One Down, Two to Go

He became commander of the Northeast Region in 1968, served in Infantry Battalion 68 as a lieutenant colonel and was promoted to colonel in 1979. In 1988, he became commander of the Eastern Region with the rank of brigadier-general.

Two years later he was promoted to major-general. In 1992 he was made Army Chief. In 1993 he was named lieutenant-general and the Deputy Commander in Chief of Defense Services. In 1994 he was appointed Deputy Chairman of SLORC, and now holds the same position in the SPDC.

A career soldier, he is believed to have long been at loggerheads with ex-PM Khin Nyunt. As a commander in Shan State, he forged close ties with influential businessmen such as Aung Ko Win, a.k.a. Sayar Kyaung, the chairman of Kanbawza Bank and the Billion Group.

But Maung Aye has generally been hostile toward the ethnic groups, particularly the Kachin and Karen; during a televised surrender ceremony with a battalion of Karen insurgents, he walked on the Karen flag. Karen were outraged.

Thai security advisors say that Maung Aye holds a grudge against the Thai Third Army, which is responsible for patrolling much of Thailand’s border with Burma. He was unhappy with Thailand’s joint military exercises with the US, some of which were held along the border.

Maung Aye is tipped to take over the junta if Than Shwe steps down. But some speculate that he will meet the same fate as Khin Nyunt and that Gen Thura Shwe Mann would become army chief and SPDC deputy chairman.

We hear: Aung San Suu Kyi has reportedly called Maung Aye the most charismatic of Burma’s top brass. His friendliness toward Suu Kyi when the two last dined together was described as unusual. Army sources have said Maung Aye wants to keep the army clear of politics. He has been reported to have been in poor health for several years.

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Lieutenant-General Soe Win

Before his appointment as prime minister in October, Soe Win was best known for his part in the crackdown on democracy protestors in 1988—deploying troops around Rangoon University and ordering them to shoot at Rangoon General Hospital during the upheaval.

A graduate of the Defense Services Academy (12th intake), he became Tactical Operations Commander 3 of the Northwestern Regional Command in 1990. In 1997 he was named Regional Commander and a member of the junta. In November 2001 he was named Air Defense General of the War Office. In February 2003 he was promoted to Secretary-2 of the junta, which was vacant after Lt-Gen Tin Oo was killed in a helicopter crash two years before. 

He is a senior member of the USDA and is close to Than Shwe. The two men see eye-to-eye on “nation building projects”, which include constructing dams, roads and bridges. He is widely regarded as the mastermind behind the deadly attack against Suu Kyi and her supporters in Depayin in May 2003.