, a government official said. “Those who are about to be reshuffled are known as hardliners,” the official said.

It will be the first major change of personnel in the top echelons of a regime that has implemented wide-ranging reform since it replaced junta rule last year, raising hopes the former pariah state can move towards democracy.

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