Burma’s armed forces day this year provided an open invitation to the foreign press to observe the generals and their soldiers at close quarters. Photographer Nic Dunlop was among those who took advantage of what The Irrawaddy’s Editor Aung Zaw saw as a rare display of openness.
Dusty Naypyidaw’s Charm Offensive
By Aung Zaw
April 03, 2007—If you believe sullen generals cannot smile, you are very wrong. They do indeed smile.
Burma’s military leaders launched a PR charm offensive in Naypyidaw, the country’s new capital, last week. Their information ministry issued Bangkok-based foreign journalists visas to attend events marking the 62nd anniversary of armed forces day. Several foreign journalists were there, and the BBC and CNN were allowed in to film the military parade.
It was a rare opportunity for the foreign press to get a glimpse of the junta's paramount leader, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, who has ruled the country since 1992.
Al Jazeera was the first foreign TV station to see inside the new capital late last year. The junta’s chief propagandist, Information Minister Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan, allowed the TV station to enter Burma in the mistaken belief that it was “anti-American” and that its reports would be biased in favor of the regime.
At last week’s armed forces day celebrations, the junta again misjudged the situation. On the day before, it held a press conference at which Kyaw Hsan denied allegations that Burma suppresses religion freedom, recruits child soldiers, uses forced labor and does little to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS—a statement lacking any credibility and showing again that the regime is in a state of denial. The western powers, who wanted to install a puppet government in Burma, were responsible for these false accusations, the minister claimed.
Another denial that raised some eyebrows was the statement by a senior officer that a blacklist of banned foreign journalists no longer existed. Journalists from abroad were now welcome and would be issued visas, he said. Several Bangkok-based journalists banned in the past from entering Burma heard that assurance with interest.
Those journalists who traveled to dusty Naypyidaw for the armed forces day celebrations said the military officers who welcomed them were quite friendly and helpful.
The journalists were given a tour of Naypyidaw that began with a visit to a golf course—a significant stop, since golf is the generals’ favorite sport. Visits to massive ministry buildings followed. “Flat and dusty and nothing much to see,” was the impression of one journalist, who left Naypyidaw the next day.
One positive side to life in Naypyidaw noted by the visiting journalists was the round-the-clock power supply. There were none of Rangoon’s frequent blackouts.
Than Shwe, who ordained the move from Rangoon to Naypyidaw in 2005 without informing the public or civil servants, appeared well, but gave an unusually brief 10-minute speech. There had been widespread speculation about the state of his health following a hospital stay in Singapore early this year.
The general inspected the troops while standing upright out of the sun roof of Mercedes. The choice of a luxury car this year could mean the generals are doing well from their sales of gas and oil to their neighbors.
Than Shwe’s speech contained nothing new, however. He called on the nation to "crush, hand-in-hand with the entire people, every danger of internal and external destructive elements obstructing the stability and development of the state." And he warned that powerful countries “wishing to impose their influence on our nation will make any attempt in various ways to undermine national unity." Finally, he urged people to build “a peaceful, modern, developed and disciplined democratic nation.”
The regime’s charm offensive may briefly win the hearts and minds of some people, but as of now no “new Burma” is likely to rise from dusty Naypyidaw.
