Myanmar:
Now it's three of a kind
By Richard Ehrlich
BANGKOK - Anti-American hardliners in Myanmar's military regime have arrested
Prime Minister Khin Nyunt, also head of the country's military intelligence and
architect of a tentative "roadmap to democracy", and placed him under house
arrest for alleged corruption, according to conflicting reports from the
secretive country.
The arrest occurred on Monday, but news only filtered out to the international
community on Tuesday, when it was confirmed by Thailand. "Khin Nyunt was
removed from his position," Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra told
reporters.
Myanmar's government-controlled television and radio made no mention of any
arrest and instead announced on Tuesday that Khin Nyunt had retired for health
reasons and been replaced by army General Soe Win in an appointment signed by
junta strongman Senior General Than Shwe, according to Reuters.
"The person who signed the order [to remove the prime minister] said Khin Nyunt
had been involved in corruption and [was] not suitable to stay in his
position," Thai government spokesman Jakrapob Penkair told reporters. "It is
still unclear who issued the order," he added.
Myanmar soldiers took up positions outside Khin Nyunt's house in the capital,
Yangon, where he has been confined to house arrest, and increased their
presence in front of military intelligence headquarters, witnesses told the
British Broadcasting Corp (BBC).
There were no immediate reports of unrest in Myanmar, mainland Southeast Asia's
biggest country, and it is expected to continue its friendly commercial and
diplomatic links with China, Thailand, India and other countries willing to
circumvent US-led international sanctions.
Myanmar's military - hardened by more than 50 years of battle with minority
ethnic insurgencies along its borders - was also expected to continue
supporting hardline general Than Shwe and his right-hand man, General Maung
Aye.
Myanmar currently is run by a military junta that had included Khin Nyunt among
the top three in power. He had just marked a year on the job after being
appointed prime minister in August 2003, crowning 20 years as head of the
Defense Services Intelligence Directorate.
Some Myanmar watchers viewed Khin Nyunt as a moderate for plans he revealed
soon after becoming prime minister - the most important of which was a
seven-step roadmap toward democratic reform. The reconvening of the National
Convention to draft a new constitution, first initiated in 1993 but adjourned
in 1996, was described, at the time, as the preliminary step of this exercise.
Khin Nyunt's removal has dashed faint hopes for reform and an end to military
rule as it will allow Than Shwe and other hardline generals to consolidate
power. With Soe Win now installed as prime minister, the top three positions in
the junta are effectively in the hands of the hardliners. Their domination
heralds a setback for pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the world's most
famous political prisoner, who has suffered more than seven years under house
arrest in Yangon.
Suu Kyi had hoped to bring democracy to troubled, impoverished Myanmar, despite
the junta blocking her National League for Democracy party from power after it
won a landslide election victory in 1990.
The junta frequently criticizes Nobel Laureate Suu Kyi for being a puppet of
the United States, Britain and other foreign powers interested in exploiting
Myanmar's vast untapped natural resources. Khin Nyunt, who was reported to
favor talks with Suu Kyi, met her at least twice and said, "I think of her as a
younger sister."
On Monday, the regime's New Light of Myanmar newspaper prominently portrayed
Khin Nyunt opening an HIV/AIDS exhibition in Mandalay and visiting Buddhist
shrines with other officials. The paper, which frequently expresses the junta's
anti-US stance, also warned if John Kerry was elected president in next month's
election, "he would reduce the important role of democracy in the whole world".
Spreading its criticism to include Washington's current administration, a
commentary last Saturday warned, "Economic sanctions, which cause deterioration
of the [Myanmar] economy, will not bring democracy." The paper also blasted
America's military for "occupying Iraq illegally".
It blamed the Voice of America and Radio Free Asia, along with the BBC, for
broadcasting the views of expatriate Myanmar dissidents, and favorably
describing them as democracy activists. Myanmar's military has ruled through
various juntas after a bloodless coup in 1962 brought the army's commander, Ne
Win, to power. Since that time, the government has shown scant respect for
political and civil liberties. Voices of dissent have always been met with
brutal force in the form of batons and bullets.
After coming to power, Ne Win mired Myanmar in poverty and human-rights abuses,
until younger generals shoved him aside in 1988 and locked him under house
arrest in March 2002. Ne Win's daughter, Sandar Win, along with her husband and
their three adult sons, were simultaneously arrested by the junta, charged with
attempting a coup, and later convicted and sentenced to death. Ne Win died in
December 2002 at the age of 91.
Earlier this year, Myanmar ordered about 1,000 delegates to start drafting a
new constitution under the National Convention. The move was criticized by Suu
Kyi and others as a charade to draw up a document that would give the military
immunity for alleged crimes committed during its reign.
Khin Nyunt, who led a high-profile delegation to China in July along with other
junta members and met Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing, enjoyed vast
internal power through his manipulation of Myanmar's secret police.
Richard S Ehrlich is a Bangkok-based journalist from San
Francisco, California. He has reported news from Asia since 1978 and is
co-author of Hello My Big Big Honey! a nonfiction book of investigative
journalism. He received a master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate
School of Journalism.
