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Who is likely to occupy which position changes on a daily basis, they say, depending on the general’s blood pressure.

But Than Shwe is clearly not satisfied with deciding who will ostensibly rule in the years immediately after he steps into the shadows. He also wants to make a more permanent mark on Burma. Hence, his determination to complete the parliament buildings in Naypyidaw.

Naypyidaw—the “Abode of Kings”—is Than Shwe’s monument to his own rule. It is also the only city in Burma with a reliable supply of electricity. While infrastructure in the rest of the country is primitive and crumbling, Naypyidaw wants for nothing. The only things it lacks, apparently, are signs of human habitation.

According to Reuters, “Its roads are puzzlingly wide, including one 20-lane boulevard, but they are largely empty. Civilian cars are rare. Its city center, a roundabout where five roads meet, is populated only by palm trees and potted flowers.”

Welcome to the world’s most expensive ghost town.

It may all seem like a massive waste of money, but that overlooks the fact that the regime never builds anything without a purpose—usually, a military purpose.

The 20-lane boulevard, for instance, is said to be directly linked to a military base located to the east of the Rangoon-Mandalay highway. It could also be used as a landing strip for small aircraft, or for ceremonial purposes, to stage North Korean-style military parades. 

Sadly, Burma’s parliament buildings have never received much respect. Former dictator Ne Win built a beautiful Pyithu Hluttaw, or People’s Assembly, building near Shwedagon Pagoda, Burma’s most sacred religious site. While he was still in power, it served only as a place to rubber stamp his decrees. After he was ousted in 1988, it was abandoned and now sits unoccupied and in a state of disrepair.

For all the loving attention that Than Shwe is putting into building his new parliament, I don’t expect it to fare any better. It certainly won’t be allowed to function independently of the military, and in the end, it may become just another hollow shell. Than Shwe has refused to learn from history, and for that reason, the round of suffering in Burma looks set to continue for years to come.