Is Burma looking for a new Army Chief?
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Is Burma looking for a new Army Chief?


By The Irrawaddy JANUARY, 2007 - VOLUME 15 NO.1


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(Page 4 of 4)

The company has also been involved in construction projects in the new administrative capital Naypyidaw. A second son is married to the daughter of another tycoon, Zaykabar Khin Shwe.

What kind of public profile does he have in Burma?

Shwe Mann appears to shun the spotlight and rarely speaks in public. He did break his normal silence when the former premier, Gen Khin Nyunt, and the intelligence empire he built were purged from power in 2004. In a speech to a gathering of businesspeople following the purge, he said: “In the military everybody is liable for their failure to abide by the law. Nobody is above the law.” In a country where the military government is essentially a law unto itself, with no accountability to the people it rules, such a statement betrays Shwe Mann’s decided lack of media savvy, if not outright naïveté.

What are the chances that Maung Aye will sign off o­n promoting Shwe Mann to commander-in-chief of Burma’s armed forces?

This is where speculation o­n Shwe Mann gets even murkier. Any such appointment would largely be a political move by Than Shwe to put a proven ally in a well-placed position of power. Rumors were rife last year among military officers, who suggested that if Than Shwe were to give too much power to Shwe Mann, or if he were explicitly anointed as his “heir apparent”, then Maung Aye would attempt a coup to seize power for himself. Whatever the rumors may say, it’s a safe bet that Maung Aye won’t easily—or quietly—relinquish his share of power, now or in the near future.

At 59, is he too old to be commander-in-chief?

Commanders in Burma’s armed forces generally start thinking about retirement when they reach the age of 60. But a different set of rules seems to apply to the SPDC’s paramount rulers. At 77, Than Shwe still manages to cling to power. His second-in-command, Maung Aye, tips the scales at 68. How old a leader is in Burma seems far less important than his ability to create the alliances that will allow him to assume and maintain power.



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