Richard S. Ehrlich: Burma's Dictator

BANGKOK, Thailand -- Much of the world now knows about Burma's struggling Buddhist revolution for democracy, but the dictator who rules the country is still obscure, grimly hidden behind dark sunglasses and a uniform decorated with military medals.

General Than Shwe (pronounced: "tan shway") is occasionally seen saluting Burma's powerful armed forces at parades and other ceremonies, his jowls framing a plump, sullen face.

He was born in 1933, when Burma was under British colonial rule. That may explain his regime's frequent warnings that Britain, and America, want to exploit the underdeveloped country as an economic colony and establish a U.S. military base.

Than Shwe claims that Burmese who demand democracy are simply dupes of London and Washington, because Burma offers vast treasures of oil, natural gas, gems, timber and other resources.

In a land often described as "Orwellian" because of the regime's relentless truth-twisting, harsh censorship, endless sloganeering, and severe jingoism, Than Shwe has perfect credentials based on his 1953-1960 work in the army's Psychological Operations Department churning out propaganda.

His shoot-to-kill skills, against minority ethnic Karen guerrillas in eastern Burma, earned him a promotion in 1960 to become a captain.

He ingratiated himself two years later by helping Gen. Ne Win seize power in a military coup.

Since 1962, the military -- experimenting through its own confused Burmese Socialist Programme Party -- has ruled Burma, a Southeast Asian nation also known as Myanmar.

Than Shwe climbed the ranks, favoring bullets instead of ballots.

The current uprising by Buddhist monks, pro-democracy activists and ordinary people, echoes a similar, failed popular insurrection in 1988 which Than Shwe and other military leaders crushed after city streets swelled with protesters.

An estimated 1,000-3,000 people perished in that idealistic 1988 attempt to topple the regime. Many people now fear an equally bloody confrontation could erupt amid the current clashes.

During the military's internal squabbling after 1988, Ne Win was ousted, and Than Shwe rose to the top.

It remains to be seen if a brutal Burmese Brutus now emerges to knife Than Shwe aside during the current chaos.

Than Shwe's official titles include prime minister, and chairman of the junta's ruling body, which he helped deceptively brand as a State Peace and Development Council.

He is also commander-in-chief of the military, making him the country's dreaded, overall leader.

Than Shwe has, however, suffered an embarrassing paparazzi-style scandal, when he hosted a lavish wedding in 2006 for his daughter. A 10-minute video clip, filmed at the wedding in Rangoon, surfaced on Internet purporting to show the bride Thandar Shwe swathed in sumptuous jewels -- shocking viewers who know Burma as one of the poorest countries in Asia.

The champagne, five-star comforts and other opulence became a sore point among dissidents and the butt of jokes mocking Than Shwe and the junta's insistence that his military regime was not corrupt.

"Such mindless indulgence -- smiling, well-fed guests wrapped in their finest clothing and most expensive jewels -- is an affront to the millions of Burmese suffering under the incompetence and brutality of the country’s military leadership," commented Irrawaddy, a respected Burma-monitoring, Thailand-based magazine, which has received tens of thousands of dollars from Washington's National Endowment for Democracy.

"The video and its authenticity could not be confirmed, but the junta leaders and their families were easily recognizable by people familiar with them," said Radio Free Asia, which operates under a U.S. government and government-sponsored broadcasting group. Than Shwe also boasts foreign policy achievements.

He elevated Burma within an economic club -- the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) -- courted China to become his close military and diplomatic ally, and lured China's rival, India, to be his partner as well.

China needs Burma as a route south to the Bay of Bengal -- providing port facilities and lengthening Beijing's reach around eastern India.

New Delhi enjoys Burma's help in crushing anti-India guerrillas who are fighting for independence and autonomy in northeast India along Burma's northwest frontier.

Reporters Without Borders, based in France, described Than Shwe as a "notoriously paranoid general" who keeps himself virtually mummified from his own countrymen.

Than Shwe "makes very few public appearances, and most Burmese have never heard him speak," the press freedom group said.

"His militaristic speeches, harshly attacking the pro-democracy opposition, are read for him on the government radio and TV, and are given prominence by all government media.

"He especially hates Nobel Peace Prize winner and pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi," who has languished for nearly 12 years under house arrest in her Rangoon villa, Reporters Without Borders said.

Richard S Ehrlich is a Bangkok-based journalist who has reported news from Asia since 1978. He is co-author of "Hello My Big Big Honey!", a non-fiction book of investigative journalism, and his web page is http://www.geocities.com/asia_correspondent

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