Than Shwe

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Than Shwe in October 2010

Chief General Than Shwe ( သန်းရွှေ , [ θáɴ ʃwè ]; born February 2, 1933 in Kyaukse , Mandalay Division , British India ) is a former Burmese military and politician . From 1992 to 2011 he was head of state of Myanmar as chairman of the country's former military junta , which ruled under the name of the State Council for Peace and Development (SPDC) since November 15, 1997 . In March 2011, he resigned in favor of President Thein Sein , who was elected and chosen by him , by ordering the dissolution of the military junta that had existed since 1988 and giving up all his offices.

Career

Than Shwe was initially employed in the postal service before joining the army in 1953, whose personnel requirements - due to the communist uprising in 1948, the uprising of the Karen in 1949 and the invasion of the Chinese Nationalist Army in the Shan state in the east in 1950 - had increased dramatically. Like the tens of thousands of recruits, he received minimal training at the “Officer's Training School”, the ninth train of which he completed in 1954.

He then spent several years in the Department of Psychological Warfare fighting the Karen minority. In 1960 he was promoted to captain . After the coup d'état of General Ne Win and the fall of the then Prime Minister U Nu in 1962, Than Shwe's ascent continued unstoppably: Lieutenant Colonel 1972, Colonel 1978. In 1983 he was appointed as one of the youngest commanders in Chief of the Southwestern Military District. In 1985 he became Deputy Minister of Defense with the rank of Brigadier General and in 1986 he was promoted to major general. In 1988 he was appointed to the Executive Committee of Ne Wins Burma Socialist Program Party (BSPP).

When General Saw Maung established the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) on September 21, 1988 in the wake of the bloodily suppressed uprisings and the resignation of Ne Win , and the BSPP instead Than Shwe was one of the 21 members. He became the right-hand man of Saw Maung, and when he, originally aiming for a multi-party system , had to resign from hardliners on April 23, 1992 due to a palace revolution (officially for health reasons), Than Shwe took over as chairman of the junta. He became head of government, defense minister and commander in chief of the armed forces at the same time.

On February 4, 2011, the previous Prime Minister and General Thein Sein was elected President and thus the new Head of State by the parliament, which had previously emerged from controversial elections and which is made up of 80% members of the Union Solidarity and Development, which is closely related to the military and founded especially for the elections Party existed. Than Shwe has not held any official leading political office since then and is no longer in charge of the army.

politics

This article or the following section is not adequately provided with supporting documents ( e.g. individual evidence ). Information without sufficient evidence could be removed soon. Please help Wikipedia by researching the information and including good evidence.
this section

At first, Than Shwe appeared to be more liberal than his predecessor. He released political prisoners and eased the restrictions on opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi , who had been under house arrest since July 1989 . In 1993 he ordered a national assembly to be called to draw up a new constitution in response to the badly lost 1990 election. Than Shwe relaxed state control over the economy and campaigned for Myanmar to join the ASEAN community. He achieved this goal in 1997. In the same year, he had several ministers removed from their offices in the course of a blow against corruption . For the first time in many years, he allowed the International Committee of the Red Cross and Amnesty International to enter Myanmar.

On the other hand, the persecution of ethnic minorities, such as the Karen and the Shan, continued under Than Shwe's regiment . He launched a campaign to suppress the Rohingya , the Muslims in the northwest of the country, which led an estimated 250,000 of them to flee to neighboring Bangladesh . After the National Assembly for drafting a new constitution was canceled in 1995 and resumed in 2004, Than Shwe surprisingly announced on February 9, 2008 that the new constitution would be put to the vote in May 2008 and that a general election would take place in 2010 . Critics criticize the strict guidelines according to which the military should be granted at least 25 percent participation in power. The constitution is therefore tailored to the maintenance of power by the military.

Than Shwe ordered the lifting of Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest in 1995, but in May 2003 he arranged for her to be arrested again after an attack on her by pro-government thugs and then again under house arrest. It is believed that the order for the attack came from Than Shwe himself. Than Shwe rigorously refused to enter into a dialogue with the opposition and should flinch at the mere mention of the name "Aung San Suu Kyi". There is still no free press, and unpleasant journalists are arbitrarily put in jail. Its economic policy is considered poorly thought out and has meanwhile almost ruined the country. The still flourishing corruption will be tolerated as long as those involved are loyal to the head of state.

Than Shwe is considered ill-educated, sullen and withdrawn. Except for occasional state visits, which have never taken him to a Western country, Than Shwe usually appears on national commemorative days with speeches or in articles in the state press. On August 25, 2003, he gave up the post of prime minister, which, however, has little power, and initially transferred it to General Khin Nyunt . However, the office of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, which was important in a military junta, and the Office of Defense Minister were still in his hands.

In the course of 2004, Khin Nyunt and other members of the government and the SPDC (for example the long-time Foreign Minister Win Aung ), who replaced von Than Shwe with military members who were loyal to him, had to resign. This enabled Than Shwe to consolidate his position significantly, as he had previously been politically withdrawn for years as a mediator between General Maung Aye , the deputy chairman of the junta known as a hardliner , and Khin Nyunt, who is considered to be moderate.
There were now two factions within the junta: one around Than Shwe himself, and one around his deputy Maung Aye. As a result, there was speculation about a power struggle between these factions, which was compounded by the death of Bo Win Tun . Bo Win Tun was Maung Ayes' personal adjutant and died on January 21, 2005 under unexplained circumstances.

Jade trade

The organization Global Witness described the sales of jade as "Burma's greatest state secret". According to Global Witness, Than Shwe controls the entire jade trade - along with family members, former generals, a current minister and a drug lord. In 2014 alone, Jade sales were estimated at $ 31 billion.

corruption

Than Shwe have increasingly been said to have monarchical traits in recent years . Within the army and in the country itself, he is referred to as “the king”. One of his grandchildren, who is attending an international school in Rangoon , was quoted in September 2004 as saying that his veins had "royal blood". His family is involved in a variety of ventures. For the Buddhist New Year festival Thingyan , the Than Shwes family expects generous monetary gifts from Myanmar companies, as it is customary according to Myanmar custom to give such gifts to honorable people. In 2004 the sum is said to have been 6 billion kyat , according to the official rate over 700 million euros (the actual purchasing power, however, is about 100 times lower). The family expected the same amount in 2005. On the other hand, there are eyewitness accounts from the 1980s, according to which the family was exceptionally modest.

Than Shwe did not seem to have any plans to resign, although his health was in poor health. In 1996 he suffered a stroke , and it is also believed that he had Alzheimer's disease. He has long passed the mandatory retirement age of 60, and it appeared that he would hold on to his position for the rest of his life in the expectation of avoiding the fate of General Ne Win , the end of his life Had to spend house arrest and was buried almost in camera, and instead to go down in history as the “benevolent king”. For the first time since moving to the top of the State Council for Peace and Development , he did not take part in the celebrations of Myanmar's independence from Great Britain on January 4, 2007. He had to go to Singapore on December 31, 2006 on suspicion of colon cancer. After the crackdown on the demonstrations in late 2007 , Than Shwe's already sparse public appearances became even rarer. The BBC's longtime Southeast Asia correspondent , Larry Jagan, described in early February 2008 how the country had come to a standstill due to the increasing health decline in Than Shwe.

Than Shwe is married to Daw Kyaing Kyaing. She is said to have an influence on Than Shwe's politics that goes well beyond her role as “First Lady”. In particular, it is said to have had an influence on the filling of cabinet posts. In early December 2007, she is said to have suffered a stroke. When her husband performed in December 2007 and on Independence Day 2008, she did not appear in public. There is different information about children and grandchildren. While the documents of the European Community, in which the entry restrictions for members of the military junta are stipulated, only identify three daughters and one granddaughter, other sources mention up to five daughters and one son and three grandchildren.

A video showing the opulent wedding of Than Shwe's daughter Thandar Shwe to Major Zaw Phyo Win in July 2006 aroused public displeasure. While the vast majority of Myanmar's population lives below the poverty line, the ruling clique here was in a champagne mood. The celebration is said to have cost US $ 300,000 and the wedding gifts are said to have been worth US $ 3 million. The video had been distributed on the Internet from October 2006.

In 2011, Than Shwe resigned.

Web links

Commons : Than Shwe  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Frankfurter Rundschau: Than Shwe: Burma's dictator resigns . In: Frankfurter Rundschau . ( fr.de [accessed on 23 August 2018]).
  2. ↑ Burma: Generals test “controlled democracy”. In: Frankfurter Rundschau . February 4, 2011, accessed February 6, 2011 .
  3. ↑ Statement by His Excellency Senior General Than Shwe Chairman of the State Law and Order Restoration Council Prime Minister of the Union of Myanmar - ASEAN | ONE VISION ONE IDENTITY ONE COMMUNITY . In: ASEAN | ONE VISION ONE IDENTITY ONE COMMUNITY . ( asean.org [accessed August 22, 2018]).
  4. ↑ Asia Times Online: Another unhappy birthday in Myanmar
  5. ↑ CNN , Dan Rivers : The Junta Doesn't Want Witnesses. The earthquake in China pushed the disaster in Burma out of the headlines. That is exactly the goal of those in power. I wanted to report for CNN and was published in FAZ , May 15, 2008, book media, p. 38, columns 4,5,6; Translated into German by Michael Bischoff. Dan Rivers is CNN correspondent in Bangkok.
  6. ↑ Burma aide's death sparks rumors. In: BBC News . January 24, 2005, accessed October 30, 2016 .
  7. ↑ Aung Zaw: Rumors of Bizarre Gun Battle in Rangoon. In: The Irrawaddy . January 27, 2005, accessed October 30, 2016 .
  8. ↑ Jade mining in Burma: environment destroyed, elite profit. In: Der Spiegel. November 8, 2015, accessed November 8, 2015 .
  9. ^ The Nation, Bangkok: Burma's top dictator nearing the end ( Memento from December 16, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  10. ↑ Mizzima News: Naypyitaw paralyzed as an ailing Than Shwe clings to power , please-help-burma.blogspot.com
  11. ↑ Shan Herald Agency for News: Who's bossing the MI ( Memento of May 11, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  12. ↑ The Irrawaddy: Than Shwe's Wife "Recovering from Stroke"
  13. ^ The Irrawaddy: New Rumors of Ill Health in Burma's Top Family
  14. ↑ HM treasury, Great Britain: CONSOLIDATED LIST OF FINANCIAL SANCTIONS TARGETS IN THE UK ( Memento of November 10, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  15. ^ The Irrawaddy: New Campaign to Boycott Burmese Businesses
  16. ^ The Irrawaddy: Intelligence (Aug 2006): Than Shwe's Daughter Profits from Marriage
  17. ↑ The Irrawaddy: Popular Outrage Sparked by 'Wedding of the Year' Video
  18. ^ The Irrawaddy: Video of Junta Chief's Bejeweled Daughter Hits Web
  19. ^ The Irrawaddy: 'Royal Wedding' Draws more Fire
personal data
SURNAME Than Shwe
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Burmese military and politicians
DATE OF BIRTH February 2, 1933
PLACE OF BIRTH Kyaukse , Mandalay Division , British India