20.05.2007
Why U Nu’s democracy failed?
_ By Shwe Ba (BURMA DIGEST)
U Nu was an extraordinary, peace loving, very religious, softhearted politician, and a very good charismatic orator but he did not have the organizational skills and far sightedness of General Aung San (founding father of Independent Burma, as well as the father of Aung San Suu Kyi).
Civil War
The Karen declared their separation from the Union of Burma on May 5, 1948 and the civil war between ethnic groups and the Burmese army broke out. Communists also took up arms to revolt. The rebels took over many areas of Burma and U Nu’s government was even called the Rangoon Government although strictly speaking, even suburbs of Rangoon like Insein were under rebels' control. The second capital Mandalay was under rebels, Burma Air force base Meikhtila was also under their control and even the the airplane carrying the Burma Army’s Deputy Chief and top officials unknowingly landed at Meikhtila air port which is under the control of Karens and all were arrested by rebels. Only in 1951, the government under U Nu succeeded to gain a semblance of control over the country by military means. Burma's fledging democratic government was continuously challenged by communists and ethnic groups who felt under-represented in the 1948 constitution.
Power hungry military
Internal conflicts and corruption inside the governing party caused U Nu in 1958 to give in to the demands of the Minister of Defense and Chief of the General Staff of the army, General Ne Win, to transfer power to the military authority.
There were other issues including the disorganization and ineptitude of the civilian government of U Nu and the fear of a communist takeover; but maintaining strong control over the non-Burman territories was a major aim of the military. After the transfer of power in 1958, the military ran the country for two years.
Toiling with Socialism
The failed attempts at socialism in Burma by U Nu were rather typical of the experience of underdeveloped countries in the post-World War II era _
¨ The centrally planned economic projects were just a set of ambitions.
¨ Most of the targets specified in the plans were difficult to accomplish_ missions impossible
¨ The proper implementation of programs was also lacking.
¨ They wanted to formulate mega economic plans but failed to implement them pragmatically.
Chasing unachievable dreams
U Nu wished to simultaneously recover from the war, consolidate central administrative control, develop a strong economy, and on top of these very difficult tasks, to create an ideal welfare state. As U Nu expressed it in 1952 the objective of the Burmese government was_ “To exploit the immense natural wealth of the country to benefit the citizens fully and create conditions of contentment and happiness.”
Lack of secularism
U Nu appealed to traditional Burmese values, in particular to Buddhism; and, declaration of Buddhism as the State’s Religion was bitterly opposed by non-Buddhists especially by Christian Kachin, Chins and Karens and by Muslims.
Lack of genuine federalism
Burmanization was also a big problem in a country with a high ethnic diversity (about 30% of the population belong to ethnic minorities). The national political culture was never a singular political culture shared by Burmans and non-Burmans. It has always been plural and drawing on different sources and seeking different ends.
Restructuring the country into a Democratic Federal Union was agreed by General Aung San and ethnic national leaders in 1947 at the Panglong Conference, when the Union of Burma was founded in the first place. But after Aung San’s assassination, in the post Independence era nation-building of Burma, the “nation” was viewed as “one ethnicity, one language, and one religion”. It excludes other ethnic groups, cultures, religions and everything related to multiculturalism and diversity.
Political Squabbles
U Nu’s government relied on support from various political barons of the governing party in the parliament, as well as on local party bosses. Disgusted with their squabbling for spoils, U Nu resigned in 1956 to "clean up the party". Resuming office in 1958, the governing AFPFL party soon split between his "Clean" faction and the two Deputy Prime Ministers' "Stable" faction. AFPFL party split required the un-constitutional intervention of a caretaker army government for 18 months. In the February 1960 general election, U Nu's "Clean" faction of the AFPFL won in a landslide victory over the "Stable" faction led by Ba Swe and Kyaw Nyein and returned to power forming the Pyidaungzu (Union) government on 4 April 1960. U Nu’s return to power was short-lived, however. His promotion of Buddhism as the state religion and his wavering on ethnic separatism precipitated more political chaos.
Conclusion
So in conclusion, U Nu’s democracy failed because of his government’s lack of mutual trust and understanding with ethnic minority groups, lack of secularism, his inability to restrain political infightings in his own party, his idealistic dreams for total welfare state; and, worse of all, his failure to rein in power-hungry military generals led by Gen. Ne Win.
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