General/Strategic

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Source/publisher: Various sources via "BurmaNet News"
Date of entry/update: 2012-04-18
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: About 283,000 results (August 2017)
Source/publisher: Various sources via Youtube
Date of entry/update: 2017-08-24
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
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Description: With its Working Papers and Canberra Papers, SDSC has more or less cornered the market in analyses of Burma?s military. Studies by Andrew Selth, Des Ball and Maung Aung Myoe... The SDSC bookshop holds a full range of current SDSC publications in the Canberra Papers on Strategy and Defence series, SDSC Working Papers and a number of ?one-off? publications. [Full list here, with abstracts; many Burma-related papers]
Source/publisher: Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, ANU
Date of entry/update: 2010-12-10
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Source/publisher: CIA
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: "Desmond Ball is a professor at the Strategic Defence Studies Centre of The Australian National University, Canberra. He is author or editor of several books and papers on Burma, Asia-Pacific security issues, and nuclear strategy. His books include The Ties That Bind, Burma?s Military Secrets and most recently, The Boys in Black, about Thailand?s para-military border guards. He spoke to The Irrawaddy about ethnic insurgency and intelligence gathering in Burma and neighboring countries... Over the last few years, although the overall strength of the various resistance armies has decreased, the military successes have in fact increased"...
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 12, No. 6
2004-06-00
Date of entry/update: 2004-10-07
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: The lists of articles include some on Burma military during WWII
Source/publisher: military-info
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: Search for Burma. Subscription needed for most full articles
Source/publisher: Jane's
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
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Description: The military of Myanmar, officially known as Tatmadaw ... is the primary military organisation responsible for the territorial security and defense of Union of Myanmar. 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..."
Source/publisher: Wikipedia
Date of entry/update: 2007-10-08
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: "The Myanmar Army is the land component (army) of the Military of Myanmar, previously known as Burma. The Myanmar Army is the largest branch of the Armed Forces of Myanmar and has the primary responsibility of conducting land-based military operations. The Myanmar Army maintains the second largest active force in Southeast Asia. The Myanmar Army has a troop strength around 428,000. It is a completely voluntary service, the military draft never having been imposed in Myanmar. The army has rich combat experience in fighting insurgents in rough terrains, considering it has been conducting non-stop counter-insurgency operations against ethnic and political insurgents since its inception in 1948. The force is headed by the Commander in Chief (Army), currently Vice Senior General Maung Aye. The highest rank in the Myanmar Army is Senior General, equivalent to Field Marshal position in Western Armies and is currently held by Senior General Than Shwe. Defence budget of Myanmar Military is 7.07 billions US dollars..."
Source/publisher: Wikipedia
Date of entry/update: 2007-10-08
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Source/publisher: Federation of American Scientists
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: These pages contain order of battle information for the Burma Campaign, 1941-1945, historical details and other items of interest.
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: Various publications covering military issues.
Date of entry/update: 2010-12-10
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: Related articles and reports on this category in reverse date order from Network Myanmar.
Source/publisher: Network Myanmar
Date of entry/update: 2016-03-02
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Individual Documents

Sub-title: Tatmadaw is responsible for systemic persecution and violence and has compromised post-2015 election democracy and free market transition, says a UN report
Description: "The United Nations Human Rights Council, charged last year with investigating the Myanmar army’s (Tatmadaw) business empire as the biggest single corporate owner amid findings of abuses and war crimes in three states, presented a complex construct of domestic and investor ties to be rolled back and unwound altogether under diplomatic and commercial imperatives. The report focuses on widespread violations in Kachin, Shan and Rakhine states, the first two with longstanding independence movements in gem-producing regions, and the last the source of the 850,000 Rohingyas’ escape to Bangladesh after company-supported “cleansing operations” that may fit the universal genocide definition. Senior generals leading the two main Myanmar Economic Holdings (MEHL) and Cooperation (MEC) conglomerates are already under personal international sanctions and asset freezes, and the UN Council’s work, to be debated at the September General Assembly, is designed to reinforce the military’s isolation..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Asia Times"
2019-08-14
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Description: "In the wake of the 2016 and 2017 ?area clearance operations” against the Rohingya minority in Myanmar?s Rakhine State, this report explores the structure, training, and ethos of the Myanmar armed forces to clarify the implications and challenges of, as well as the prospects for, a solution and an accounting for past events. Drawing on an in-depth review of the literature, extensive field experience, and interviews, the report is produced by the Asia Center at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) as part of its effort to inform policy and strategies on managing violent conflict.... Conclusion: Myanmar has always posed very difficult challenges for the international community. For decades, successive governments in Rangoon and Naypyidaw have strongly resisted external pressures. Between 1988 and 2011, for example, public criticism, economic sanctions, and other punitive measures failed to change the core beliefs and key policies of the country?s military rulers. Indeed, such measures seemed only to antagonize the generals, encourage a bunker 38 USIP.ORG PEACEWORKS 140 mentality, and make those in power even more resistant to change.318 At times, policies of dialogue and engagement seemed to hold out greater promise, and some progress was made, but more often than not Naypyidaw took whatever inducements were on offer and continued to pursue its own agenda. The controlled democratization process that was launched in 2010, for example, faithfully follows a seven-step transition plan that was conceived by the Tatmadaw leadership fifteen years ago.319 Despite the advent of a quasi-democratic administration under Aung San Suu Kyi in 2016, there are no signs that this pattern will change in the foreseeable future. The pro-military constitution severely limits Aung San Suu Kyi?s freedom of action in key areas, notably those relating to Myanmar?s security. She also faces other constraints. However, she has demonstrated that, like the military officers who preceded her and still exercise influence over her government, she holds firmly to the nationalist position that Myanmar and Myanmar alone will decide what is best for the country and its people, according to its perceived interests and priorities at the time. She clearly does not feel an obligation to conform to her public image as a human rights icon, or to repay the debt that many in the international community seem to feel they are owed for her rehabilitation and subsequent elevation to the de facto leadership of the country. With regard to the Rohingyas in particular, domestic factors will always be of paramount concern to Myanmar?s civilian and military leaders, and at present there is no pressure from within the country to soften their uncompromising approach. Indeed, as the International Crisis Group has pointed out, there is currently a rare consensus between Aung San Suu Kyi, her government, the armed forces leadership, and the wider population that the Rohingya crisis continues to demand a very firm and consistent policy response. Given the Tatmadaw?s strength, and the government?s weakness, the popular mood can only harden Naypyidaw?s determination to decide its own agenda and timetable for any changes, regardless of external pressures. This position may come at a high price but, as so often in the past, it will be paid if that is seen to be the cost of preserving Myanmar?s stability, sovereignty, and independence.320 The international community can take a number of practical measures now to assist the refugees in Bangladesh and document the abuses perpetrated against them. It is possible that, at some stage, the Myanmar authorities may permit the delivery of adequate humanitarian assistance to those communities still suffering in Rakhine State. Several largely symbolic steps can also be taken to bring home to the Myanmar government, armed forces, and people the impact of recent developments on majority world opinion. However, unless there are significant shifts in attitude inside Myanmar, at all levels, a fair, durable, and long-term solution to the Rohingya crisis, let alone a formal, legal accounting for the events of the past eighteen months, will remain a distant prospect.
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Asia Center at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP)
2018-08-00
Date of entry/update: 2018-11-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 1.45 MB
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Description: "...There is no shortage of foreign governments, activist organisations and individuals claiming credit for the extraordinary events of the past five years: the paradigm shift that saw Myanmar?s armed forces (or Tatmadaw) step back and permit the creation of a hybrid civilian-military government; the launch of an unprecedented reform program; and the elections in 2015 that resulted in a landslide victory for the NLD. Despite some early scepticism about the Tatmadaw?s motives and the validity of President Thein Sein?s reforms, it is now accepted that Myanmar has undergone a remarkable transformation. There are still many difficult issues to be resolved, not least the continuing political role of the armed forces, economic problems, religious tensions and ethnic insurgencies, but the Myanmar of 2016 is a far cry from the Myanmar of 2011. Following the 1988 pro-democracy uprising, governments, international organisations, activist groups and others worked long and hard to achieve such an outcome. They threw much needed light on a country that had long been in darkness, and a population that had suffered for decades. Looking back, however, it is difficult to see any evidence that external factors contributed significantly to the evolution of a new era in Myanmar. The Myanmar people themselves deserve most of the credit for the transition and, like it or not, that includes the armed forces. It may seem a harsh judgement, but examined objectively it is hard to escape the conclusion that Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD are forming a new government this week largely because the generals have allowed them to do so, as part of a long term plan formulated by the former military regime..."
Creator/author: Andrew Selth
Source/publisher: "Lowy Interpreter"
2016-03-29
Date of entry/update: 2016-06-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "...The Art of War (Chinese: trad. 孫子兵法, simp. 孙子兵法, pinyin Sūnzǐ Bīngfǎ, lit. "Master Sun?s Rules for Army") was traditionally ascribed to Sun Tzu. It presents a philosophy of war for managing conflicts and winning battles. It is accepted as a masterpiece on strategy and is frequently cited and referred to by generals and theorists since it was first published, translated, and distributed internationally.[13] There are numerous theories concerning when the text was completed and concerning the identity of the author or authors, but archeological recoveries have proven that The Art of War had achieved roughly its current form by at least the early Han.[14] Because it is impossible to prove definitively when the Art of War was completed before this date, the differing theories concerning the work?s author or authors and date of completion are unlikely to ever be completely resolved.[15] Some modern scholars believe that it contains not only the thoughts of its original author but also commentary and clarifications from later military theorists, such as Li Quan and Du Mu. Of the military texts written before the unification of China and Shi Huangdi?s subsequent book burning in the second century BC, six major works have survived. During the much later Song dynasty, these six works were combined with a Tang text into a collection called the Seven Military Classics. As a central part of that compilation, The Art of War formed the foundations of orthodox military theory in early modern China. Illustrating this point, the book was required reading to pass the tests needed for imperial appointment to military positions.[16]..."
Creator/author: Sun Tsu
Source/publisher: Internet (Akasha)
Date of entry/update: 2015-03-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 99.16 KB 1.73 MB
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Description: In Burma soll es k?nftig ein Gesetz geben, wonach M?nner und Frauen unter Strafandrohung zum Wehrdienst einberufen werden k?nnen. Wehrdienstverweigerern droht nach der neuen Regelung eine Haftstrafe von bis zu f?nf Jahren.
Source/publisher: NZZ Online
2011-01-10
Date of entry/update: 2011-01-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Deutsch, German
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Description: The federal government was attempting to gloss over the involvement of the Burmese leadership in the country?s drug trade by using fine semantic distinctions, according to ANU defence strategist, Professor Desmond Ball.
Creator/author: Tania Cutting
Source/publisher: ANU Reporter
1999-08-04
Date of entry/update: 2010-12-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: FOR WELL OVER A DECADE, the world has been calling on Burma?s military dictatorship to hand over power to the civilians who won the country?s last general election in 1990. For years, the generals have responded with promises of democratic progress and then done nothing despite protests at home, pleas from their neighbours, condemnation by the international community and sanctions from the United States and the European Union.
Creator/author: Bertil Lintner
Source/publisher: Asia Pacafic Media Services Limited
1999-09-02
Date of entry/update: 2010-12-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "It is always difficult to know what is happening inside Burma, and in particular inside the armed forces (known locally as the Tatmadaw). There are signs, however, that the military government?s power base is weakening. The regime is not likely to fall any time soon, but this development has implications for Burma?s future stability and possibly even the regime?s long term survival..."
Creator/author: Andrew Selth
Source/publisher: "The Interpreter" - weblog of the Lowy Institute for International Policy
2008-06-06
Date of entry/update: 2010-12-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Evidence of close ties between the armed forces and defence industries of Myanmar and Pakistan has led to concerns over the region?s future stability.
Creator/author: William Ashton
Source/publisher: Jane?s Intelligence Review
2000-06-01
Date of entry/update: 2010-12-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : html
Size: 17.51 KB
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Description: "This paper examines repression and state?society conflict in Burma through the lens of rural and urban resistance strategies. It explores networks of noncompliance through which civilians evade and undermine state control over their lives, showing that the military regime?s brutal tactics represent not control, but a lack of control. Outside agencies ignore this state?society struggle over sovereignty at their peril: ignoring the interplay of interventions with local politics and militarisation, and claiming a ?humanitarian neutrality? which is impossible in practice, risks undermining the very civilians interventions are supposed to help, while facilitating further state repression. Greater honesty and awareness in interventions is required, combined with greater solidarity with villagers? resistance strategies."... Keywords: peasant resistance; humanitarian policy; Karen; Kayin; Burma; Myanmar
Creator/author: Kevin Malseed
Source/publisher: "Journal of Peasant Studies" (originally published by Yale Agrarian Studies Colloquium, 2008-04-25 and Karen Human Rights Group, 2008-11-10)
2009-07-22
Date of entry/update: 2009-11-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 203.29 KB
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Description: Burmese generals have long sought to defend themselves from imagined external threats, masking their intense paranoia with a military shield... "ARMED ethnic insurgents pose little threat nowadays to the Burmese regime, but that doesn?t deter the generals in Naypyidaw from continually strengthening their military capacity and spending the country?s precious foreign reserves on more sophisticated weapons, such as jet fighters, an air defense system, naval ships and short and medium-range missiles. Analysts generally agree that the junta?s modern military arsenal is ill-suited for combating guerilla warfare in a mountainous jungle, but is more realistically intended as a defensive shield against an external threat...Nowadays, in almost every speech to commanders and soldiers, the army leaders - including Than Shwe - remind them of the need for a people?s war and to nurture the support of the masses. Than Shwe?s call is for a "people?s war under modern conditions," wrote Maung Aung Myoe. Interestingly, under Than Shwe?s people?s war, the concept of cyber warfare has also been launched. In 1998, the Tatmadaw held its first joint military exercises of the navy, the air force and the army to introduce counteroffensive strategies to the existing people?s war doctrine. During these exercises, the fire brigade, the Myanmar Red Cross and the Union Solidarity Development Association were mobilized. "The exercises," Maung Aung Myoe wrote, "revealed that the purpose of such a counteroffensive was to counter low-level foreign invasion." According to the author, the new doctrine developed under the regime dictates that, should the standing conventional force fail to defeat an invading force on the beachheads or landing zones, resistance would be organized at the village, regional and national levels to sap the will of the invading force. When the enemy?s will is sapped and its capabilities are dispersed and exhausted, the Burmese army would be able to muster sufficient force to wage a counteroffensive that would drive the invader from Burma..."
Creator/author: Aung Zaw
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 17, No. 2
2009-04-00
Date of entry/update: 2009-04-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "The demonstrations in Burma last August and September — dubbed the ‘saffron revolution? due to the participation of many Buddhist monks — were initially spontaneous reactions to unexpected fuel price increases and the military government?s mistreatment of a few dissident monks. The demonstrations quickly developed, however, into an organised national protest against the regime?s brutal and inept rule. Since then, however, the international effort to resolve the crisis in Burma has run into the sand. Indeed, the unprecedented level of attention given to this issue last year, while clearly warranted at the time, may have achieved precisely the opposite of what was intended..."
Creator/author: Andrew Selth
Source/publisher: "The Interpreter" - weblog of the Lowy Institute for International Policy
2008-04-07
Date of entry/update: 2009-03-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Executive Summary: For 15 years, there has been a steady stream of newspaper stories, scholarly monographs and books that have referred inter alia to the existence of Chinese military bases in Burma. This apparent intrusion by China into the northern Indian Ocean has strongly influenced the strategic perceptions and policies of Burma?s regional neighbours, notably India. Reports of a large signals intelligence collection station on Great Coco Island in the Andaman Sea, for example, and a naval base on Hainggyi Island in the Irrawaddy River delta, have been cited as evidence that Burma has become a client state of China. Other observers have seen the existence of such bases as proof of China?s expansionist designs in the Indian Ocean region and its global ambitions. Few of these reports drew on hard evidence or gave verifiable sources to support their claims, but repeated denials of a Chinese military presence in Burma by Rangoon and Beijing were brushed aside. As these reports proliferated, they were picked up by respected commentators and academics and given fresh life in serious studies of the regional strategic environment. Each time they were cited in books and reputable journals they gained credibility, and it was not long before the existence of Chinese bases in Burma was widely accepted as an established fact. In 2005, however, the Chairman of the Indian Defence Force?s Chiefs of Staff Committee conceded that reports of a Chinese intelligence facility on one of Burma?s offshore islands were incorrect. At the same time, he announced that there were no Chinese naval bases in Burma. There are a number of possible explanations for these statements, but this remarkable about-face, on two issues that have preoccupied Indian defence planners for more than a decade, must throw doubt on the claims of other ?Chinese bases? in Burma. It also raises a number of serious questions about current analyses of China?s relations with Burma, and of China?s strategic interests in the northern Indian Ocean region. It is possible to identify three schools of thought regarding China?s relations with Burma. The ?domination? school believes that Burma has become a pawn in China?s strategic designs in the Asia–Pacific region, and is host to several Chinese military facilities. The ?partnership? school sees a more balanced relationship developing between Beijing and Rangoon, but accepts that China has acquired bases in Burma as part of a long term strategy to establish a permanent military presence in the Indian Ocean. The ?rejectionist? school, however, emphasises Burma?s strong tradition of independence and Rangoon?s continuing suspicions of Beijing. This school claims that, despite the conventional wisdom, Burma has been able to resist the enormous strategic weight of its larger, more powerful neighbour. Some members of this school argue that Burma has the whip hand in its relations with China, and has been able successfully to manipulate Burma?s sensitive geostrategic position to considerable advantage. While acknowledging the close bilateral ties that have developed since 1988, they are sceptical of claims that China has any military bases in Burma.
Creator/author: Andrew Selth
Source/publisher: Griffith Asia Institute
2007-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2007-05-31
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: How a single news agency report led to the accepted belief that China has a sophisticated intelligence post in Burmese waters For almost 15 years, there has been a steady stream of newspaper stories, scholarly monographs and books that have referred inter alia to a large Chinese signals intelligence (SIGINT) station on Burma?s Great Coco Island, in the Andaman Sea. Yet it would now appear that there is no such base on this island, nor ever has been. The explosion of this myth highlights the dearth of reliable information about strategic developments in Burma since the creation of the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) in 1988.
Creator/author: Andrew Selth
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 15, No. 1
2007-01-00
Date of entry/update: 2006-12-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: From its modest origins in the years following independence from Britain, Burma?s Tatmadaw has pushed in recent years to modernize and expand - and to further secure the power of the country?s ruling generals... "Burma"shotgun" diplomacy with respect to domestic matters. Since the failed democratic uprising in 1988 and the present regime?s seizure of power, Burma?s armed forces have steadily increased in size and sophistication, an expansion that has always been justified by appeals to national unity and independence. Put another way, Burma?s military growth has been fueled by appealing to the fears of internal or external disruptions..."
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 14, No3
2006-03-00
Date of entry/update: 2006-05-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: The junta?s inaction leaves Rangoon open to further attacks... "Absorbing the siege mentality that forms part of everyday life in Burma?s capital does not usually take a long time. Rangoon epitomizes military dictatorship: Barbed wire stretches along the walls of most residences, army jeeps and personnel carriers mingle with civilian traffic and guards cradle automatic weapons on street corners. Burma?s armed forces seem constantly on red alert. But when Rangoon suffered its worst terrorist act since independence, with official figures claiming 23 fatalities and more than 160 wounded, many in Burma felt the Tatmadaw, the country?s military forces, was left wanting. Sources in Rangoon say that instead of engaging with its own people, the private sector and the expatriate community to safeguard the country after May 7, the junta has resorted to haphazard security measures designed mainly to serve its own interests and thereby leaving the country open to further attack..."
Creator/author: Clive Parker
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 13, No. 6
2005-06-00
Date of entry/update: 2006-04-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "The early days of the Burmese military provide important clues to how it views society, progress and itself...Mary Callahan?s remarkable book, Making Enemies, is the closest study yet to reveal why the modern Tatmadaw has pursued violent state-building strategies, creating a huge gulf between itself as an institution and the society it purports to protect. Callahan explores just how these brutal, inept, and intellectually bankrupt elite can maintain such enduring military rule, by uncovering their growth as an institution and the creation of a Tatmadaw ?ideology? in the 1950s. The military has gradually come to view all of society as ?potential enemies? in its drive to mold the nation in its image and preserve the sovereignty of the state..."
Creator/author: David Scott Mathieson
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 12, No. 5
2004-05-00
Date of entry/update: 2004-08-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Free access not available anymore! The document needs to be purchased. Foreword: "An intellectual ?tectonic shift? is underway, making a precarious policy even harder to justify. This rather unusual issue of the NBR Analysis does not stem from an NBR-sponsored project or study. Instead, it emerged as an initiative from an extraordinary assemblage of Burma scholars, all of whom regard last year?s announcement of a ?road map? for constitutional change, the ongoing progress toward cease-fires with ethnic insurgents, and the worsening impact of sanctions on the general populace, as an opportunity to re-examine U.S. relations with Burma. Recognizing that the current situation may be conducive to taking a fresh perspective, and noting the significance of so many top Burma specialists reaching similar conclusions and working together, we decided to publish their essays. The scholars in this volume represent a range of perspectives. What is especially notable is that they collaborated in this enterprise and concur that the U.S. policy of sanctions is not achieving its worthy objective—progress toward constitutional change and democratization in Burma. Moreover, as some of these authors argue, viewing U.S.-Burma relations solely through this lens, important as it is, may be harming other U.S. strategic interests in Southeast Asia, both in terms of the ongoing war against terrorism and long-term objectives regarding the United States? role as a regional security guarantor. The desperate humanitarian situation in the country, as detailed in many of these essays, and concerns about possible WMD-related activities only underscore the importance of looking at this issue again. U.S. policymakers in particular ought to consider whether it is now appropriate to take a more realistic, engaged approach, while easing restrictions on humanitarian assistance, programs to build civil society, and the forces of globalization that are needed for the Burmese peoples? socio-economic progress and solid transition to civilian government and democracy..." Richard J. Ellings, President, The National Bureau of Asian Research... "Strategic Interests in Myanmar" - John H. Badgley; "Myanmar?s Political Future: Is Waiting for the Perfect the Enemy of Doing the Possible?" - Robert H. Taylor; "Burma/Myanmar: A Guide for the Perplexed?" - David I. Steinberg; "King Solomon?s Judgment" - Helen James; "The Role of Minorities in the Transitional Process" - Seng Raw; "Will Western Sanctions Bring Down the House?" - Kyaw Yin Hlaing; "The Crisis in Burma/Myanmar: Foreign Aid as a Tool for Democratization" - Morten B. Pedersen;
Creator/author: John H. Badgley (Ed.); Robert H. Taylor, David I. Steinberg, Helen James, Seng Raw, Kyaw Yin Hlaing, Morten B. Pedersen
Source/publisher: "NBR Analysis" Vol.15, No. 1, March 2004 (The National Bureau of Asia Research)
2004-03-03
Date of entry/update: 2004-02-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: A Burma scholar traverses the history of Burma?s armed forces, its reasons for expansion and the complications facing the country?s most dominant institution... The Burma Army possibly has the worst press in Asia. Vilified as a regime of inept thugs who cosy up to drug dealers, whose foot soldiers perpetrate murder and rape on a major scale, who flesh out their ranks with children and waste money on planes that don?t fly at the expense of health and education, it would be hard to make them look good. Andrew Selth, the preeminent expert on the Burmese armed forces, the Tatmadaw, doesn?t attempt to improve their image, but he does provide the reader with a more in-depth perspective on this much-maligned organization. His book, Burma?s Armed Forces: Power Without Glory, provides a detailed study of the Tatmadaw, its dramatic expansion during the 1990s, and the ideological and practical impulses for its repressive behavior. It represents the most serious and erudite analysis of the Tatmadaw since its formation in the 1940s.
Creator/author: David Scott Mathieson
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 11, No. 7
2003-09-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-11-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "...La plupart des signes d'alerte précoce d'une déstabilisation radicale sont présents en Birmanie. Ils comprennent le déclin de l'économie, des dépenses disproportionnées pour la défense, une armée surdimensionnée et peu disciplinée, des violations généralisées des droits de l'Homme, l'accroissement de la polarisation des revenus, la dégradation de l'environnement et la guerre civile. La décision des dirigeants de l'armée en 1988 de rechercher des solutions militaires aux problèmes politiques, d'abandonner la tentative de gouverner en équilibrant les forces intérieures du pays et de chercher à la place des soutiens militaires et financiers de l'extérieur pour imposer leur ordre au peuple birman, a mal tourné. Les rentrées financières attendues ne se sont pas matérialisées. Après avoir liquidé les actifs disponibles de façon immédiate et après avoir échoué dans ses projets économiques tels que les exportations de riz et l'Année du Tourisme, le Slorc est à nouveau proche de l'insolvabilité. Si le Slorc ne peut pas écarter l'option militaire prise en 1988 et s'engager dans d'authentiques négociations tripartites avec l'opposition politique et avec les organisations des groupes d'ethnie non-birmane et demander ensemble une assistance internationale, une nouvelle détérioration économique et une déstabilisation aggravée semblent probables. Un scénario pourrait être une désintégration générale du pays en une mosaïque de seigneurs de la guerre et de troupes ethniques rebelles, en étendant le système déjà pratiqué dans les territoires frontaliers. Les implications de ce scénario doivent être prises au sérieux par le Tatmadaw, qui prétend maintenir l'unité nationale, mais aussi par les voisins de la Birmanie et par la communauté internationale."
Creator/author: David Arnott
Source/publisher: Relations Internationales & Stratégiques No. 27, Automne 1997.
1997-09-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-08-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: French, Francais
Format : pdf
Size: 118.9 KB
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Description: "This report looks at the armies of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) military junta ruling Burma and the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), a Karen group allied with the SPDC, through the eyes of their own soldiers who have fled: the recruitment, the training, life in the battalions, relations with villagers and other groups, and their views on Burma?s present and future situation. What we find, particularly in the SPDC?s ‘Tatmadaw? (Army), is conscription and coercion of children, systematic physical and psychological abuse by the officers, endemic corruption, and the rank and file of an entire Army forced into a system of brutality toward civilians. According to Tatmadaw deserters, one third or more of SPDC soldiers are children, morale among the rank and file is almost nonexistent, and half or more of the Army would desert if they thought they could survive the attempt. The Tatmadaw has expanded rapidly since repression of the democracy movement and the creation of the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC, former name of the SPDC) in 1988. The Armed Forces as a whole have expanded from an estimated strength of 180,000 to over 400,000, making it the second-largest military in Southeast Asia after Vietnam. Military camps and soldiers are now common all over Burma, especially in the non-Burman ethnic states and divisions. With this increased military presence has come a rise in the scale of abuses and corruption committed by the Army. To achieve this military expansion, children as young as nine or ten are taken into the Army, trained and sent to frontline battalions. Of the six SPDC deserters interviewed for this report, five were under the age of 17 when they joined the Tatmadaw..." The SPDC and DKBA Armies through the Eyes of their Soldiers.Symbolically released on the SPDC?s ?Armed Forces Day?, this report uses the testimony of former SPDC soldiers to document the deteriorating situation in the ever-expanding Army: the conscription and coercion of 13-17 year old children who now make up as much as 30% of the rank and file, the corruption of the officers and their brutal treatment of their own soldiers, the systematic abuse and exploitation of the civilian population, and the crumbling morale, desertions and suicides. Also looks at the declining relevance of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) as the command structure weakens and units are left to pursue black market businesses to support themselves.
Source/publisher: Karen Human Rights Group Regional & Thematic Reports (KHRG #2001-01)
2001-03-27
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: An American doctor recalls his encounters with the Burmese army in the years before it seized power... Keith Dahlberg is a retired physician. This article is based on his experiences as mission doctor in Burma from 1957 to 1962. The conclusion is an excerpt from his novel, Flame Tree, based on more recent visits to Burma."
Creator/author: Keith Dahlberg. M.D.
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy", Vol 9. No. 8, October-November 2001
2001-11-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: A coalition of social activists is scheduled to meet in Nepal next week to discuss ways to enact a global ban on the use of children as soldiers. The activists say the use of children in armed conflicts is widespread in Asia. As VOA correspondent Gary Thomas reports from Bangkok, they also say it is not just rebel opposition groups that indulge in the practice.
Creator/author: Gary Thomas, Bangkok
Source/publisher: Voice of America
2000-05-10
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Creator/author: Mary Callahan
Source/publisher: "Burma Debate", Vol. IV, No. 3
1997-08-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 1.67 MB
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Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Research Pages
2006-06-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "The Western democracies have declared that their strong stances against the current military regime in Burma reflect principled stands against the 1988 massacres of pro-democracy demonstrators, the failure of the regime to recognize the results of the 1990 general elections (which resulted in a landslide victory for the main opposition parties), and the regime?s continuing human rights abuses. Yet it can be argued that such a strong and sustained position would have been less likely had the Cold War not ended and Burma?s importance in the global competition between the superpowers not significantly waned. Lacking any pressing strategic or military reason to cultivate Burma, and with few direct political or economic interests at stake, countries like the United States and the United Kingdom can afford to isolate the Rangoon regime and impose upon it pariah status. If this was indeed the calculation made in the late 1980s and early 1990s, it is possible that the changes that have occurred in the strategic environment since then may prompt a reconsideration of these policies. Burma lies where South, Southeast, and East Asia meet; there the dominant cultures of these three subregions compete for influence. It lies also across the ?fault lines? between three major civilisations?Hindu, Buddhist, and Confucian.1 At critical times in the past, Burma has been a cockpit for rivalry between superpowers. Today, in the fluid strategic environment of the early twenty-first century, its important position is once again attracting attention from analysts, officials, and military planners. Already, Burma?s close relationship with China and the development of the Burmese armed forces have reminded South and Southeast Asian countries, at least, of Burma?s geostrategic importance and prompted a markedly different approach from that of the West..." The PDF version (222K) has a map and a 4-page presentation of Burma's geostrategic position not contained in the html version.
Creator/author: Andrew Selth
Source/publisher: Naval War College Review, Spring 2002, Vol. LV, No. 2
2002-04-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 225.59 KB
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Description: William Ashton examines the expansion of Burma?s armed forces, concluding that the regime may well become one of the best-equipped in Southeast Asia.
Creator/author: William Ashton
Source/publisher: Jane?s Intelligence Review
1998-11-01
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : html
Size: 25.43 KB
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Description: Two delegations of engineers from China?s armed forces recently met with Burmese military officers at a navy base in Tenasserim Division from May 2 to 5, according to a report from Radio Free Asia. The meetings focused on the construction of two bases in the area with assistance from the Chinese Navy and Air Forces
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 8. No. 4-5
2000-04-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Interview. As a student activist and supporter of the independence movement, Colonel Chit Myaing served his country for nearly 34 years. A member of the Thamani Tat, the military wing of the All Burma Students? Union in 1941, he later joined the Burma Independence Army under General Aung San and fought in the anti-Japanese campaign. He never planned to remain a soldier after the war, but nonetheless stayed on in the military at the personal urging of Aung San. From 1946 to 1958, Colonel Chit Myaing was engaged in numerous anti-insurgency operations, serving as a brigade commander in Southern and Central Burma, Wa and Kachin States. Under the Caretaker Government of 1958-1960 he was given charge of the Ministry of Immigration, National Registration and Census by Ne Win and following the military coup d?etat in 1962, was named a member of the ruling Revolutionary Council. He was appointed minister for trade and industry in 1963 and retired from the army after 25 years of service in 1967. Colonel Chit Myaing was later named ambassador to Yugoslavia and then moved to London as Burma?s ambassador to the Court of St. James. He currently lives in the United States.
Source/publisher: "Burma Debate", Vol. IV, No. 3
1997-08-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 1.67 MB
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Description: Defections in 1988. Two soldiers discuss their decision to leave an army that went too far.
Creator/author: Aung Zaw
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 8, No.8
2000-08-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: The inner workings of the Tatmadaw
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 8 No.3
2000-03-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "The Chinese sage Sun Tsu says in The Art of War that "The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting". In its conduct of the civil war SLORC (State Law and Order Restoration Council, the martial law administration ruling Burma), is currently using Low Intensity Conflict strategies which avoid major military confrontation, but are designed to force a "political" (read "politico-military") settlement on the ethnic opposition and divide them from the political opposition. These strategies are closely tied to SLORC's attempts to acquire constitutional "legitimacy" by means of a National Convention, and are aided by the pressure which Burma's neighbors are putting on the non-burman ethnic groups to sign cease-fires. But no lasting solution to the country's problems will be achieved until the three main actors -- the military, the political opposition and the ethnic opposition -- meet on a basis of equality and with a strong political will to achieve national reconciliation and the restoration of democracy. The politico-military devices described in this paper must therefore be seen as measures by SLORC to retain power, reverse international criticism, especially at the UN General Assembly and the Commission on Human Rights, and attract foreign investment and development assistance..."
Creator/author: David Arnott
Source/publisher: Burma Peace Foundation
1993-06-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : htm
Size: 54.75 KB
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Description: "...The phenomenon of child soldiers in Burma can only be understood within the context of militarization of the society as a whole. War in Burma has affected every segment of society, its fallout having severest repercussions for the most disadvantaged groups. The political instability engendered by civil war has left the country in economic crisis and has isolated rural conflict areas from receiving badly-needed development assistance. NGO activities have been severely curtailed, mitigating most attempts to correct the situation. Consequently, many children in Burma are living in grinding poverty, uneducated and in poor health, with under-age labour one of their few choices to make ends meet. The everpresent reality of armed conflict is also deeply embedded in the consciousness of all Burma's peoples. With 36% of all Burma's inhabitants under the age of l5,1 most of the country's population have grown up under the shadow of civil war. The rapid expansion of the armed forces since 1988 has both forced and encouraged recruitment of minors into the ranks. Army entrance is sometimes perceived by children, especially orphans, as offering a protective haven from hunger and abuse. Many children therefore see joining the armed forces of any of the warring parties as their only means of survival. Unfortunately, research suggests that they are likely to find it just the opposite. While Burma has acceded to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, as yet there is little indication that its provisions are being followed in good faith, or that recruitment of children into the Tatmadaw has decreased..."
Source/publisher: Images Asia, Thailand
1997-06-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 513.29 KB
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Description: "The Burmese military's linked objectives, expanded military control of the country and large-scale international investment to pay for it, are mutually incompatible. Following their suppression of the 1988 Democracy Movement, the generals decided to increase the size of the armed forces from 186,000 to 500,000 in order to have a permanent military presence in most parts of the country. This involved up to US$2 billion of arms imports, mainly from China, a large recruitment drive and a reordering of the military command structure. Lacking the necessary funds to pay for military expansion following the failure of the previous regime's economic autarchy (and/or seeking a credible source of income to launder the revenues from Burma's illegal exports, mainly heroin), the junta opened the country to international investment, but the increased militarisation of the state and the military's continued stranglehold on the main sectors of the economy impeded the economic liberalisation and institutional reform needed by investors. In the civil war, the enhanced capacity of the re-armed and enlarged Burma Army allowed it to move from a strategy of seasonal combat to one of occupation. However, lack of discipline and the low level of soldiers' pay have led to the army living off the land, destroying the local economy, carrying out massive violations of human rights, further alienating the local population and creating refugee flows to neighbouring countries. The combination of a sinking economy, a large, badly-paid army and a tradition of warlordism could lead to a break-up of the country into a number of fiefdoms run by regional commanders and ethnic chiefs. Such a scenario should be taken seriously by the Tatmadaw, the neighbours and the international community..." Published in French as "La destruction de l'economie birmane par les militaires" though it was originally written in English with the title "Once the Ricebowl of Asia".
Creator/author: David Arnott
Source/publisher: Relations Internationales & Strategiques No. 27, Automne 1997.
1997-09-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : htm
Size: 52.47 KB
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Description: March 27 marked the fifty-third anniversary of the "Japanese revolution" declared by Gen. Aung San, Burma?s independence hero and founder of the Tatmadaw, or armed forces.
Creator/author: By LJN
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 6, No. 2
1998-04-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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