Military rule ends in Myanmar, but army retains grip

YANGON: Myanmar's military made way for a nominally civilian government on Wednesday after almost half a century in power, as the junta was disbanded and a new president talked of a "changing era". But the army hierarchy retains a firm grip on power in the resource-rich Southeast Asian country, and many analysts believe strongman Senior General Than Shwe will attempt to retain some sort of control behind the scenes. The handover came after widely-panned elections last November — the country's first in 20 years — which were marred by the absence of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi and claims of cheating and intimidation. Quoting an order signed by Than Shwe, Myanmar state television reported the junta's State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) "has been officially dissolved". Than Shwe, who has ruled with an iron fist since 1992, is apparently no longer in the hitherto most powerful position of head of the army. But Myanmar analyst Aung Naing Oo said: "Everyone will be required to report to him for quite some time." He added that the handover was similar to the slow withdrawal of Than Shwe's predecessor, late dictator Ne Win. "We have not had any kind of democracy in the past 50 years so it is more like an experiment," the Thailand-based analyst said. "There are more questions than answers." The SPDC, previously known as the State Law and Order Restoration Council, or SLORC, seized power in 1988, but Myanmar has been under military authority since 1962 and the generals continue to dominate the impoverished nation. Former prime minister Thein Sein, a key Than Shwe ally, was sworn in as president at the parliament in Naypyidaw on Wednesday. He is among a slew of generals who shed their army uniforms to contest the elections last year and are now civilian members of parliament, which also had a quarter of its seats allocated to the military. "We will reform the whole government system as part of the changing era while struggling to stand firm as a strong government," he told parliament in a rare public address. In an apparent reference to Suu Kyi and her party, he said those that do not accept the new system "need to see us as their government". An official said Wednesday's presidential inauguration was attended by General Min Aung Hlaing in a new guise as armed forces commander-in-chief, implying Than Shwe no longer holds the top military job. But the official added that "it's not clear yet" whether Min Aung Hlaing has formally taken over the army. The 54-year-old Min Aung Hlaing, is part of a younger generation of Myanmar generals. He was head of the Defence Services Academy and a commander in the so-called Golden Triangle, a region near the country's borders with Laos and Thailand notorious for drug trafficking. Across Myanmar moves to change signs on government buildings to reflect the new political system followed a quiet withdrawal by the junta in recent days. Than Shwe's image and decrees have disappeared from the front page of government mouthpiece the New Light of Myanmar and Armed Forces day on Sunday was also a subdued affair. "Symbolically, this is the army stepping into the background, even if the military elite are still running the show," said a Myanmar analyst in Yangon who asked not to be named. "It's now the elite not the armed forces in charge." The formation of a parliament, convened for the first time at the end of January, takes the country towards the final stage of the junta's so-called "roadmap" to a "disciplined democracy". Thein Sein's junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) bagged 388 of the national legislature's 493 elected seats the election. Suu Kyi has no voice in the new parliament. Her National League for Democracy party was disbanded for opting to boycott the vote because the rules seemed designed to bar her from participating. The election, and Suu Kyi's release from house arrest a few days later, have reignited a debate about economic sanctions enforced by the United States and European Union because of Myanmar's human rights abuses.—AFP