19th Anniversary of Military coup 

Dr San Oo Aung

This is the 19th anniversary of the Myanmar Tatmadaw’s illegal coup and took the   power from the 8888 people’s revolution and my heart choked when I think about our fallen unsung heroes, the thousands of civilians who were killed by the Myanmar Tatmadaw soldier’s gunfire. I also remember, with the heavy heart, the few hundred thousands of ordinary Burmese citizens who rallied for the change of dictatorship governments and to restore democracy in our beloved country.

After resigning in disgrace, General Ne Win appointed Sein Lwin to be his successor. Sein Lwin was a butcher, illiterate, 6th Standard dropped out, notorious since 1962 when he dynamited the Students’ Union Building in Rangoon University and killed hundreds of students in the building. Sein Lwin was forced to resign by the protesters and Dr Maung Maung, another Ne Win’s handpicked person took over.

During the protests, violent lootings and atrocities incited by the government and the dissolution of security within major cities sadly happened. Loss of civil order, lawlessness and break down of Law and Order was created by rebel rousers and agent provocateurs to create anarchy and fear amongst people. The use of agent provocateurs is a tactic used by security forces all over the world and well documented and well known. If it can be shown that the activists are violent, it’s easy to turn public opinion against them. And also, the resulting violence brought about by these agent provocateurs of governments gives the excuse to security forces to arrest the opposition leaders naming as ring leaders or aggressors subverting the peace of the nation or even unfairly accused as terrorists.

The Burmese Armed Forces and Military Intelligence had created and got the perfect opportunity to stage a coup by using that stage show of violence they had directed and acted. There were a lot of bloodsheds when military shot randomly and indiscriminately at the people demonstrating peacefully or even the military vehicles drive by the Rangoon down town, trigger happily shooting and one or any movement of even shades during the curfew even in the broad daylight. General Saw Maung led Myanmar Military tried ruthlessly to crush opposition and the civilians. LID 22 was used in suppressing many uprising such as this 1988 uprising.

The coup was led by Defense Minister Saw Maung, and most of the people believed that Ne Win was behind all of this. The State law and Order Restoration Council or SLORC was formed when the Burmese armed forces, commanded by General Saw Maung later self-promoted to ‘Senior General’ Saw Maung, seized power on 18 September 1988 crushing the 8888 uprising. On the day it seized power SLORC issued Order No.1/1988 stating that the Armed Forces had taken over power and announced the formation of the SLORC. With Order No. 2/1988, the SLORC abolished all ‘Organs of State Power’ that were formed under the 1974 Burmese Constitution. The Pyithu Hluttaw (the Legislature under the 1974 Constitution), the Council of Ministers (the Cabinet), the Council of People’s Justices (the Judiciary), the Council of People’s Attorneys (the ‘Attorney-General Office’), the Council of People’s Inspectors (the ‘Auditor-General Office’), as well as the State/Division, Township, Ward/Village People’s Councils were abolished. The regime has been accused of brutal persecutions of minority ethnic groups, opposition groups, students and human-rights activists.

On the 1989 July 19th Martyr’s day, Daw Suu called for marching to martyr mausoleum and the army was ready for confrontation and ready to repeat the bloodshed of 8888 or the 1988 uprising and there would definitely be bloodshed. But this was just a year after the 1988 uprising and army was still regrouping from the shock they received from 1988 uprising. Burmese people were still angry and the previous year’s army’s brutal shoot to kill policy was fresh in their minds and if the army decided to shoot there would be bloodshed but this confrontation could lead to another uprising and downfall of the generals. But Daw Suu called off the march. Although Daw Suu was ready to sacrifice herself, she was not willing to sacrifice her fellow citizens.

SLORC declares martial law, arrests thousands of people, including advocates of democracy and human rights, renames Burma Myanmar, with the capital, Rangoon, becoming Yangon. NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the daughter of Aung San, is put under house arrest. General Saw Maung, as the leader of State law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), promised to hold a free election in 1990. Numerous political parties were allowed to form and to contest in the election. The National League for Democracy (NLD) party led by Daw Aung San Su Kyi, and the National Unity Party (NUP), formed by ex-BSPP or Burma Socialist Program Party of General Ne Win, were seem to be most strongest. Although NLD won a landslide victory, SLORC refused to allow them to rule the country. It is widely believed that because General Saw Maung wish to keep his promise and transfer power to the winning party NLD, the hardliners in the military leaded by General Than Shwe staged a palace coup and forced General Saw Maung to retire in April 1992.

People believed that the mastermind was General Ne Win’s daughter Maj Sandar Win, backed by MI Chief General Khin Nyunt. It is rumored that Sandar Win even shot Saw Maung  and was wounded on the thigh. Later Saw Maung was rumored to be given Hallucinant injections, declared mad and forced to retired for ‘health’ reason. On 15 November 1997, SLORC changed its name to the State Peace and Development Council or SPDC became the official name of the military regime of Myanmar/Burma. It continues to seize power by force instead of honoring the free and fair election of 1990. SLORC and later renamed SPDC Military Junta Generals twisted their tongues and shamelessly gave this lame excuses repeatedly that the elections had been done to elect delegates for a national convention to rewrite the constitution.

The Burmese military practiced the Four Cuts system in fighting the rebels. This Four Cut strategy is to encircle the enemy and cut off supplies, support and the people aiding the rebels and close the circle slowly. After applying the military Four Cuts on the battlefield successfully, Burmese generals are applying the same techniques as Political 4 cuts strategy on the Opposition.

They control the population by planting informers and requiring the public to register any visitors to any localities, houses, hotels or anywhere. There are not less than 100,000 informers in addition to various military, police, special branch intelligence personals working over and underground, inside Myanmar and abroad. So Military Junta effectively imposed a fear factor of being watched or reported in the peoples mind.

SPDC formed the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) and Swan Arrshin, the grass roots organizations to check, control and intimidate the whole Burmese population. According to official accounts there are 22 million members at the USDA organization. Burma’s population is only 55 millions. Than Shwe is the patron for USDA. 

Than Shwe allowed the ICRC and AI to make visits to Myanmar but severe restrictions on the procedures diminished the activities of the Red Cross. Red Cross representatives are for example no longer allowed into prisons unescorted, making the prisoners scared to complaint.

Than Shwe has continued the suppression of the free press in Myanmar, and has ordered the detention of all the opposing journalists. While he released Daw Aung San Suu Kyi during the late 1990s, he ordered her to be rearrested in 2003. Despite his relaxation of some restrictions on Myanmar’s economy, his economic policies were ill-planned and infested with red tapes allowing corruption. And changed the rules and regulations frequently, effectively making the long term investment plan impossible.

S2 Tin Oo died from helicopter crash. Before, there was a bomb explosion that killed his daughter. Khin Nyunt consolidated his power and acted much like a free agent within SPDC only because he received a strong support from Ne Win.

In Depayin, government affiliated thugs, USDA and Swan Arrshins, attacked Daw Aung San Suu Kyi;s convoy and nearly killed her. Lieutenant General Soe Win who has close ties to Than Shwe was the field commander of that attack. He was responsible for the Depayin massacre as a leader of the Union Solidarity and Development Association as well as Than Shwe, who is the patron. He had also commanded an infantry division which crushed the NLD after its victory in national elections. He succeeded Khin Nyunt as prime minister in 2004.

Than Shwe promoted Khin Nyunt to Prime Minister and later announced their Seven steps roadmap for Democracy to cool the anger of the world, Burmese people  and to buy time for their continuous rule. In 2004 October, Khin Nyunt was removed from the prime minister-ship and placed under house arrest. Depayin Soe Win  succeeded Khin Nyunt as prime minister. In 2004 November, some opposition leaders are freed including Min Ko Naing, who led the 1988 pro-democracy student demonstrations.

But in 2004 December, Sunami Giant waves, hit the coast of Burma and Thailand. SPDC ignored the plight of the refugees by downplaying the number of death and amount of damaged properties. Military Junta even ignored the thousands of death Burmese emigrants in Thailand.

In 2005 7 May, three near-simultaneous explosions go off in shopping districts in the capital; the government puts the death toll at 23. Believed to be committed by disgruntled ex-MI agents cunning military junta tried to blame oppositions.

In 2005 November, SPDC announced that their government is moving to a new site near the central town of Pyinmana, Naypyidaw. SPDC waste a lot of people’s money to build that new white elephant. Than Shwe toured to May Myo or Pyin Oo Lwin Township, Mandalay Division, included a visit to Yadanabon Myothit, that is currently under construction and widely believed to be another major administrative center for the military government.

In 2007 April, Myanmar SPDC and North Korea restore diplomatic ties. SPDC betrayed the sacrifices of its falling soldiers who captured the North Korean agents who bombed the visiting South Korean president at our sacred martyred mausoleum of Bogyoke Aung San.

In 2007 August, hundreds of activists and 88 Generation student leaders are arrested after the waves of public protests sparked by fuel price hikes. Our hated junta will celebrate their disgraceful anniversary of 19 years in power. Their 19 long years of poisonous malicious rule of the illegal junta’s criminal record is quite obvious and well documented.  They came to power by killing thousands of innocent pro-democracy demonstrators and jailing tens of thousands of activists; many were tortured to death at the hands of military intelligence interrogators, many died from inhumane conditions in jail and many were crippled for life. And during all their 19 long years Junta Generals committed crimes of corruptions, crimes of forced labor, crimes of genocide or attempted genocide. They are also guilty of cheating; they held an election but blatantly ignored its results. And now they had drawn up an illegitimate pro-military constitution, for their permanent dominance. There is an endless list of Junta’s all sorts of crimes e.g. protecting and cooperating with the drug war lords in production and exporting to neighboring countries. Using rape as a weapon on ethnic minorities for ethnic cleansing. Suppressing, oppressing, discriminating and persecution of minority religious groups. Inciting racial and religious riots to cover-up their failures in economy, inflation and people’s discontent.

Just read the following links_

THREAT TO THE PEACE, Support the Call for UN Security Council Action on Burma! http://www.unscburma.org/ a report commissioned by Vaclav Havel, former President of the Czech Republic, and Desmond Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. http://www.unscburma.org/Report.htm

UNGA Section 61 Special Rapporteur’s Report to UNGA. In his interim report (A/60/221) to the UN General Assembly, the UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar outlined deplorable human rights situation in the country. http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/82610.pdf  

 UN Security Council UPDATE REPORT on Mr Ibrahim Gambari on
Myanmar NO. 4 MYANMAR 15 DECEMBER 2005

UK Government Foreign & Commonwealth office Country Profile:Burma  

Human Rights issues in Burma  http://www.tayzathuria.org.uk/bd/2006/3/12/boad1.htm  

Office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights http://www.ohchr.org/english/countries/mm/index.htm 

US Department of State, International Religious Freedom Report 2005 on Burma  http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/  

US Department of State, Burma, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices- 2005.Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor

 http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/  

 Amnesty International’s report on Burma http://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/myanmar_burma/document.do?id=ar&yr=2005 
 

UK Conservatives’ Human Rights http://www.conservativehumanrights.com/countriesoffocus/burma/index.htm   

I hereby salute from the bottom of my heart to those who protest and even sacrificed their lives; ordinary civilian men, women, monks, students, housewives, civil servants and even from the military personals, for the democratic transformation. Although there is no obvious change yet, the spirit of the 8888 protests still remain in our heart. Their sacrifices for the cause of democracy and freedom of Burma would not disappear like a day dream but definitely will become true in a near future. Their sacrifices were not at all wasted but had definitely helped to shape the future of the democratic movement of our beloved country. And they had opened the eyes of the whole world about our plights.

One of the most obvious results of the 88 revolutionists is, Ne Win and his government was treated by almost the whole world as a legitimate government but today’s SPDC Junta is a pariah, illegal government who grab the power by force from the NLD and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. There is no more honor and respect to the Myanmar Military inside and abroad. They are just the big robbers, rapists, morally corrupted serial killers.

Even the Myanmar Tatmadaw soldiers could not expect to avoid responsibility by giving excuses that they were obeying their superiors’ orders by shooting at the school children in their green and white uniforms because they were ordered to shoot and kill communists, disguised in green-white uniforms, by their commanders. They could not shoot the monks and bluff that communists infiltrated Rangoon and were wearing orange or saffron uniforms and shaved their heads.

If they think that dragging them to the International Criminal Courts is far and difficult, they should realized by now that the verdict in the hearts and minds of the Burmese people is already out. No need to wait for the hereafter or Sansara, Buddhist monks and Sayadaws had already hinted or spoken out in their sermons. This is time to repent U Than Shwe, U Maung Aye, U Shwe Man, U Soe Win and Myanmar Tatmadaw leaders, Kyant Phuts and Swan Aarshins. Just give back your illegal loot of power to the Myanmar/Burmese people and withdraw to your barracks waiting for the orders of your masters or the legal civilian government who pay your salary from the  peoples’ money and tax.