Ludu Daw Amar
| Ludu Daw Amar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 29 November 1915 Mandalay, Burma (now Myanmar) |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Spouse | Ludu U Hla |
| Children | Nyein Chan Po Than Gyaung Soe Win Than Yin Mar Tin Win |
| Parents | U Htin Daw Su |
Ludu Daw Amar
Ludu Daw Amar (born 29 November 1915), whose name is also spelt Ludu Daw Ah Mar, is a well known and respected leading dissident writer and journalist in Mandalay, Myanmar (formerly Burma). She was married to fellow writer and journalist Ludu U Hla (1910 - 1982) and is the mother of another popular writer Nyi Pu Lay. She is best known for her outspoken anti-government views and radical left wing journalism besides her outstanding work on traditional Burmese arts, theatre, dance and music, and several works of translation from English, both fiction and non-fiction.
Student writer and activist
Born into an old established Mandalay family that traded in tobacco and manufactured cheroots, Amar was the fourth in a family of twelve, out of which only six survived to adulthood. She was educated at the American Baptist Mission School and subsequently the National High School under the headmaster Abdul Razak who later became the Education Minister in Aung San's cabinet and was assassinated with him and others in July 1947. She read science at the Mandalay Intermediate College and went on to Rangoon University for a Bachelor's degree. Her first notable work was a translation of Trials in Burma by Maurice Collis in 1938, and by that time she was already published in the university's Owei (Peacock's Call) magazine, and also Kyipwa Yay (Progress) magazine, run by her future husband U Hla, under her own name as well as the pen names Mya Myitzu and Khin La Win.
When the second university students strike in history broke out in 1936, Amar and her friend from Mandalay M.A. Ma Ohn became famous as women student leaders among the strikers camped out on the terraces of the Shwedagon Pagoda. U Hla was a staunch supporter of the strike and started courting Amar; in 1939 they got married and U Hla moved his magazine to Mandalay.
Wartime Kyipwa Yay
The family fled to the countryside north of Mandalay when the Second World War broke out in the East in 1942, but the magazine continued to come out. Daw Amar translated one of the three wartime bestsellers of the Japanese soldier writer Hino Ashihei called Wheat and Soldiers (Gyon hnint sittha) and published it together with the other two translated by her husband.She also translated The Rainbow (Thettant yaung) by the Czechoslovak writer Wanda Wasilewska in 1945, printed on blue matchbox wrapping paper, the only kind of paper available at the time. Both husband and wife became involved in the Resistance movement against the Japanese Occupation, and formed the Asha Lu Nge (Asia Youth) organisation in Mandalay.Her husband was arrested briefly by the military authorities after the recapture of the city by the British Fourteenth Army on account of the Hino Ashihei books.
Postwar Ludu
At the end of the war in 1945 U Hla launched a fortnightly paper called the Ludu Journal - Ludu is Burmese for 'the people/masses' - with Amar as his assistant editor. The Ludu Daily was successfully launched the following year and the couple subsequently came to be known as Ludu U Hla and Ludu Daw Amar. Their incisive political commentaries and analyses made a significant contribution to the country's yearning for independence and unified struggle against colonial rule. Their publications had never carried advertisements for alcohol, drugs to enhance sexual performance or gambling, nor racing tips, salacious affairs and gossip. U Hla had to be persuaded to make an exception of film advertisements for the survival of the paper.
One morning in 1948, soon after Burma gained her independence from the British, however, the Kyipwa Yay Press in Mandalay was dynamited to rubble by government troops who were angry that the Ludu couple appeared to be sympathetic to the Communists. This was a time when regime change happened quite often with the city falling into the hands, in turn, of the Karen rebels, Communists and the new nationalist government under U Nu. The entire family, including two pregnant women, was thrown out into the street, lined up and was about to be gunned down when a number of monks and locals successfully intervened to save their lives.
In 1953 Amar travelled abroad to the World Democratic Women's Conference in Copenhagen, World Peace Conference in Budapest, and 4th World Festival of Youth and Students in Bucharest. In October 1953 the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League (AFPFL) government of U Nu imprisoned U Hla under Section 5 for sedition as a political prisoner after publishing a controversial news story in the paper and he spent over three years in Rangoon's Central Jail until his release in January 1957. They had five children by now, with the youngest Nyein Chan ( his given name means 'peace' in Burmese, pseudonym Nyi Pu Lay b.1952) barely a toddler. In March 1959 the paper was sealed off by the authorities, and it did not come out again until May the next year. Amar travelled to Moscow in 1962 as an invited guest by Aeroflot Russian Airlines and visited East Germany, Czechoslovakia and China. U Hla and Daw Amar were well known to foreign students of Burmese as well as Burmese writers, journalists and artists; the younger generation of budding writers and artists called them 'U-Lay' (Uncle) and 'Daw Daw' (Aunty). Their home, Ludu Taik (Ludu House) on 84th. and 33rd, and always open to such visitors, was often their first port of call in Mandalay.
Military era
The Ludu Daily was closed down by the military government on July 7 1967. The paper had openly championed for peace and a socialist society, and came out very strongly in support of the peace parley in 1963 between the Revolutionary Council government of Ne Win and various insurgent groups, both Communist and ethnic, just as they had done before in the early years of the civil war in the 1950s. When the peace talks broke down, Amar's oldest son Soe Win (b.1941), aged 22 and a student leader at Rangoon University, went underground with a few others to join the Communist Party of Burma. He was killed in a bloody purge in 1967 in the jungles of Bago Yoma mountains when the CPB carried out its own cultural revolution. The Ludu couple, true to Burmese Buddhist attitude to death, declined an invitation from the authorities to visit their first born's jungle grave. Their second son Po Than Gyaung (b.1945) was also arrested for alleged clandestine student political activities at Mandalay University in July 1966, aged 21, and detained without charge or trial until May 1972. He spent part of his imprisonment in Mandalay Prison and later on Cocos Island Penal Colony in the Andaman Sea.
They were personally known to Ne Win from the early days, and the latter often called at their place whenever he visited Mandalay. They carried on with writing, researching, organising literary seminars, giving talks and publishing material other than domestic politics, and remained active in social and community affairs. In 1975 they accepted the government's invitation to give talks to university students from both Mandalay and Rangoon taking part in the reconstruction of the temples in Bagan damaged by the great earthquake of the same year. Amar was given the epithet 'tough by name, tough by nature' by some people (amar means 'tough/hardy' in Burmese).
Publications
Daw Amar has written several books including biographies, travelogues, treatises on traditional Burmese culture, and numerous articles in various magazines, some of them autobiographical and many collected into books later.
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- Thamada Ho Chi Minh - President Ho Chi Minh 1950
- Hsoshalit taingpyi mya tho - To the Socialist Lands 1963
- Pyithu chit thaw anupyinnya themya - Artistes that People Loved 1964; it won the national award for Literature on Burmese Culture and Arts in the same year.
- Aung Bala, Po Sein, Sein Gadoun - Theatre performers of the same names 1967
- Shwe Yoe, Ba Galay - Artists of the same names in 2 volumes 1969
- Shweman Tin Maung - Theatre performer of the same name 1970
- Anyeint - Traditional open air performance in 2 volumes 1973
- Gaba akyizoun sa ouk - The World's Biggest Book 1973, English translation by Dr. Than Tun 1974
- Shwedaungtaung Articles 1975, translated into Japanese by Yasuko Dobashi aka Yin Yin Mya 1994
- Sayagyi Thakin Kodaw Hmaing - a biography of Thakin Kodaw Hmaing 1976
- Chindwin hma pinle tho - From the Chindwin to the Sea: a travelogue 1985
- Myanma Mahagita - Burma's Classical Music 1989
- Sayleik nè Lutha - Tobacco and Man, co-authored with U Hla (Daw Amar smoked from 8 years of age till her 40s)
- Mandalaythu Mandalaytha mya - Mandalayans 1991
- Yadanabon Mandalay, Mandalay, Kyama do Mandalay - Mandalay, Our Mandalay 1993
- Thathana dazaun Sayadaw gyi mya - The Royal Teachers (Buddhist Abbots): the Light of Sasana 1994
- Kyama do nge nge ga - When We Were Young 1994
- Taung Layloun hma Natkyun ahti ahmattaya ahmasaga - From Taung Layloun to Natkyun: Words to Remember
- Gaba akyizoun kyauk sindudaw - The World's Biggest Stone Image 1996
- Myanma hkithit bagyi - Modern Burmese Art 1997
- Amei shaysaga - Mother's Words of Old in 2 volumes 1997
- Shissè thoun hnit shissè thoun gun - Eighty Three Years Eighty Three Words 1998
- Taung Asha badinbauk mya - Windows on South Asia 1990
- Nge ga kyun dè hkinpunthe tho - My Husband My Young Love 2001
- Hsè hnapwè zaythe hnint kyama do anya - The Twelve-Season Festival Traders and Our Upcountry 2002
- Lwanthu sa - Nostalgia 2003
- Sa ouk sainga luwin luhtwet atway amyin hsaungba mya - Customers in a Bookstore: Musings 2004
- Mya Myitzu Short Stories 2006
Translated works from English include:
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- Trials in Burma by Maurice Collis in 2 volumes 1938
- Sandamala by Maurice Collis 1940
- Wheat and Soldiers by Hino Ashihei 1945
- The Rainbow by Wanda Wasilewska 1945
- The Challenge of Red China by Gunther Stein in 2 volumes 1949
- In tne Name of Peace by Archie John Stone 1953
- Listen Yankees by C. Wright Mills 1963
- Cash and Violence in Laos by Anna Lewis Strong 1963
- The Other Side of the River by Edgar Snow 1966
- Memoirs of China in Revolution by Chester Ronning 1979
- African Short Stories 1989
- Thai Short Stories in 2 volumes 1992 -
Magazine articles:
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- Kyama Yay Thamya Thu Bawa Ludu U Hla - My Profile on the Life of Ludu U Hla in Shwe Amyutei
Famous dissident
Daw Amar has been very outspoken against the military regime particularly in her later years. [7] She was arrested together with her husband and their youngest son Nyein Chan in 1978, after her second son Po Than Gyaung went underground to join the Communist Party of Burma (current spokesman for the CPB) just like his late brother Soe Win before him in 1963. Daw Amar and Nyein Chan were not released for more than a year from prison until later in 1979 after U Hla had been released. Nyein Chan was re-arrested in December 1989 this time to spend nearly 10 years in prison.[3]
U Hla died in 1982 after 43 years of marriage, five children and six grandchildren. The Ludu couple had been one of the best known husband-and-wife teams among the Burmese literati. Daw Amar suffered another loss when her printing plants and warehouses burnt down in the great fire of 1984 that wiped out the heart of Mandalay. [1] Since she turned 70 in 1985, Daw Amar's birthday has been celebrated by the world of art and literature in Burma every year. The event has become an unofficial convention of dissidents under the watchful eyes of the ever present Military Intelligence Service, normally taking place at Taung Laylone Monastery by the shores of Taungthaman Lake in Amarapura near Mandalay until November 2006 when the venue had to be changed under pressure from the authorities.[1][8][9] She remains active in public life and was instrumental in founding the Byamazo Luhmuyay Athin (Mutual Voluntary Aid Association) in 1998 engaged in helping poor families with the cost of healthcare and funeral arrangements.[1] She has been called 'Mother of the People' and 'Grand Old Lady'. Now that she has reached a great age, in a society where old age is revered, most people would address her as Amei (Mother) the same as she would refer to herself according to Burmese custom. [1]
"For those of us who don't dance to the tune of the authorities, we must be creative in what we write to get our message across" she said confirming that there was no freedom of press in Myanmar. She regretted that she had to give up journalism, and could only write about tradition and culture. In her articles collected later into "Mother's Words of Old", she bemoaned the loosening of social cohesion, morals, and traditional values in dress and manner which she blamed on economic disorder, consumerism and globalisation, and Chinese immigration. She once wrote that the Chinese had occupied Mandalay without firing a shot, and had dubbed the present Lawpan (boss in Chinese) era; she felt as if Mandalay was an undeclared colony of Yunnan Province. Daw Amar is a staunch defender of Burmese history, culture, religion and sovereignty embodied in her birthplace, the last royal capital of Burma, Mandalay - thus broadly nationalistic, religious and ethnocentric traditionalist in her perspective, and yet she has been in the forefront of modernising the written language, fostering mutual understanding and friendship between the dominant Bamar and the ethnic minorities in tandem with her husband, promoting sex education and public awareness of the HIV/AIDS problem, and voicing complaints regarding unpaid labour contributions of women in society.
Daw Amar still lives at Ludu Taik in Mandalay with her second daughter Tin Win (b.1947) in charge of the publishing business and her youngest son Nyein Chan (writer Nyi Pu Lay - b.1952) and his family. Her oldest daughter Than Yin Mar (b.1943), a retired professor of medicine who has also started writing assuming one of her mother's old noms de plume Mya Myitzu, looks after her health.
Burma National Army
Burma National Army
Flag of the Burmese Puppet State by Martin Grieve
| Background: Almost two and a half weeks after the Japanese surprise attack on the US Pacific Fleet (stationed at Pearl Harbour) the Burma Independence Army (BIA) was formed in Bangkok with 200 members on December 26, 1941. It was founded by Minami Kikan, with Suzuki as its then Commander-in-Chief and Lieutenant-General Aung San as its Chief of Staff.
The BIA however proved to be an unreliable unit to the Japanese (having made several declarations of independence, all disallowed in turn by the Empire of Japan) and was soon disbanded.
It was therefore replaced by the Burma Defence Army (which was later renamed the Burma National Army). |
Actions of the Burma Independence Army
Actions of the Burma Independence Army
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese entered the war by attacking the United States and Britain. On December 28, at a ceremony in Bangkok, the Minami Kikan was declared dissolved and the Burma Independence Army formed in its place. The BIA, numbering initially 227 Burmese and 74 Japanese, formed several small units which would participate in the invasion of Burma in January 1942. These units were initially tasked to act as intelligence-gatherers, saboteurs and foragers, but quickly took on other tasks and on occasions fought direct battles against British forces. They fought with determination during the invasion and constantly recruited new soldiers.
With the fall of Rangoon on March 8, the BIA was rapidly expanded by an influx of Burman volunteers. Many of these "volunteers" were not officially recruited but rather individuals or gangs who took to calling themselves BIA to further their own activities. They continued to assist the Japanese in their campaign to drive the British from India. Some took to dacoitry (banditry) and were involved in attacks on minority populations (particularly the Karens) and preyed on Indian refugees. The worst atrocities against the Karens in the Irrawaddy Delta south of Rangoon cannot however be attributed to dacoits or unorganised recruits in that rather they were the actions of a subset of regular BIA and their Japanese officers. The top leadership of the BIA did eventually stop the actions against the Karens in the delta.
Disputes between the BIA and the Japanese military police, the kempeitai were not related to the BIA's excesses against civilians. The disputes were rather over the BIA's attempts to form local governments in various towns in Burma and the intention of the Japanese to form an administration on its own terms. The first such dispute had been over the administration of Moulmein. The Japanese 55th Division had flatly refused Burmese requests to form an administration in the town and had further disallowed the BIA from even entering the town.
| Military manpower | |
|---|---|
| Total armed forces | 428,250 (Ranked 12th) |
| Active troops | 428,250 (Ranked 12th) |
| Total troops | 500,250 (Ranked 26th) |
| Paramilitary | 72,000 (Ranked 26th) |
| Conscription age | 16 years of age |
| Availability | males age 15-49: 12,211,144 (2003 est.) |
| Fit for military service | males age 18-49: 6,502,013 (2005 est.) |
| Military expenditures | |
| USD figure | 7.07 billion US $ (FY2005 est.) [1] |
| Percent of GDP | 19% (2005 est.) |
| Components | |
| Myanmar Army |  |
| Myanmar Navy |  |
| Myanmar Air Force |  |
| Myanmar Police Force |  |
| Myanmar Frontier Forces | |
| History | |
| Military history of Myanmar | |
| Burma Independence Army | |
| Burma National Army | |
| Ranks | |
| Army ranks and insignia of Myanmar | |
| Navy ranks and insignia of Myanmar | |
| Airforce ranks and insignia of Myanmar | |
Myanmar Armed Forces
The military of Myanmar, officially known as Tatmadaw (Burmese: တပ္မေတာ္; MLCTS: tap ma. taw; IPA: [taʔmədɔ̀]) is the primary military organisation responsible for torturing and killing monks and other unarmed civilians. The armed forces are administered by the Ministry of Defence and are composed of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. Auxiliary services include Myanmar Police Force, People Militia Units and Frontier Forces, locally known as Na Sa Kha.All service personnel are volunteers although the government is empowered to undertake conscription if considered necessary for Myanmar's defense. Tatmadaw has been engaged in a bitter battle with ethnic insurgents, political dissidents and narco-armies since the country gained its independence from Great Britain in 1948. Retaining much of the organizational structure established by the British, Myanmar Armed Forces continue to face challenges from aging weaponry and equipment and relying on foreign purchases of military equipment. However, the armed forces are an essential to Myanmar's strategic importance, power and capabilities in the region.
Defense Policy and Doctrine
Defence Policy of Myanmar Tatmadaw was formally declared in February, 1999. The declared policy outlined the doctrine of "total people's defence" for the Union of Myanmar. Threats to the national unity, territorial integrity and sovereign independence of the Union of Myanmar are the most important security objectives and considered as threats to the security of state. In the process of formulating Defence Policy and Military Doctrine from a strategic perspective, Tatmadaw has undergone three phases.
History
First Phase (Post Independence/Civil War era)
The first phase of the doctrine was developed in early 1950s to cope with external threats from more powerful enemies with a strategy of Strategic Denial under conventional warfare. The perception of threats to state security was more external than internal threats. The internal threat to state security was managed through the use of a mixture of force and political persuasion. Lieutenant Colonel Maung Maung drew up defence doctrine based on conventional warfare concepts, with large infantry divisions, armoured brigades, tanks and motorised war with mass mobilisation for the war effort being the important element of the doctrine. The objective was to contain the offensive of the invading forces at the border for at least three months, while waiting for the arrival of international forces, similar to the police action by international intervention forces under the directive of United Nations during the war on Korean peninsula. However, the conventional strategy under the concept of total war was undermined by the lack of appropriate command and control system, proper logistical support structure, sound economic bases and efficient civil defence organisations.
At the beginning of 1950s, while Tatmadaw was able to reassert its control over most part of the country, Kuomintang (KMT) troops under General Li Mai, with support from United States, invaded Myanmar and used the country's frontier as a springboard for attack against People's Republic of China, which in turn became the external threat to state security and sovereignty of Myanmar. The first phase of the doctrine was tested for the first time in Operation "Naga Naing" in February 1953 against invading KMT forces. The doctrine did not take into account logistic and political support for KMT from United States and as a result it failed to deliver the objectives and ended in humiliating defeat for the Tatmadaw. The then Tatmadaw leadership argued that the excessive media coverage was partly to blame for the failure of Operation "Naga Naing". For example, Brigadier General Maung Maung pointed out that newspapers, such as the "Nation", carried reports detailing the training and troops positioning, even went as far to the name and social background of the commanders who are leading the operation thus losing the element of surprise. Colonel Saw Myint, who was second in command for the operation, also complained about the long lines of communications and the excessive pressure imposed upon the units for public relations activities in order to prove that the support of the people was behind the operation.
Second Phase (KMT Invasion/BSPP era)
Despite failure, Tatmadaw continued to rely on this doctrine until the mid 1960s. The doctrine was under constant review and modifications throughout KMT invasion and gained success in anti-KMT operations in the mid and late 1950s. However, this strategy became increasingly irrelevant and unsuitable in the late 1950s as the insurgents and KMT changed their positional warfare strategy to hit-and-run guerrilla warfare At the 1958 Tatmadaw's annual Commanding Officers (COs) conference, Colonel Kyi Win submitted a report outlining the requirement for new military doctrine and strategy. He stated that 'Tatmadaw did not have a clear strategy to cope with insurgents', even though most of Tatmadaw's commanders were guerrilla fighters during the anti-British and Japanese campaigns during the Second World War, they had very little knowledge of anti-guerrilla or counterinsurgency warfare. Based upon Colonel Kyi Win's report, Tatmadaw begin developing an appropriate military doctrine and strategy to meet the requirements of counterinsurgency warfare.
This second phase of the doctrine was to suppress insurgency with people's war and the perception of threats to state security was more of internal threats. During this phase, external linkage of internal problems and direct external threats were minimised by the foreign policy based on isolation. It was common view of the commanders that unless insurgency was suppressed, foreign interference would be highly , therefore counterinsurgency became the core of the new military doctrine and strategy. Beginning in 1961, the Directorate of Military Training took charge the research for national defence planning, military doctrine and strategy for both internal and external threats. This included reviews of international and domestic political situations, studies of the potential sources of conflicts, collection of information for strategic planning and defining the possible routes of foreign invasion. In 1962, as part of new military doctrine planning, principles of anti-guerrilla warfare were outlined and counterinsurgency-training courses were delivered at the training schools. The new doctrine laid out three potential enemies and they are internal insurgents, historical enemies with roughly an equal strength (i.e. Thailand), and enemies with greater strength. It states that in suppressing insurgencies, Tatmadaw must be trained to conduct long-range penetration with a tactic of continuous search and destroy. Reconnaissance, Ambush and all weather day and night offensive and attack capabilities along with winning the hearts and minds of people are important parts of anti-guerrilla warfare. For countering an historical enemy with equal strength, Tatmadaw should fight a conventional warfare under total war strategy, without giving up an inch of its territory to the enemy. For powerful enemy and foreign invaders, Tatmadaw should engage in total people's war, with a special focus on guerrilla strategy.
To prepare for the transition to the new doctrine, Brigadier General San Yu, the then Vice Chief of Staff (Army), sent a delegation led by Lieutenant Colonel Thura Tun Tin was sent to Switzerland, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and East Germany in July 1964 to study organisation structure, armaments, training, territorial organisation and strategy of people's militias. A research team was also formed at General Staff Office within the War Office to study defence capabilities and militia formations of neighbouring countries.
The new doctrine of total people's war, and the strategy of anti-guerrilla warfare for counterinsurgency and guerrilla warfare for foreign invasion, were designed to be appropriate for Myanmar. The doctrine flowed from the country's independent and active foreign policy, total people's defence policy, the nature of perceived threats, its geography and the regional environment, the size of its population in comparison with those of its neighbours, the relatively underdeveloped nature of its economy and its historical and political experiences. The doctrine was based upon 'three totalities': population, time and space (du-thone-du) and 'four strengths': manpower, material, time and morale (panama-lay-yat). The doctrine did not develop concepts of strategic denial or counter-offensive capabilities. It relied almost totally on irregular low-intensity warfare, such as its guerrilla strategy to counter any form of foreign invasion. The overall counterinsurgency strategy included not only elimination of insurgents and their support bases with the 'four cut' strategy, but also the building and designation of 'white area' and 'black area' as well.
In April 1968, Tatmadaw introduced special warfare training programmes at "Command Training Centres" at various regional commands. Anti-Guerrilla warfare tactics were taught at combat forces schools and other training establishments with special emphasis on ambush and counter-ambush, counterinsurgency weapons and tactics, individual battle initiative for tactical independence, commando tactics, and reconnaissance. Battalion size operations were also practised in the South West Regional Military Command area. The new military doctrine was formally endorsed and adopted at the first party congress of the BSPP in 1971. BSPP laid down directives for "complete annihilation of the insurgents as one of the tasks for national defence and state security" and called for "liquidation of insurgents through the strength of the working people as the immediate objective". This doctrine ensures the role of Tatmadaw at the heart of national policy making.
Throughout BSPP era, the total people's war doctrine was solely applied in counterinsurgency operations, since Myanmar did not face any direct foreign invasion throughout the period. In 1985, the then Lieutenant General Saw Maung, Vice-Chief of Staff of Tatmadaw reminded his commanders during his speech at the Command and General Staff College:
In Myanmar, out of nearly 35 million people, the combined armed forces (army, navy and air force) are about two hundred thousand. In terms of percentage, that is about 0.01 percent. It is simply impossible to defend a country the size of ours with only this handful of troops... therefore, what we have to do in the case of foreign invasion is to mobilise people in accordance with the "total people's war" doctrine. In order to defend our country from aggressors, the entire population must be involved in the war effort as the support of people dictate the outcome of the war.
Third Phase (SLORC/SPDC era)
The third phase of doctrinal development of Myanmar Armed Forces came after the military take over and formation of State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) in September, 1988 as part of armed forces modernisation programme. The development was the reflection of sensitivity towards direct foreign invasion or invasion by proxy state during the turbulent years of the late 80s and early 90s, for example: unauthorised presence of US Aircraft Carrier Group in Myanmar's territorial waters during 1988 political uprising as evidence of an infringement of Myanmar's sovereignty. Also, Tatmadaw leadership was concerned that foreign powers might arm the insurgents on the Myanmar border to exploit the political situation and tensions in the country. This new threat perception, previously insignificant under the nation's isolationist foreign policy, led Tatmadaw leaders to review the defence capability and doctrine of the Tatmadaw.
The third phase was to face the lower level external threats with a strategy of strategic denial under total people's defence concept. Current military leadership has successfully dealt with 17 major insurgent groups, whose 'return to legal fold' in the past decade has remarkably decreased the internal threats to state security, at least for the short and medium terms, even though threat perception of the possibility of external linkage to internal problems, perceived as being based on pretexts such as human rights violations, religious suppression and ethnic cleansing, remains high.
Within the policy, the role of the Tatmadaw was defined as a `modern, strong and highly capable fighting force'. Since the day of independence, the Tatmadaw has been involved in restoring and maintaining internal security and suppressing insurgency. It was with this background that Tatmadaw's "multifaceted" defence policy was formulated and its military doctrine and strategy could be interpreted as defence-in-depth. It was influenced by a number of factors such as history, geography, culture, economy and sense of threats. Tatmadaw has developed an 'active defence' strategy based on guerrilla warfare with limited conventional military capabilities, designed to cope with low intensity conflicts from external and internal foes, which threatens the security of the state. This strategy, revealed in joint services exercises, is built on a system of total people's defence, where the armed forces provide the first line of defence and the training and leadership of the nation in the matter of national defence. It is designed to deter potential aggressors by the knowledge that defeat of Tatmadaw's regular forces in conventional warfare would be followed by persistent guerrilla warfare in the occupied areas by people militias and dispersed regular troops which would eventually wear down the invading forces, both physically and psychologically, and leave it vulnerable to a counter-offensive. If the conventional strategy of strategic denial fails, then the Tatmadaw and its auxiliary forces will follow Mao's strategic concepts of 'strategic defensive', 'strategic stalemate' and 'strategic offensive'.
Over the past decade, through a series of modernisation programs, Tatmadaw has developed and invested in better Command, Control, Communication and Intelligence system; real-time intelligence; formidable air defence system; and early warning systems for its 'strategic denial' and 'total people's defence' doctrine.
Organisational, Command and Control Structure
Before
Overall command of Tatmadaw (Armed Forces) rested with the country's highest ranking military officer, a General, who acted concurrently as Defence Minister and Chief of Staff of Defence Services. He thus exercised supreme operational control over all three services, under the direction of the President, State Council and Council of Ministers. There was also a National Security Council which acted in advisory capacity. The Defence Minister cum Chief-of-Staff of Defence Services exercised day-to-day control of the armed forces and assisted by three Vice-Chiefs of Staff, one each for the army, navy and air force. These officers also acted as Deputy Ministers of Defence and commanders of their respective Services. They were all based at Ministry of Defence (Kakweyay Wungyi Htana) in Rangoon/Yangon. It served as a government ministry as well as joint military operations headquarters.
The Joint Staff within the Ministry of Defence consisted of three major branches, one each for Army, Navy and Air Force, along with a number of independent departments. The Army Office had three major departments; the General (G) Staff to oversee operations, the Adjutant General's (A) Staff administration and the Quartermaster General's (Q) Staff to handle logistics. The General Staff consisted two Bureaus of Special Operations (BSO), which were created in April 1978 and June 1979 respectively. These BSO are similar to "Army Groups" in Western armies, high level staff units formed to manage different theatres of military operations. They were responsible for the overall direction and coordination of the Regional Military Commands (RMC) with BSO-1 covering Northern Command (NC), North Eastern Command (NEC), North Western Command (NWC), Western Command (WC) and Eastern Command (EC). BSO-2 responsible for South Eastern Command (SEC), South Western Command (SWC), Western Command (WC) and Central Command (CC)[9]. The Army's elite mobile Light Infantry Divisions (LID) were managed separately under a Staff Colonel. Under G Staff, there were also a number of directorates which corresponded to the Army's functional corps, such as Intelligence, Signals, Training, Armour and Artillery. The A Staff was responsible for the Adjutant General, Directorate of Medical Services and the Provost Marshal's Office. The Q Staff included the Directorates of Supply and Transport, Ordnance Services, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, and Military Engineers.
The Navy and Air Force Offices within the Ministry were headed by the Vice Chiefs of Staff for those Services. Each was supported by a staff officer at full Colonel level. All these officers were responsible for the overall management of the various naval and air bases around the country, and the broader administrative functions such as recruitment and training.
Operational Command in the field was exercised through a framework of Regional Military Commands (RMC), the boundaries of which corresponded with the country's Seven States and Seven Divisions.The Regional Military Commanders, all senior army officers, usually of Brigadier General rank, were responsible for the conduct of military operations in their respective RMC areas. Depending on the size of RMC and its operational requirements, Regional Military Commanders have at their disposal 10 or more infantry battalions (Kha La Ya).
1988 to 2005
The Tatmadaw's organisational and command structure changed dramatically changed after the military coup in 1988. In 1990, the country's most senior army officer become a Senior General (equivalent to Field Marshal rank in Western armies) and held the positions of Chairman of State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), Prime Minister and Defence Minister, as well as being appointed Commander in Chief of the Defence Services. He thus exercised both political and operational control over the entire country and armed forces. From 1989, each Service has had its own Commander in Chief and Chief of Staff. The Army C-in-C is now elevated to full General (Bo gyoke Kyii) rank and also acted as Deputy C-in-C of the Defence Services. The C-in-C of the Air Force and Navy hold the equivalent of Lieutenant General rank, while all three Service Chiefs of Staff were raised to Major General level. Chiefs of BSO, the heads of Q and A Staffs and the Director of Defence Services Intelligence (DDSI) were also elevated to Lieutenant General rank. The reorganisation of the armed forces after 1988 resulted in the upgrading by two ranks of most of the senior positions.
The Office of Strategic Studies (OSS, or Sit Mahar Byu Har Lae Lar Yae Hta-na) was formed around 1994 and charged with formulating defence policies, and planning and doctrine of the Tatmadaw. The OSS was commanded by Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt, who is also the Director Defence Service Intelligence (DDSI). Regional Military Commands and Light Infantry Divisions were also reorganised, and LIDs are now directly answerable to Commander in Chief of the Army.
A number of new subordinate command headquarters were formed in response to the growth and reorganisation of the Army. These include Regional Operation Commands (ROC, or Da Ka Sa), which are subordinate to RMCs, and Military Operations Commands (MOC, or Sa Ka Kha), which are equivalent to Western infantry divisions. The Chief of Staff (Army) retained control of the Directorates of Signals, Armour and Artillery, Defence Industries, Security Printing, People's Militias and Psychological Warfare, and Military Engineering. A Colonel General Staff position was also created in the G staff to manage a new Directorate of Public Relations and Border Troops, Directorate of Defence Services Computers (DDSC), the Defence Services Museum and Historical Research Institute.
All RMC Commander positions were raised to the level of Major General and also serve as appointed Chairmen of the State- and Division-level Law and Order Restoration Committees. They were formally responsible for both military and civil administrative functions for their command areas. Also, three additional regional military commands were created. In early 1990, a new RMC was formed in Myanmar's north west, facing India. In 1996, the Eastern Command in Shan State was split into two RMCs, and South Eastern Command was divided to create a new RMC in country's far south coastal regions.
In 1997, the SLORC was abolished and the military government created the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). The council includes all senior military officers and commanders of the RMCs. A new Ministry of Military Affairs was established and headed by a Lieutenant General.
Current
In October of 2005, the OSS and DDSI were abolished during the purge of General Khin Nyint and military intelligence units. A new military intelligence unit called Military Affairs Security (MAS) was formed to take over the functions of the DDSI.
In early 2006, a new RMC was created in the newly formed administrative capital, Naypyidaw.
Organisational Structure
- A.G = Adjutant General
- V.A.G = Vice Adjutant General
- DMS = Directorate of Medical Services
- DR = Directorate of Resettlement
- PMO = Provosts Marshal's Office
- MAS = Military Affair Security (Intelligence)
- DS = Directorate of Signal
- DDI = Directorate of Defence Industries
- DSP = Directorate of Security Printing
- DPMPW = Directorate of People Militias and Psychological Warfare
- DME = Directorate of Military Engineers
- DAA = Directorate of Armour and Artillery
- DSHMRI = Defence Services Historical Museum and Research Institute
- DPRBRT = Directorate of Public Relations and Border Troops
- DDSC = Directorate of Defence Services Computers
- BSO = Bureau of Special Operations
- RMC = Regional Military Command
- LID = Light Infantry Division
- ROC = Regional Operations Command
- MOC = Military Operations Command
- TOC = Tactical Operations Command
- Q.M.G = Quarter Master General
- V.Q.M.G = Vice Quarter Master General
- DEME = Directorate Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
- DST = Directorate of Supply and Transport
- DOS = Directorate of Ordinance Services
- Captain G.S = Captain General Staff
- Colonel G.S = Colonel General Staff
- J.A.G = Judge Advocate General
- I.G = Inspector General
- M.A.G = Military Appointment General
- DP = Directorate of Procurement
- CMA = Central Military Account
- Camp Comm = Camp Commandant
Rank Structure
Myanmar Army Ranks and insignia
Myanmar Navy Ranks and insignia
Myanmar Air Force Ranks and insignia
Components
Myanmar Army (Tamadaw Kyee)
The Myanmar Army has always been by far the largest Service and has always received the lion's share of Myanmar's defence budget. has played the most prominent part in Myanmar's struggle against the 40 or more insurgent groups since 1948 and acquired a reputation as a tough and resourceful military force. In 1981, it was described as 'probably the best [army] in Southeast Asia, apart from Vietnam's'. The judgment was echoed in 1983, when another observer noted that "Myanmar's infantry is generally rated as one of the toughest, most combat seasoned in Southeast Asia"
Myanmar Air Force (Tatmadaw Lei)
Personnel: 15,000
The Myanmar Air Force (Tatmdaw Lei) was formed on 24 December 1947. In 1948, the order of battle for Tatmadaw Lei included 40 Oxfords, 16 Tiger Moths, 4 Austers and 3 Spitfires with a few hundred personnel.
Myanmar Navy (Tatmadaw Yay)
Personnel: 16,000 (including two naval infantry battalions)
The Myanmar Navy was formed in 1940 and, although very small, played an active part in Allied operations against the Japanese during the Second World War.
Myanmar Police Force (Myanmar Yae Tat Phwe)
Personnel: 72,000 (including 4,500 Combat/SWAT Police)
Myanmar Police Force, formally known as The People's Police Force, was established in 1964 as independent department under Ministry of Home Affairs. It was reorganised on 1st October 1995 and informally become part of Tatmadaw. Current Director General of Myanmar Police Force is Brigadier General Khin Yi with its headquarters at Yangon.
Myanmar Frontier Forces (Na Sa Kha)
The Frontier Forces (Na Sa Kha) are now found on all five of Myanmar's international borders. They consist primarily of Tatmadaw personnel (including intelligence officers) assisted by members of Myanmar Police Force, Immigration and Custom officials. Its total strength is unknown.
Military Intelligence
Defence Industries
The Myanmar Defence Industries (DI) is the lifeline of Myanmar armed forces. Mainly the DI consists of 13 major factories throughout the country that produce approximately 70 major products for Army, Navy and Air Force. The main products include automatic rifles, machine guns, sub-machine guns, anti-aircraft guns, complete range of mortar and artillery ammunitions, aircraft and anti aircraft ammunitions, tank and anti-tank ammunitions, bombs, grenades, anti-tank mines, pyrotechnics, commercial explosives and commercial products, and rockets and so forth.DI have produced new assault rifles and light machine-guns for the infantry. The MA series of weapons were designed to replace the old German-designed but locally manufactured Heckler & Koch G3s and G4s that equipped Myanmar's army since the 1960s. DI said to be the most modern defence industries in the South East Asia region. They employ some of the latest state of the art technologies, including computerised numerical-controlled (CNC) machines and flexible manufacturing systems for production of precision components.
Chief of armed forces from 1945-up to date
- 1.General Aung San(Founder & Father of Tatmadaw)(1945-July19, 1947)
- 2.General Let Yar
- 3.General Smith Dunn
- 4.General Ne Win
- 5.General San Yu
- 6.General Thura Tin Oo(NLD)
- 7.General Thura Kyaw Htin
- 8.Sr General Saw Maung
- 9.Sr General Than Shwe(1992-up to date)
Factories
The major factories of the DI are the following:
- Weapons Factory
- Bombs & Grenades Factory
- Tungsten Carbide Factory
- Machine Gun Factory
- Filling Factory
- Propellants Factory
- Heavy Artillery Ammo Factory
- Small Arms Ammo Factory
- Brass Mills
- Tungsten Alloy Factory
- Tank Ammo Factory
- Explosives Factory
- Medium Artillery Ammo Factory
Heavy Industries
Heavy Industries were established with Ukraine assistance mainly to assemble the BTR 3U fleet of the Myanmar Army. Total of 1,000 BTR-3U wheeled APCs are to be assembled in Myanmar over the next 10 years from parts sent by Ukraine. The BTR-3U is fitted with a number of modern weapon systems including 30mm gun, 7.62mm coaxial machine gun, 30mm automatic grenade launcher and anti-tank guided weapons. HI has also built APC/IFV such as MAV 1, MAV 2 and BAAC APCs. Little is known about MAV infantry fighting vehicles but it appeared that only 60% of the components are produced locally and some vital components such as fire control systems, turrets, engines and transmissions are imported from China NORINCO industries. Apart from BTR 3Us, MAVs and BAACs, HI is also producing a number of military trucks and jeeps for the Army, Navy and Air Force.
Products
Products of DI are as follow:-
- BTR3U (180 nos/yr)
- MAV-1 IFV (20 nos/yr)
- Heavy Truck (400 nos/yr)
- 4x4 6 tons truck (400 nos/yr)
- Humvee (prototypes)(first seen in the 61st Armed Forces Day Parade)
- 105 mm Howitzers (production started in 2006 with the help of Singaporean technicians)
- 120 mm mortar MA 6 (50 nos/yr)
- 14.5 mm AAA (50 nos/yr)
- 12.7 mm HMG (200 nos/yr)
- 0.5" HMG (150 nos/yr)
- MA series small arms (60000 nos/yr)
- RPG (1500 nos/yr)
- Grenade Launcher (7000 nos/yr)
- 81/60 mm mortars (1200 nos/yr)
- 155/130/122/105 mm ammunitions
- 120/81/60 mm mortar bombs
- small arms ammunitions (60 millions nos/yr)
- grenades/rockets
- 57/77/122 mm rockets and up to 500 kg dumb bombs for Air Force
- 25/37/40/57 mm ammunitions for navy
Bogyoke Market
Bogyoke Aung San Market (Burmese: ဗိုလ္ခ်ဳပ္ေအာင္ဆန္းေစ်း), commonly known as Scott's Market (Burmese: Sa-kor-zay), is a major bazaar located in downtown Yangon, Myanmar. It was built by the British in 1926, and is known for its colonial architecture and inner cobblestone streets. It was originally named after James George Scott, a British civil servant most noted for bringing football to Myanmar. It was renamed after Bogyoke (General) Aung San but many continue to use the original name.
| Yangon's Bustling Bogyoke Market The Bogyoke market in Yangon is one of the so many renowned places in the city. The market was inaugurated in 1962 as a historical building where foreign tourists use to visit as an interesting site. The Bogyoke market was well known for selling only quality consumer commodities in successive eras. Most consumers are proud of buying their commodities from the Bogyoke market. Foreign tourists are pleased with variety of goods in this market especially Myanmar traditional handiworks, textiles, musical instruments, jewels, paintings and sculptures as well as gem mosaic paintings. Apart from the central market, there are wings in eastern, western, southern and northern sides of the market. We can buy jewels, international standard silverwares, sculptures and embroidery works, tapestries and paintings. Similarly, Myanmar Traditional slim-bags, rattan-wares, variety kind of cosmetics and foot-wares for women, ready-made cloths are sold at the shops there. The historic Bogyoke market has been existed in Yangon for more than 75 years. Souvenirs and presents of locals and foreigner’s choice and artistic handicrafts could be purchased at the only centre “The Bogyoke Market”. |
A new wing of the market has been built across the road (called Bogyoke Market Road). It houses shops aimed at the local populace, selling medicine, foodstuffs, garments and foreign goods.
Ne Win
| Ne Win | |
 General Ne Win in 1962 | |
| In office 1962 – 1988 | |
| Preceded by | U Nu |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | Saw Maung |
| | |
| Born | c. 1910 Paungdalè, Myanmar |
| Died | 5 December 2002 Yangon, Myanmar |
| Political party | BSPP |
Ne Win
Ne Win (Burmese: ေနဝင္း IPA: [nè wín]; 24 May or 14 May 1911 or 10 July 1910 – 5 December 2002; born Shu Maung) was a Burmese statesman, military commander and the head of state of Burma from 1962 until 1988.
Ne Win was appointed Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces (Tatmadaw) on 31 January 1949. He then became head of the caretaker government between 28 October 1958 and 4 April 1960. He appointed himself Chairman of the Revolutionary Council and Prime Minister of the Revolutionary Government after staging a coup d'etat on 2 March 1962 till 2 March 1974, and was the 'elected' President of the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma from 4 March 1974 to 9 November 1981. Most importantly, he founded the Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP) and served as its chairman for 26 years from 4 July 1962 until he 'resigned' on 23 July 1988. After 23 March 1964 when all political parties were abolished by military decree of the Revolutionary Council, the BSPP became the sole political party in Burma establishing a one party state under Ne Win.
Date of birth
Ne Win's exact date of birth is not known with certainty. The English language publication Who's Who in Burma published in 1961 by People's Literature House, Rangoon, stated that Ne Win was born on 24 May 1911. The late Dr. Maung Maung stated in the Burmese version of his book Burma and General Ne Win, also published in English, that Ne Win was born on 14 May 1911. However, in a book written in Burmese entitled The Thirty Comrades, the author Kyaw Nyein gave Ne Win's date of birth as '10 July 1910'.
Kyaw Nyein's date of 1910 can be considered as the more plausible date. First, Kyaw Nyein had access to historical records and he interviewed many surviving members of the Thirty Comrades when he wrote the book in the mid-to late 1990s. (Ne Win was one of the Thirty Comrades who secretly went to undergo military training in Japanese-occupied Hainan Island in the early 1940s for the purpose of fighting for independence from the British. In his book published around 1998 Kyaw Nyein lists the names of the surviving members of the Thirty Comrades whom he had interviewed although Ne Win was not one of them.) Secondly, when Ne Win died on 5 December 2002, the Burmese language newspapers which were allowed to carry a paid obituary stated the age of 'U Ne Win' to be '93 years'. According to Burmese custom a person's age is their age next birthday. Since Ne Win turned 92 in July 2002, when he died in December 2002 he was considered to be 93 years old. Most Western news agencies, based on the May, 1911 birth date, reported that Ne Win was 91 years old but the obituary put up by his family (most probably his children) stated that he was 93 years old, which would be 92 according to the Western way of calculating age.
Early years
Ne Win, given name Shu Maung, was born into an educated middle class family in Paungdalè about 200 miles north of Rangoon. Although Ne Win officially declared his ancestry to be Bamar,[1] there is speculation that he had Chinese roots.[2][3] He spent two years at Rangoon University beginning in 1929, and took biology as his main subject with hopes of becoming a doctor. However, he left university and Rangoon in 1931 to become Thakin Shu Maung, a member of the nationalist organisation Dobama Asiayone (We Burmans Association). Other members of the group included Aung San (father of Aung San Suu Kyi) and U Nu. In 1941 Ne Win, as a member of the Ba Sein-Tun Ok (Socialist) faction of the Dobama, was one of thirty young men chosen for military training by the Japanese . Their leader was Aung San and they formed the Burma Independence Army (BIA). During military training at the then Japanese-occupied Hainan Island Shu Maung chose a nom de guerre, Bo Ne Win (Commander Radiant Sun). In early 1942 the Japanese Army and the BIA entered Burma in the wake of the retreating British forces. Ne Win's role in the campaign was to organize resistance behind the British lines.
The experience of the Japanese Occupation in Burma worked to alienate the nationalists as well as the population at large. Toward the end of the Second World War, on 27 March 1945 the Burma National Army (successor to the BIA) turned against the Japanese following the British re-invasion of Burma. Ne Win, as one of the BNA Commanders, was quick to establish links with the British - attending the Kandy conference in Ceylon and taking charge of the anti-Communist operations in the Pyinmana area as commander of the 4th Burma Rifles after the Red Flag Communists and the Communist Party of Burma went underground to fight against the government in October 1946 and on 28 March 1948 respectively. Burma obtained independence on 4 January 1948, and for the first 14 years it had a parliamentary and democratic government mainly under Prime Minister U Nu, but the country was riven with political division. Even before independence, Aung San was assassinated together with six of his cabinet members on 19 July 1947; U Saw, a pre-war prime minister and political rival of Aung San, was found guilty of the crime and executed. U Nu as leader of the Socialists took charge of the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League (AFPFL) formed by the Communists, Socialists and the BNA in 1945 now that Aung San was dead and the Communists expelled from the AFPFL.
Following independence there were uprisings in the army and amongst ethnic minority groups. In late 1948, after a confrontation between army rivals, Ne Win was appointed second in command of the army and his rival Bo Zeya, a communist commander and fellow member of the Thirty Comrades, took a portion of the army into rebellion. Ne Win immediately adopted a policy of creating Socialist militia battalions called 'Sitwundan' under his personal command with the approval of U Nu. On 31 January 1949, Ne Win was given total control of the army replacing General Smith Dun, an ethnic Karen. He rebuilt and restructured the armed forces along the ruling Socialist Party's political lines, but the country was still split and the government was ineffective.
Ne Win was asked to serve as interim prime minister from 28 October 1958 to 4 April 1960 by U Nu, when the AFPFL split into two factions and U Nu barely survived a motion of no-confidence against his government in parliament. Ne Win restored order during the period known as the 'Ne Win care-taker government'.[4] Elections were held in February 1960 and Ne Win handed back power to U Nu on 4 April 1960.
1962: Coup d'état
In less than two years however on 2 March 1962 Ne Win seized power, this time through a military coup d'etat described generally by the world's media as 'bloodless', although the former President of Burma Sao Shwe Thaik's young son was shot dead by a soldier. Protests and demonstrations were not tolerated and suppressed with ruthless efficiency. Rangoon University students were the first to experience this when they staged a peaceful demonstration and protest on campus against 'unjust university rules' on 7 July 1962. Ne Win sent his troops to disperse the students which led to dozens of students being shot dead and the historic Rangoon University Student Union (RUSU) building dynamited to rubble the next morning. The RUSU was a centre of anti-colonial struggles where many student leaders including Aung San and U Nu in the 1930s cut their political teeth using the RUSU as a forum for discussions, protests and political activities against the British colonial government.
In the wake of the massacre of students and destruction of the historic union building, on 8 July 1962 Ne Win addressed the nation on radio around 8 p.m. local time. His speech lasted only about five minutes. The last phrase and most memorable of his speech was 'if these disturbances were made to challenge us, I have to declare that we will fight sword with sword and spear with spear' - dah go dah gyin, hlan go hlan gyin in Burmese (Two different English translations of the speech can be read on the front page of the Rangoon Nation and the Rangoon Guardian of 9 July 1962. Part of The Nation’s headline of 9 July 1962 read ' General Ne Win States Give Us Time to Work: Obstructionists are Warned: Will Fight Sword with Sword'). This most infamous speech of his political career came to be known among the Burmese as the 'sword with sword, spear with spear speech'. Ne Win uttered these words about 30 hours after his troops had shot and killed about 100 unarmed students and about 12 to 13 hours after the RUSU building was blown up. Within less than a week, Ne Win left for Austria, Switzerland and the United Kingdom 'for a medical check up' on 13 July 1962 (News items of Ne Win's trip to these countries for 'medical check up' can be found in The Guardian and The Nation of 14 July 1962). All universities were closed for more than two years until September 1964.
1962-1988: "Burmese Way to Socialism"
Ne Win instituted a system including elements of extreme nationalism, Marxism, and Buddhism despite his lack of interest in either ideology or religion. Part of his plan was to isolate the country almost completely from the rest of the world. For about ten years from 1962 foreigners could visit the country only for 24 hours to three days, and in the early 1970s visas were extended to one week. Fear of the West was high. The draconian political and economic measures taken by Ne Win and the Revolutionary Council government that he headed were called the 'Burmese Way to Socialism' - the economy was nationalized, foreigners were expelled, political activists were imprisoned, all political parties except the BSPP abolished, and ethnic and communist insurgencies were fought with massive military force. Since independence, the main ethnic problems arose in the south-eastern part of the country, where the British had made pre-independence promises of a separate Karen state or considerable autonomy for the ethnic Karens.
Sporadic student-led demonstrations and protests against Ne Win's rule continued - often followed by closure of universities and colleges - in 1965, December 1969, December 1970, December 1974, June 1975 and September 1987. These demonstrations took place mainly on campuses located in the cities of Rangoon, Mandalay and Moulmein. The 1974 Labour Strike was participated by workers from more than 100 factories throughout the nation and on 6 June 1974 shooting of many workers and some students took place at the Thamaing Textile Factory and the Sinmalaik Dock Yard in Rangoon during which about 100 people were thought to have died. Ne Win was in Australia on an official visit; it is not known with certainty whether he ordered the shootings himself or the orders were given by his underlings.
In November 1974 the former UN Secretary General U Thant died, and on the day of his funeral on 5 December 1974 Rangoon University students snatched his coffin on display at the Kyaikkasan Race Course and erected a makeshift mausoleum on the grounds of the former Rangoon University Student Union (RUSU) in protest against the government for not honouring their famous countryman with a state funeral. The military stormed the campus on 11 December killing some of the students, recovered the coffin and buried U Thant at the foot of the Shwedagon pagoda south entrance, next to the tomb of Thakin Kodaw Hmaing. Students from universities throughout Rangoon demonstrated again in June 1975 in commemoration of the previous year's Labour Strike and student-led demonstrations also occurred in March 1976, September 1987 , March and June 1988. During August and September 1988 it became a nation-wide uprising against Ne Win's and BSPP rule in what is now known as the 'Four Eights Uprising'.
The actions of Ne Win caused many in the educated workforce to emigrate, and Myanmar is still feeling its effects today. During the period of 1962 to 1988 when Ne Win formally ruled the country, the policy of isolation (autarky) was particularly damaging to the economy. The ubiquitous black market and rampant smuggling supplied the needs of the people, while the central government slid slowly into bankruptcy.
Ne Win was married on five official occasions and had at least five children from these different marriages. One of his wives, June Rose Bellamy (alias) Yadana Natme, was descended from the Burmese royal family. The 1972 death of his 'favourite' wife, Khin May Than (alias) Katie Ba Than, the mother of three of his children, Sandar Win, Phyo Wai Win and Kyemon Win, was a heavy blow to him.
1963-1987: Changes to the currency
In 1963 Ne Win issued a decree that 50 and 100 kyat notes would cease to be legal tender giving the reasons that they were subject to hoarding by blackmarketeers and also financing of the various insurgencies. Limited compensation was offered but not universally taken up, and people's life savings were wiped out overnight. At least one insurgency, that of the ethnic Kayan, was triggered by this act. 'Demonetization' again occurred in 1987, this time affecting the 75 kyat notes which fuelled the simmering discontent that came to a head in 1988.
Ne Win was also noted for his interest in numerology. In September 1987 he ordered the Burmese currency, the kyat, to be issued in denominations of 15, 35, 45, 75 and 90 kyats, besides the existing 5 and 10 kyat notes. He reportedly changed the currency to add up to nine because an astrologer said he would live to 90 if he did this. Ne Win was also well known for his penchant for yadaya - cabalistic rituals and spells performed in order to ward off misfortune.
1988: Unrest begins
On 23 July 1988, with Burma declared one of the poorest countries in the world, having been formally designated by the United Nations as a 'Least Developed Country' (LDC) in 1987, Ne Win resigned as chairman of the ruling Burma Socialist Programme Party at the height of the uprising against one-party rule.
In what he prophetically called what might be his 'last speech before a public gathering' on 23 July 1988 at the BSPP Party Congress, Ne Win stated - more than 26 years after the tragic events of 7 and 8 July 1962- that he was not involved in the 8 July 1962 dynamiting of the Rangoon University Student Union building and that it was his former deputy Brigadier Aung Gyi who gave the order. Ne Win also stated that after he learnt of the destruction of the RUSU, as a 'revolutionary leader', he had to take 'responsibility' and gave the 'sword with sword and spear with spear' speech. In this resignation speech of 23 July 1988, still using the same threatening words and tone, Ne Win also warned potential demonstrators that if the protests and 'disturbances' continued the 'Army would have to be called and I would like to declare from here that if the Army shoots it has no tradition of shooting into the air. It would shoot straight to hit'. And he added that (when the Army shoots to hit) 'it won't be easy' (in other words they will show no mercy). (The English translation of Ne Win's speech could be found in 24 July 1988 issues of the Rangoon Guardian and The Working People's Daily). The Tatmadaw troops, which shot, killed and maimed hundreds if not up to 3000 or more demonstrators in various places throughout Burma from the period of 8 August 1988 to 12 August 1988 and again on 18 September 1988 (a period known as the '8888' or 'Four Eights' Uprising), proved that Ne Win’s ‘promise’ in his ‘farewell’ speech to the nation of 'shooting straight to hit' was not an empty threat.
During the various protests and uprisings against one-party rule starting from March 1988 there were brief hopes for democracy before the military led by General Saw Maung, still under the virtual tutelage of Ne Win, seized power on 18 September 1988 and brutally crushed the popular uprising. It is widely believed that Ne Win, though in apparent 'retirement', orchestrated the coup from behind the scenes.[5] For about ten years after the 18 September 1988 military coup Ne Win kept a low profile, but he remained a shadowy figure exercising at least some influence on the military junta called the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), later renamed the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) on 15 November 1997.
1998: Fall from grace
From 1998 Ne Win's influence on the junta began to wane. In late September 2002 one of his sons-in-law Aye Zaw Win (husband of his favorite daughter Sandar Win born to his late wife Khin May Than) and their three sons were found guilty of treason by a tribunal for allegedly having planned to overthrow the SPDC and were sentenced to death. Earlier, after the alleged plot had been uncovered, both Ne Win and Sandar Win were put under house arrest on 4 March 2002.
2002: Death
Still under house arrest, the 92-year-old Ne Win died at 7:30 am local time on 5 December 2002 at his lakeside house in Yangon.[6] Even though Ne Win's death was not a widely noted event, worldwide news services like the BBC and CNN carried the news of his death although none of the Burmese media did. Far from holding a state funeral, no formal announcement of his death was made by the SPDC, and the only mention of Ne Win's death was a paid obituary notice that appeared in some of the state-controlled Burmese language newspapers. None of the SPDC members - his former underlings - attended his funeral.
Former contacts or junior colleagues of Ne Win were strongly discouraged from attending this hastily-arranged funeral. It was rumored that former Brigadier Aung Gyi, who in 1962-63 was Ne Win's right-hand man in the Revolutionary Council but later dismissed from the RC and jailed for a few years by Ne Win and whose 'open letter' to Ne Win was one of the sparks that started the 8888 Uprising, sought permission from the SPDC to attend the funeral but was also strongly discouraged from doing so. (As mentioned earlier, in his last speech of 23 July 1988 Ne Win had blamed Aung Gyi as ‘the real culprit’ in the destruction of the Rangoon University Student Union Building in July 1962).
The attitude and actions of SPDC to the funeral of their former boss could be contrasted with that to the funeral of U Nu, Burma's first Prime Minister whom Ne Win had overthrown in the military coup of 2 March 1962. Though none of the then State Law and Order Restoration Council members - the previous incarnation of the military junta at the time of U Nu's death on 14 February 1995- attended the funeral, the SLORC did send a wreath for 'Prime Minister (retired) U Nu'. U Nu's funeral was attended by thousands of people but only between twenty-five and thirty people were said to have attended the hastily-held funeral of Ne Win. Ne Win’s daughter Sandar Win was temporarily released from house arrest to attend his funeral and cremation. His ashes were later dispersed into the Hlaing River by Sandar Win who today remains under house arrest. Her husband and their three sons who were earlier sentenced to death for treason were also believed to remain in custody in Rangoon's Insein Jail.
Epilogue
There is a popular belief that it was for the benefit of his karma and in atonement for his sins that Ne Win had a pagoda built. It is called the Maha Wizaya and lies at the foot of the Shwedagon pagoda near its southern entrance. Another interesting notion is that Ne Win was the reincarnation of a Thai prince defeated in battle and executed by the Burmese, and who before he died had sworn an oath of vengeance and put a curse on the Burmese nation.