Old Soldiers Never Die, They Just Fade Away. But Myanmar’s old soldier General Than Shwe is fading away.
My Distant but Close Relationship with the Old SoldierGeneral Than Shwe in Siri Lanka . |
What
I was to be so careful during that time was not to ask any generals or
senior army officers about him. I had to pretend as if I didn’t really
care. The old man also was quite calm and he rarely spoke and when he
did only a few words was spoken. But he would often observe people by
staring carefully at them from behind his thick glasses.
As
he had a stroke a few years back he needed help whenever he tried to
get up from sitting down or lying on bed. He could walk only very slowly
with a visible limp. He could only speak with slow and stuttering
stammer. Some people close to him told me that his speech was impaired
as his tongue was severely weakened by the stroke.
One
other thing I noticed was the visible bent of the middle finger on his
left hand. He always wore light and airy cotton clothes which were quite
ordinary and he always wore only one ring on one of his fingers.
But
whenever I was near him I always felt completely overwhelmed by his
presence. Maybe I knew very well that he was the almighty
commander-in-chief of the most brutal army.
And
he always seemed to handle any important matter in a thoughtful and
calm manner. Even to his obedient generals he never remarked in an
intrusive or blunt manner and he’d never overly committed himself.
But
sometimes even some of his mindless small talks could end up as massive
grand projects all over Naypyidaw as his loyally-obedient generals were
overly-frightened of him.
His Building the Capital and His Character
He
would go around Nyapyidaw every Saturday incognito to find out the real
situations and the progress of all new Capital-building projects. But
townsfolk and even the children in Naypyidaw knew that as the Senior
Generals’ Saturday Rounds. In his rounds of the Naypyidaw (the new
Capital of Myanmar he’s been building) He wore civilian cloths and rode in
a car like an ordinary old man.
Than Shwe and His Family |
He
doesn’t drink at all, which is a rare quality for an officer of Myanmar
army which provides the heavy liquor called army-rum as an abundant
ration for its soldiers and officers. He would spend most of his free
time privately watching TV and reading light literature such as news
journals, magazines, novels, and short stories.
He
was a brainy man not a brawny one as he was basically very strong in
calmly thinking out the delicate matters at hand in details like a cool
chess Grand Master. He was said to be handling the political matters
alone by himself. But for the army matters he always delegated to the
subordinate generals in turn (so that he knew who is and who isn’t
capable of handling certain military problem).
For
his meals the cooks prepared varieties of dishes but he would only pick
and eat just one of two dishes he particularly likes.
He
would always appear to be not overly interested in his surrounds. He
was reserve and he always kept to himself. And he would always listen
carefully to his subordinate generals when they are reporting to him and
only at the ends he would remark or reply with very few thoughtful
words.
His
subordinates were so frightened of him just because of his appearance
and his behavior which were so reserved and always under control. That
was the main outward character of our SG who could control others by
just his behavior.
Leaving the Naypyidaw
General Than Shwe in Budha Gaya. |
Sometimes
my friends teased me by saying that I went to Naypyidaw so often only
to see U Than Shwe without knowing I was doing exactly that. I always
replied “Yes” to them like a joke and they all had a laugh. And they all
thought I was joking while only I knew that wasn’t a joke. But I still
kept that secret to myself.
By
2010 the political situations became really complex and confusing.
There were elections and there were real changes. But it was still
obvious that majority of people in Myanmar didn’t really trust the
military government and their reform process.
I
myself had also faced trouble getting permission to see the old man.
Since I couldn’t ask no one there I stopped getting the inside news and I
had to follow whatever news or rumors available outside like everybody
else. After that I didn’t visit Naypyidaw as often as before.
But
it was good for me as I became used to my new surroundings. I also
started thinking that I didn’t really like my previous pickle of not
being able to disclose about my access to the SG and our talks and
discussions. I also hated to be too careful for my life.
So I gradually distanced myself from the Naypyidaw and tried to rid my strong interest on the SG and the War Office.
The Danger Plan
General Than Shwe in Budha Gaya . |
But,
without expecting it, I met General Than Shwe again just recently. His
health situation wasn’t good. He couldn’t speak well at all. He was
always bed-ridden whenever I met him.
By
then Senoior General Than Shwe has completely transferred the State
power to the new Thein Sein’s government and the army’s
commander-in-chief position to new General Min Aung Hlaing and almost
completely relinquished his tight hold over the Myanmar Army.
Even
though he still has a very strong influence over the army he doesn’t
involve anymore in the day-to-day running of the army and he has
officially retired.
He
seemed to be really relaxed and let go himself of his deep worries for
his country and his beloved Tatmadaw. There are still some
serving-generals and ex-generals attending him daily but he now behaves
like a retired civilian old man. Now he really is an old man not the Old
Man he used to be.
Actually,
even when he was the serving Senior General he never acted as a leading
man in handling all the political and military matters as if he
preferred to handle them from the behind. His generals often said that
he likes to control people from behind as if he is moving the pieces on a
chess-board.
In
2012 this year his health is gradually deteriorating further. He is now
completely bed-ridden as he had another stroke just recently. His
speech is completely gone and he cannot eat by himself. He seems to have
given up on this life even though he was continuously attended by his
underling-generals and his devoted daughters.
He
also seems to have peace and security for him as he has skillfully
managed to transfer the political power and the army into the loyal
hands of his hand-picked generals like Thein Sein and Min Aung Hlaing.
His
only worries are for his own life and the physical and financial
security of his close family and also for his legacy as the
nation-builder of Myanmar. And these are the reasons he has removed
himself from the political stage and quietly retired into the relative
oblivion.
Dying General and Preparations for His Eventual Funeral
General Than Shwe in Siri Lanka . |
The
Buddhist monk the SG and his family traditionally worshipped said to me
once that General Than Shwe has meditated regularly. The said monk
regularly was often invited into SG’s house and given alms. Normally
only four or nine monks were invited and the ceremonies were always
low-key events and always done secretly.
But the most important problem of his deteriorating health has just begun. His eventual funeral?
Between
his devoted daughters (he has five daughters and three sons) and his
loyal generals the friction has already surfaced about how to arrange
for his funeral if he accidentally dies soon. The leaders of the
government were all his loyal ex-generals and they all want to provide a
lavish State Funeral for him.
But
some of them have the worries that some people will rise against the
government if the funeral for former dictator is too grand.
Also
for the current serving generals he is the longest-serving
Commander-in-Chief so they want to give him a grand military funeral not
a low-key state funeral as a former political leader of the country.
So far nobody dares or is bold enough to make a decision for his eventual funeral yet.
Whether he will be buried at the new military cemetery in the Naypyidaw’s
township of Oatara-Thiri OR buried as an ordinary civilian at a normal
town cemetery as he has already officially retired will have to be
eventually decided among his loyal generals and ex-generals.
(Direct translation of Aung Shin’s article from his Blog “A Journalist from Myanmar”.)
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