Gen Kyaw Zaw, 84, alias Thakin Shwe, is one of the founders of the Tatmadaw, or Burma?s armed forces. He is one of the Thirty Comrades who went to Japan for military training in 1941. He joined the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) in 1944 and was elected to the Central Committee a year later. In 1956, he was accused of leaking news to the CPB and forced to leave the army. He served as Vice Chief of General Staff of the CPB until the 1989 mutiny. In written correspondence with The Irrawaddy, Kyaw Zaw discussed Burma?s past and the lessons it holds for the country?s future.