20.05.2007
Prime Minister U Nu’s Democracy
_ By Hkun Hom
U Nu, as the first prime minister of Burma will be long remembered for his legacy in fostering democracy and peace in the country despite its brief period lasting only about one decade, from the day of Burma’s independence onwards. Relatively speaking, it was an era of bliss and social progress for a young country.
There was no doubt in those days a man on the street would know who U Nu was as compared to who General Soe Win is nowadays. But if one asks an army officer, or any layman for that matter, who was borne after Ne Win’s military coup d` etat in 1962, they would not know the difference between the two, let alone what democracy really means. For those who have had the privilege of experiencing U Nu’s world and the tragic half a century that followed, it would be fair to say the difference is between heaven and hell for them. Democracy doesn’t exist within the ranks of army men.
To put it in a much clearer perspective, today after fifty years of hell, people don’t starve to dead as yet like that of Dafur’s Africa, but it is on the fringe of starvation, because some poor people can’t afford even to eat rice. Instead, today, they are surviving on rice broth that is usually skimmed off as waste by the luckier ones. A litre bottle of those rice broth is selling in Rangoon for around kyats 250. In his leadership prime time, U Nu was so confident with his two five-year economic plannings called “PYI DAW THA SI MARN KAINE”, he did promise that every citizen will own a car and a house. Leave this fan fare aside, there was no dispute the country appears to be at bliss and harmony and the people young and old were enjoying it. Even Shan people in remotest corners close to the frontier areas felt the blessing of it, especially after the impact of WWII.
Our Shan people were wondering why democracy was short lived. It is not easy to point finger at any body, but there is a Burmese saying: “Tha Thami Makaung Mi Ba Kaung” meaning “parents must take full responsibility of their misbehaved children”.
With U Nu’s leadership it was not a question of his failings in upbringing his “misbehaved children, the army generals”. In fact he was a Burmese statesman in his own right. He was religiously religious. He even equates Marxism Lenism to a Buddhist doctrine. The success story of his religious crusade was not limited to his effort in hosting the Sixth Buddhist Synod in Theravada Buddhism. Burma was the first country to adopt Buddhism as a state religion. The Monarch of Thailand’s visit to Burma was attributable to U Nu’s leading vision.
However, mixing God with politics has its downside. The problems of law and order, party politics, infighting within the ruling party AFPFL and the likes of them could not be resolved by meditation, which U Nu had often relied upon. Perhaps it was his failure to recognize the gravity of threats by some ambitious army generals that caused his downfall. But some say, it was his controversial “Defense Bill”, that was to be debated and to be passed in the ‘LAST PARLIAMENTERY ASSEMBLY” due in that fatal July 1962. U Nu was upbeat when Shan leaders agreed to support his controversial defense bill in return for his promise for constitutional reform.
Ne Win foresaw this bill as targeting his army ascendancy on the one hand and at the same token U Nu also felt threatened by the looming “barrel of the guns”. It was perhaps sheer coincidence that the ethnic leaders were also pushing U Nu’s government for constitutional reform for equal rights. This coupled with students’ unrest and dissention, had led Ne Win to capitalize on the situation which he disguised his ruthless actions as mainly due to “elements threatening to break the country apart”. They still believe right of self determination is secession and federalism means separatist terrorism.
Not many really knew about Gen. Ne Win’s ploy, the “REAL MOTIVES” behind his military coup, except some of his right-hand men close to his heart including Brig. San Yu and Brig.Tin Pe. It was with the help of these few hard core, but brutal army officers who rounded up our Shan leaders and elders and many other ethnic leaders in jail. The political scenario is not much different today. From Ne Win to Than Shwe, and those far and few in between, they are all blood brothers of the same kind.
For those who had sacrificed their lives and those languishing in jail and detention of any kind, we believe, the sacrifices eventually will not be in vain.
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