Burmese junta supremo Than Shwe’s daughter Thandar Shwe held a birthday party for her 4 year-old daughter on Saturday in Rangoon which was attended by several leading figures from the city's high society and military elite. Than Shwe and his wife Kyaing Kyaing did not attend.
Thandar Shwe achieved notoriety in 2006 when a video clip of her wedding to Maj. Zaw Phyo Win surfaced on the Internet showing an ostentatious wedding reception and lavish wedding gifts of diamonds and other jewels.
Sources in Naypyidaw said that the birthday party for Than Shwe’s granddaughter was held at Zayar Thiri Baikman, an exclusive hall in the former capital, and was paid for by US-sanctioned crony Khin Shwe who is an elected representative of the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party for the Upper House.
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| (Left to right): Kyel Phyo Thandar Shwe, Thandar Shwe, Than Shwe and Kyaing Kyaing in 2008 |
“Kyel Phyo Thandar Shwe’s fourth birthday party was a pretty big event with about 160 relatives and associates attending,” said one source who was at the party. “Family members of other top generals also made appearances.”
He said that Khin Shwe, who runs Zay Gabar Co Ltd, provided the catering. Notable military cronies such as Tay Za of the Htoo Group of Companies, Zaw Zaw of the Max Myanmar Group of Companies, and Nay Win Tun of Ruby Dragon Jade & Gems Co Ltd presented gifts to the child.
Burma observers have frequently said that the ruling generals' family celebrations are more than just society events, but are avenues for them to accept large bribes in the form of “gifts.”
Thandar Shwe is Than Shwe’s youngest daughter. She was married in 2006 at the same venue, the Zayar Thiri Baikman. At the time, the BBC reported: “The newly-weds were reportedly given [US] $50 million-worth of wedding gifts, including cars, jewels and houses.”
Currently, Thandar Shwe and her husband are attachés at the Burmese consulate in Kunming, the capital of China’s southwest province of Yunnan.
Although no more than an infant, Kyel Phyo Thandar Shwe is said to be the Burmese dictator's second favorite grandchild after Nay Shwe Thway Aung ,also known as Phoe La Pyae Thwe, who many say is being groomed to succeed his grandfather.
Kyel Phyo Thandar Shwe has been nicknamed “Moe Paw Ka Kyel Ka Lay,” meaning “small star from the sky,” according to sources close to military officials in Naypyidaw.
Close connections to the ruling generals are necessary for doing business in Burma. A relationship with Than Shwe’s family is seen as the most important stepping stone toward concessions and favorable contracts for lackeys and cronies.
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