Editorial: Bogyoke Aung San – Father of Burma

 

_ By Taisamyone

This week we commemorate the fallen heroes of Burma’s independence struggle with ‘Martyr’s Day’.  It is a measure of the man that we remember Aung San more notably than any other Thakin or political leader from that era as the father of the independence movement.  Aung San had the drive, energy and personal skills required to forge an army, negotiate with governments, statesmen, established traditional leaders, and military leaders, and bring together the people needed to form the basis for the new nation of Burma.  Aung San achieved in his 32 years more than many of us achieve in a much longer lifetime.  We are still trying to bring his dream of a free independent state to fruition 60 years after his death.

Aung San displayed those attributes of character that disarm opponents, persuade antagonists and bring accord where there has been none.  While the old guard of the British civil service tried to hang on to the colonial past, those with more foresight and integrity could readily negotiate with Aung San.  He worked with the Allied Supremo, Mountbatten, at the end of the Second World War to bring the admittedly ramshackle Burma National Army (renamed the Patriotic Burmese Forces) into the post war Burma Army, giving considerable power to PBF leaders.  He negotiated with British Prime Minister, Clement Atlee, to bring a speedy move to independence for Burma, and he concluded the Panglong Agreement with ethnic leaders to forge a union of disparate states – although history shows us that this last agreement had its flaws, missing out key needs of some ethnic groups and is still a subject of hot debate. 

Aung San wasn’t perfect, but in his short time he managed to bring together peoples with the intention to form a united state.  If he had lived, we believe that he would have sought to bring a peaceful solution to the political problems that faced Burma in 1947 – and which are still unresolved.

Aung San took up the armed struggle for independence and so formed the basis for today’s Tatmadaw.  One wonders what he would make of his creation today, usurped by Ne Win and his bunch of hooligans and turned into a Frankenstein’s monster.  Aung San created the armed forces to fight the colonial powers and achieve independence; he did not form it to fight the people of Burma.  After the ending of the war, Aung San left the army in order to re-enter political life – he clearly understood that political power must be separate from and take executive control over the armed forces – something the SPDC still have to learn. 

Resources for Aung San

¨       http://aungsan.com/

¨       http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aung_San

¨       http://www.bookrags.com/Aung_San

¨       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaVPsXtecs0

¨       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgr5DT2FpzY

¨       http://www.amazon.com/Aung-San-Burma-Biographical-Portrait/dp/1870838807

Resources for formative years of the ‘Tatmadaw’

_ Making Enemies: War and State Building in Burma (Mary P. Callahan, Cornell University Press, 2003)