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BKKPOST:Mar27 Burma: Tadmadaw
- Subject: BKKPOST:Mar27 Burma: Tadmadaw
- From: strider@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 30 Mar 1994 00:45:00
/* Written 9:58 am Mar 30, 1994 by kamol@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx in igc:soc.culture.th */
/* ---------- "BKKPOST:Mar27 Burma: Tadmadaw" ---------- */
Sunday Perspective:
To some observers, the Burmese armed forces, or Tatmadaw, is
nothing more than the "stick" of the ruling government -- in this
case, the Slorc. However, according to AUNG ZAW, the present
Tatmadaw may have among its ranks forces sympathetic to the
pro-democracy movement.
Tatmadaw: People's army or private army?
TODAY Rangoon's U Wisaya Road will be filled with finely-pointed
bayonets, martial music and songs and thousands of marching
soldiers to mark Armed Forces Day. Their families will welcome
them with flowers and garlands.
On March 27, 1945, General Aung San, Burma's independence hero and
founder of Burma's Tatmadaw, or armed forces, declared the
"Japanese Revolution" to push the Japanese Imperial Army out of
Burma at the end of World War II.
This military parade is an exception, of course, to the State Law
and Order Restoration Council's (Slorc) present decree which
strictly bans any kind of public demonstration.
"People dare to throw stones at my house because my father is just
an engineer, but if my father had stars on his shoulder, they
would not dare do that. That's why my older brother joined the
army," Yan King, a 27-year-old former university student, told his
friends in Bangkok recently just before he left for Japan.
He himself tried twice to pass the entrance exam for military
officer school but failed. "It is important to have good
connections, relatives or families among the Tatmadaw, so that you
can pass the exam," he said.
In Rangoon today, a popular saying among the youth in the streets
is, "Join the army if you want to get rich and have a privileged
life."
The Tatmadaw is arguably the largest institution in Burmese
society. Since the brutal crackdown on the 1988 pro-democracy
uprising, the Tatmadaw has increased in size to over 300,000
troops, with new tanks, jet fighters and patrol boats from China.
Recruiting is easy: Burma has scores of unemployed. Criminals who
wish to enlist in the army are pardoned automatically. Some join
the army merely because they are crazy about uniforms and the
Rambo mentality.
Maung Thaw Ka, an author, satirist and former naval officer who
was tortured to death in prison in 1991, wrote in an article in
1987: "I joined the navy because their uniform is the most
beautiful, colourful and smart."
There are definitely many good opportunities for those who join
the Tatmadaw. Chairman Gen Ne Win, in an effort to curb resentment
among the Tatmadaw, has offered many special privileges. For
instance, when military officers retire, they are transferred to
civil administration services, government-owned factories and
embassies and are given the highest positions. As long as they
remain loyal, their future is certain.
Ne Win claimed during the 1988 upheaval, "I will only govern trees
and soldiers." The great dictator only trusts his uniformed men.
In fact, since taking power in 1962, Ne Win has brought
far-reaching change to the Tatmadaw. Ne Win's recruitment policy
is clever -- he picked only yes men and Rambo-like soldiers -- San
Yu, for instance, who was Ne Win's puppet president of Burma until
1988. Then came Sein Lwin, who was president of Burma from July 16
until August 12 that year.
Sein Lwin arranged numerous military operations against student
uprisings and ethnic groups. Many refer to him as "The
Executioner."
Many of the elite military and intelligence officers who have left
the Burmese Army since civil war broke out in 1948 either joined
the Communist Party of Burma, ethnic armed groups or U Nu's
resistance on the border. The handful of military officers who
remained in the army have either been sacked or forced to resign.
The only one left is Ne Win.
During the Ne Win era, all soldiers were taught a Burmese history
consisting of, "The ethnic rebels are robbers and bandits ... The
pro-democracy movement was created by communists and rightists ...
The Tatmadaw is your father and mother", an exercise in
xenophobia.
Slorc does the same and far worse. It uses the state-controlled
media to indoctrinate the masses. TV and radio programmes
broadcast government slogans and military songs morning, noon and
night.
Many observers believe that the Tatmadaw became Ne Win's stick
when troops fired on students and demolished the historic Student
Union Building in July, 1962, just four months after he took
power. The crushing of the 1974 public movement also resulted in
the killing of workers and students.
The Tatmadaw's stance is that it is firmly on the side of Ne Win.
By the time of the historic 1988 uprising, the Tatmadaw's methods
had become more brutal, not only in the cities, in which abuses
occurred in ethnic population areas, but in the border areas and
villages as well.
The Tatmadaw forcibly took thousands of civilians to the front
lines to act as porters. They abducted pregnant women. Villages
were burned down and women were raped. They went so far as to
execute many innocent villagers after accusing them of being
informers for ethnic armed groups.
It is ironic that a Slorc-controlled newspaper prints nearly every
day on its front page, "The Tatmadaw has been sacrificing much of
its blood and sweat ..." One wonders how soldiers were sacrificing
sweat and blood while they were raping women, burning and looting
villages. It is not surprising that the Tatmadaw have come to be
known sarcastically throughout Burma as "pyithu chin bat," a type
of pickled vegetable, which is somewhat sour and distasteful and
stinks to high heaven.
Considering its history, the Tatmadaw must be regarded as little
more than robbers, rapists and murderers. The only distinction is
that Tatmadaw men are dressed in uniforms so that people will
think they are soldiers.
If indeed that is the reason, is this the way to legalise a group
of armed men -- to give them the image of being the military? In
truth, they are like licensed killers. They are abusing state
power, are corrupt and are enemies of the people.
The Tatmadaw ignored the 1990 election results and locked up all
dissidents. It took over the government's role and tried to
convince the Burmese that it is the only institution that can be
relied on, that it is the "boss" of Burma.
The Tatmadaw's men are ubiquitous in Burma. Everyone saw at its
present national convention that the Tatmadaw desires a leading
role in Burmese politics. The military leaders, moreover, are busy
with their daily schedule: inspecting hospitals, schools,
monasteries, pagodas, villages, road construction projects and
sports events, issuing orders, making speeches, cutting ribbons
and attending other ceremonies.
In this, one of Slorc's most powerful and active men, Lt-Gen Khin
Nyunt has been given the secret name "Nan Khin Nyunt" -- Nan in
Burmese is "to kiss" -- as wherever he goes, he kisses babies. It
would not be surprising if Khin Nyunt became Chairman U Khin Nyunt
of the Union of Myanmar (Burma), as did his godfather, Ne Win. The
question is: Are Slorc's members doing their jobs? Are they in the
right places?
Sadly, the Burmese Tatmadaw of today is not what Gen Aung San
wanted, nor what the Burmese people need. The Tatmadaw was proud
of fighting the fascist Japanese in 1945, but, ironically, this
fascist manner has resurfaced in the present Tatmadaw.
The armed forces lacks meaningfulness. Is it protecting people or
harming them? Who is it serving? What is its job?
Certainly, reform is seriously needed in the Tatmadaw. Splits
within the army provide hope for Burmese people at home and
abroad. Some observers note that the military is divided into at
least three factions, with some high-ranking officers at
loggerheads. The uncertainty, however, is which group will gain
the favour of Burma's pro-democracy movement.
Actually, not all soldiers are bad. Within the Tatmadaw there are
groups of soldiers who are liberal and sympathetic to the
democracy movement. Some officers and soldiers understand the
dignity and glory of the military and what they are fighting for.
Young military officers, in particular, may begin to realise that
the Tatmadaw is just propping up Ne Win's third generation for its
own sake, and may wish to regain the trust and respect of the
people.
During the 1988 uprising, soldiers from the navy and air force
joined the protest against Ne Win's rule. Some from the army,
likewise, refused to shoot peaceful demonstrators. Recently, a
soldier wrote a letter to a dissident journal accusing the
military attache and his family at the Burmese embassy in the US
of being corrupt.
A s the internal conflicts intensify, the dogs of war may
eventually have a go at each other, but Burma nonetheless needs
democracy-minded soldiers who can distinguish between good and
bad.
"Find the closest enemy and fight," Gen Aung San said in a speech
at a military parade in March 1945. This message was directed at
those fighting against the Japanese. Even as Japanese officers
were being presented during the parade, Aung San used secret
messages to communicate to his soldiers -- and a few days later,
the "Japanese revolution" broke out.
Aung San's message may be meaningful again for soldiers today who
believe in change. They may try to find the real enemies of the
Tatmadaw, who jeopardise its image from inside. If they actually
realise that, there will be change in the Tatmadaw.