More on Military Appointments

The State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) does not seem to be its old self. The hesitancy in announcing military promotions, assignment of duties, and appointments to new positions indicates SPDC has not thought out the process well. Sources close to the military in Rangoon believe the country will see more changes down the line since the present shakeup is more of an attempt to silence rumblings within the armed forces over the recent dismissal of Adjutant General Lt Gen Win Myint and Quartermaster General Tin Hla than to resolve existing military and administrative problems.

Maj. Gen Kyaw Win now referred to as "Vice Chief of the Office of the Military Intelligence," recently confirmed in a press conference that 10 regional commanders would fill higher military posts in Rangoon and that Army Division commanders would fill up regional commander posts.

Despite his disclosure, there has been no announcement regarding the appointment of new regional commanders and the Burmese press reports continue to refer promoted regional commanders as being in their former positions.

Confirmed Military Appointments

In the meantime, an official SPDC gazette signed by Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt confirms the appointment of two new ministers and four regional commanders as commanders of Bureau of Special Operations.

The Bureau of Special Operations that was once under the sole command of late Lt. Gen. Tin Oo, who died in a helicopter crash earlier in the year, will now be divided into four bureaus each headed by a different commander. As reported in the 24 Nov NewsDesk, the control of regional military commands, light infantry divisions, military operations commands, regional operations commands, and artillery/armored operations commands will no longer remain concentrated in the hands of a single commander.

Bureaus of Special Operations

The four Bureaus of Special Operations (BSO) commanders named are:

BSO 1--Maj. Gen. Ye Myint, in charge of Magwe, Mandalay, and Sagaing Divisions, and Chin and Kachin States.

BSO 2--Maj. Gen. Aung Htwe, in charge of Kayah and Shan States.

BSO 3--Maj. Gen. Khin Maung Than, in charge of Irrawaddy and Pegu Divisions and Rakhine State.

BSO 4--Maj. Gen. Maung Bo will be in charge of Karen and Mon states.

According to the gazette, the BSO commanders "in addition to military duties" will be in charge of "supervising and acting on matters concerning political, economic, and social tasks on behalf of the government."

In another appointment, Maj. Gen. Aye Kyway, commander of the Coastal Regional Military Command, "is designated as minister to supervise and take charge of political, economic, and social tasks on behalf of the government in the region that he manages."

Another ministerial appointment, without further elaboration said "The SPDC has appointed Commander-in-Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Kyi Min to the rank of minister."

The appointments to the Ministry of Defense of Maj. Gen. Thein Sein as Adjutant General and Maj. Gen. Tin Aung Myin Oo as Quartermaster General have also been confirmed but Maj. Gen. Thura Shwe Mann, Maj. Gen. Tin Aye, and Maj. Gen. Soe Win are referred to as commanders "of the Ministry of Defense" by the Burmese press.

The New Light of Myanmar of 8 December reporting a meeting between Burmese and Indian military officials in Rangoon confirmed that Maj. Gen. Kyaw Win, commander of the Northern Military Command, is now the "Chief of Armed Forces Training," and Maj Gen Win Myint (not the dismissed Adjutant General) and Brig. Gen. Aung Kyi are "Deputy Chiefs of Armed Forces Training."

Another point worth observing is that all Bureau of Special Operation Commanders are graduates of Officers Training School which Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt belonged to and almost all commanders appointed to posts in the Ministry of Defense are from Gen. Maung Aye's old school, the Defense Services Academy.

Purge of Win Myint Continues

The top brass is making sure former Adjutant General Lt. Gen Win Myint, who was sacked from his posts last month, does not have any official standing. A recent announcement by the SPDC, entitled "Termination of Duties," says Win Myint has been dismissed from his position as the chairman of the Burma War Veterans Organization.

This compared to former Commander-in Chief of Air Force Lt. Gen. Kyaw Than, who is now the president of Burma-Thai Cultural and Economic Cooperation Association after being dismissed earlier in the year.

NLD and the Talks

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD), has once again cautioned that her "secret talks" with the SPDC are nothing more than confidence-building at this stage. During a meeting in Rangoon on 4 December, she told former Japanese Foreign Minister Kabun Muto that the talks today could be described as an "attempt to erase mutual mistrust."

Despite signs of tensions being eased, regular talks between Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the generals have remained in limbo for some time because "mistrusts" remain. A key issue that remains unresolved at this stage is the release of political prisoners.

In June this year, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi asked SPDC to release political prisoners as a gesture of good will and good faith. The generals responded by releasing 94 political prisoners over six months (the number does not include 100 other NLD youths and members who were detained without charges for seeing off Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and NLD leaders at the Rangoon Central Railways Station last year and released in January 2001).

Today, some 1,500 political prisoners, including around 900 NLD members and 17 NLD elected representatives, remain in prison.

Even while SPDC is claiming that it is working with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to find a political settlement and has now described its relationship with NLD as "walking together on the same path toward our common objective," Daw Aung San Suu Kyi remains under house arrest. In addition, some NLD members remain in prison because SPDC insists they are "criminals" and not political prisoners.

Optimism of the UN Envoy

However, the United Nations Envoy Razali Ishmael, who visited Burma between 27 November-3 December, has said in Kuala Lumpur last week that he is satisfied with his latest mission. News agency reports quoted Mr Razali as saying, "My talks and meetings went well...and I expect good news soon.''

He was optimistic that key issues preventing the dialogue from progressing would be resolved. A UN statement in New York also said Mr Razali was hopeful that "significant progress" could be made in the near future.

Despite his optimism, Mr Razali was tight-lipped about the details of his talks in Burma. He was carrying a package of proposals to the SPDC and the NLD. The proposals were an outcome of a meeting in Geneva where a number of countries interested in Burma had met just before his visit to Burma in late November. A United Nations official said Mr Razali's role is feeding ideas into the process. "The more ideas, the more likely it is that his contribution can play a major role in facilitating talks between the two sides," he added.

During his visit, Mr Razali had talks with SPDC leaders, twice with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and with Wa and Kokang leaders in the Shan State and other non-Burman ethnic leaders in Rangoon.

Khun Tun Oo, a leader of the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy--the party that won the second largest number of seats in the 1990 elections-- said Mr Razali was asked to speed up the talks and "to include ethnic minorities" in the process.

According to a news agency report, Khun Tun Oo said, "a road-map toward national reconciliation with the participation of all nationalities should emerge in 2002" and the talks "will grow into tripartite talks with the inclusion of ethnic groups."

The NLD's Positive View

The NLD leadership has also described the UN Envoy's visit as "very promising and encouraging," and spokesperson U Lwin said, "We are confident Mr Razali has the ability to accomplish the UN mandate."

Sources close to the NLD say the party has asked the envoy to urge the military authorities to release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi "as soon as possible" and all political prisoners "by the end of the year." The sources say announcements can be expected on important events like Burma's Independence Day (4 January), the Union Day (12 February), and the Resistance Day or Armed Forces Day on 27 March.

The SPDC's preferred "magical number" nine may also come into play here. All decisions deemed as important by the SPDC are usually announced on dates that fall on the ninth or on dates when added together result in a nine. For instance, the military chose 18 September (a "nine" day of the ninth month) to stage a coup.

In the meantime, NLD has been reopening its township offices in Rangoon without any interference from the authorities. The two offices to reopen with public ceremonies last week were in Botataung and Kemmendine townships.