Heroes and Villains
(Page 2 of 6)
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It was surprising to me that within a short period of 12 years (1935 to 1947) a student leader could become such an accomplished national leader who was able to unite the entire country. Aung San had all the qualities needed to be a great leader. Indeed, he was the best leader I have ever met. His working style was very efficient; when he called meetings he always had a full agenda prepared and presided over the meeting systematically without wasting any time. When the meetings were over, everyone was well-informed as to the duties expected of them.
Last but not least, Aung San was an ardent patriot with great integrity; he was incorruptible. We Burmese people, together with our ethnic brothers, miss him dearly.
—Brig-Gen Kyaw Zaw, one of two surviving members of the Thirty Comrades, lives in exile in Kunming, China
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A True Patriot
Brig-Gen Let Ya (1911-1978)
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In the 1930s, Let Ya joined the Thakin movement, a nationalist student group that began organizing anti-British protests in the early 1920s (members addressed themselves as thakin, or master, a term more commonly used when speaking to the British colonial rulers). Let Ya accompanied Aung San on the first mission to China to seek foreign assistance for Burma’s independence struggle. When the two comrades lost contact with their messenger and were stranded in China, it was Let Ya who was able to find the funds necessary to complete the mission.
Let Ya was among the founding members of Do Bamar Asi-ayone (the “We Burman Association”), a group of young radicals and respected intellectuals opposed to British rule. He was also a senior member of the Communist Party of Burma, in which he had great faith.
After Let Ya completed his military training under the Japanese, he was given an assignment to enter Burma via Thailand and instigate villagers to join the resistance movement. He and his troops crossed the Thai border into Burma and worked to organize villagers and recruit further troops in the southern part of the country.
As the BIA’s deputy chief of staff, Let Ya was the second in command after Aung San. Colleagues knew that Aung San wanted Let Ya to replace him as head of the army, and he was always careful to protect Let Ya’s position against any political rivalry. This created much tension between Let Ya and Gen Ne Win, who later became the army’s commander in chief in 1949.
After Aung San’s assassination in July 1947, Let Ya did not stay long in the army. Later that year, he was appointed deputy prime minister and minister of defense. He signed the 1947 Let Ya-Freeman Defense Agreement with the British as an annex to the main Nu-Atlee Treaty. The Let Ya-Freeman agreement provided the British with access to Burma and made arrangements for training the Burmese armed forces. For his part in these negotiations, Let Ya was accused of being pro-British. The accusations against him continued. In 1948, Let Ya resigned from the army after he was accused of being too sympathetic to the Karen leaders who had begun fighting for independence from Burma.
Let Ya later joined the Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom League and became involved in party politics. In the 1950s, he launched a career as a successful businessman with the Let Ya Company and the Martaban Company, which exported seafood. Both he and his wealthy family members were prominent and influential figures in Burmese political and business circles.
Let Ya was a supporter of former prime minister U Nu, who was ousted by Ne Win in 1962. In the 1960s, Let Ya left Burma and joined U Nu’s movement-in-exile, becoming a commander of the Patriotic Liberation Army. Based on the Thai border and beset by conflicts with the Karen, the army never had the opportunity to march on Rangoon and unseat Ne Win.
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