17.09.2006

Some Attributes of the Military Rule in Burma

I loath to mention how many years the military junta has ruled Burma for simply because it reminds me of my age.  On a positive note I celebrate the fact that I have lived enough to compare and contrast the images of Burma in 1988 and now under the same ruler.  I witnessed them coming into power, lived under their rule, saw from outside in abroad and went in again to live with it for a short while and felt the difference.  No doubt, the current military junta can easily be described as repulsive and authoritarian but like any other governments coming into power in any parts of the world the military regime coming into power in 1988 clearly meant reform.  Whether for good or bad but it carried out a sweeping reform in the country.

The critics of the military junta are often accused of dehumanising the regime.  To remember the military junta taking over the power in a human and objective way, the General Saw Maung’s government embarked upon a serious project of running the country for a long term.  As a teenager in 80s I hardly decoded the way in which the junta asserted it’s rule.  In my pictorial memory I remember the state run only newspapers printing heaps new laws enacted within days after it seized the power. The newspaper barely carried news or propagandas.  It signified their intentions of ruling the country with lesser bullets and guns or the least the laws which favours their power.

A mystical figure called U Maung Ko secretary of the government office of Union Burma officially authorised the Commander-in-Chief General Saw Maung to form his government.  The authorisation document printed the official newspaper as an assertion of their legitimacy at domestic level.  The newly appointed foreign ambassadors were encouraged to present their credentials to General Saw Maung.  The Malaysian ambassador turned out to be the first one to present his credential to the General.  Ironically years later, Malaysia becomes one of the strongest allies of junta in the ASEAN region and pushed the organisation to allow Burma to join the club. 

The International recognition of their rule became their agenda as the Western world including Japan condemned them for the massacre in the streets of Rangoon from the day it came into power.  Today, apart from the news of Aung San Suu Kyi winning Nobel Peace and under house arrest, military is widely known in the international arena.  The least people talk about the country which changed it’s name.  As the pro-democracy activists spread across the globe their network of people grows as far, European Union institutions pointing fingers at Aung San Suu Kyi accusing her of creating poverty in the country by calling of sanction and isolation of military regime.

The military government is unlike the General Ne Win’s previous regime insulating itself from the rest of the world by not allowing tourists stay more than a week.  The expansion of tourism sector kicked off in 1996 set out to lure rich tourist to an exotic closed country is now becoming a dream destination for young less affluent hippie tourists.  It gave rise to a huge chunk of young Westerners moving away from supporting fellow youngsters demanding for democracy in Burma to go inside Burma to learn culture.  The School of Oriental and African Studies even cater sandwich course in Burmese language with an option of spending a year abroad in Burma to learn culture and language.  Ironically, one of the godfathers of Burmese language Sayagyi U Tin Moe who now resides in the  United State because the junta forcefully sent him in exile for writing his feelings in his poetry.

The ‘Neo-Con’ governments of the Western ‘unconditionally’, whole heartedly support the democracy movement in Burma and implementing democracy by force in Iraq, the left leaning of the political spectrum in the West begin to see the military junta in Burma with somewhat better light.  In the world of socialist forum in London in 2003 a freaky audience accused Aung San Suu Kyi of neo liberal free market being as if she has begun to rule the country with free market principals.

‘By-hook or crook’ the military junta has managed to erect buildings in almost every corners of Rangoon.  It may be wonky or wobbly but it is a living example of a good military management.  Shanty neighbourhoods within the inner city have disappeared and don’t know where they are.  The talk of enterprises is a daily norm in the capital.  People can now talk for hours in order to persuade others to go into business with them.  It may be a desperado for making money by ‘hook or crook’ but they talk courageously with the language of enterprise.  They enterprise themselves if they don’t have anything to enterprise on.   

No doubt, the campaign organisations abroad in the West have lambasted the junta of poor spending record on health of the nation but you find everyone drinking distilled water or ‘Ye Tan’ as a sign of living up to standard.  The toddlers are often given ‘C++’(Vitamin C) drinks by their concerned parents.  The innocent children look cheerful and beautiful no matter if they make sense of their future with full of vitamin c in their body.  It makes one wonders whether the mass population consume or indulge in things.  During Ne Win’s government I grew up with difficulties in connecting to the world.  On my return to the capital I enjoyed sipping coffee at the Café Aroma in the morning with a huge TV screen on the wall beaming BBC News 24.  In the afternoon I indulged in coffee at the J Doughnut café.  The MTV Asia beaming the pop music of the West.

A beer Station with a picture of David Beckham, Man. United footballer on the poster right hand side and a woman with two children begging on left: A distinct contrast of images.

Within weeks after the dear generals establishing it’s power base, it signed a major construction deal with a firm from South East Asia to built Thein-Gyi-Za into  a multi-story car park and entertainment complex within a year.   Off course, informed by the New Light of Myanmar newspaper.  As a naïve bias teenager I never expected it to be an achievable task.  I left the country angry joining the rest of the angry brigades abroad within a year.  On return to the capital after years of living in exile I embarrassingly witnessed the Thein-Gyi-Za entertainment complex erected and functional before my eyes.  Well done! Generals for the achievements!   I think they rather took the meaning of the word entertainment differently.  I plugged the courage to enter the entertainment complex to entertain myself by leaving aside my bitterness towards their rule.  Without being too semantic about the word ‘entertainment’, the complex turned out to be a brothel-doom rather than an innocent entertainment centre.  The so called academics on their side or the fringe can easily claim that it is a result of doings of Aung San Suu Kyi and posies abroad.  Objectively looking at the pure construction work of the complex it turned out to be far from impressive.

I take a great pride in the regime modernizing the military with latest equipments for sake of the security of the country.  Soon after the General Saw Maung and his comrades conscripted themselves into the job of running the country the international media reported a huge purchase of military machinery. So called exile patriots may be too old to join the army but they would love to see them machinery and assess whether the money is well spent.  No Burmese person would like China coning their nation with outmoded military technology.  Their achievement in building modern military is yet to be witnessed.  My common sense knowledge tells me that spending on modern weaponry inline with expansion of military personnel is a waste.  Like any other industries investment in machinery decreases the need of human labour.  The figures on military spending in Burma is non existence and it is notoriously difficult to asses their efforts.

I remember the day military taking over the power my parents and I arguing whether they should allow me to go out in the streets.  The motherly instinct wanted to protect me and fatherly instinct pushed me to go out to become a man with courage.  I manoeuvred tactfully between their quarrels. Around late afternoon I saw the army personnel believed to be from Rangoon Command mounting loudspeakers on the portico veranda of the Rangoon City Hall.  The crowd gathered outside the park across the City Hall.  Brigadier General Myo Nyunt also known as Adul Karim, commander of the Rangoon made repeated warning announcements and much later they recorded warnings asking the crowd to disperse.  Our next door neighbour saw me hovering around the crowd and he grabbed my hand and walked off with me.  I saw my mother in tantrum thinking that I would be killed soon or later.

Around nine o’clock in the evening, the mayhem started with gun fire.  We ducked on the floor in prime position.  My father started reciting last rites in case one of us would be killed in our home.  The shoots sounded as they fired randomly.  In the early morning people emerged out of their home trying to spot where the shots were fired at.  I spotted blood stains and left over flip-flops streets near the City Hall.  Some one wept by recognising her son’s slippers.  The world media crew operated subtly as most of them lived without visa during democracy summer. No matter what the ups and downs of the military junta many killed and wounded ‘humanly’ in the language of humanising the military junta.

The progress is made by the regime but in a typical military management style with a heavy emphasis on short-term solutions. I may be poor living in a miserable living conditions in the Western world but I have opened my eyes to an extent.  I am free but freedom certainly isn’t anarchy as General Saw Maung portrayed in his televised speech.  Several youngsters with beating hearts and minds fled to the jungle taking up arms and it did not work.  Today, military junta can celebrate their sterling performance with the Nation League for Democracy much weaker and can barely operate, the exile folks living like celebrity with their own personal history of imprisonment and so forth, the movement is split with a polarised debate on sanction Vs anti-sanction, some Western academics with access to enter the country uphold the military junta with various arguments and the rubber stamp National Convention is heading with success.  The hindrances for the military junta are the influence of the ‘Neo-Con’ Western leaders over ASEAN, UN Security Council and most importantly Nobel Peace price winner Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma.  The real success for the junta will come on the day they manage to export her as a celebrity.  Nevertheless, the junta can celebrate their anniversary.  Shall we say many congratulations to General Than Shwe!               

Ko Sala              

[Editor's note: Opinions expressed by authors are their personal views, but do not necessarily represent the stand-point of BURMA DIGEST.]

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