Bunkered away in the centre of the country, the secret and reclusive
generals who rule Myanmar fear all foreigners.
A week after a deadly cyclone and facing huge pressure to open their
country to international aid, they see everyone as a potential enemy
intent on overthrowing their rule.
Rather than alleviating the suffering wrought by Cyclone Nargis, the
top generals' primary concern at present is to preserve their power
and protect their families' future position and wealth.
Disease stalks survivors
'Utter devastation'
Cyclone's deaths is now 77,838 and 55,917 are missing
: Crisis in Myanmar/burma
Their outlook is solely shaped by military considerations, looking at
the world through soldiers' eyes. But their nationalist xenophobia
also has its roots in the style and superstitions of General Ne Win,
the country's first military dictator.
He seized power in a coup in 1962 and the military have ruled ever
since.
Reclusive and eccentric, Ne Win shunned contact with the outside
world, turning the country then known as Burma into the hermit of
Asia.
The first few years of his rule saw pogroms against the Chinese and
Indian communities, forcing tens of thousands to flee the country. He
also banned the teaching of English in the schools
Fear
"Burma's military regime is extraordinarily xenophobic," says Sean
Turnell, a Myanmar expert at Australia's Macquarie University. "They
are afraid of everything."
For years the generals' greatest fear has been that the US planned a
strategic strike against them.
To prepare for that, they have built a rabbit-warren of bunkers around
their new capital, Naypyidaw, in the hills some 400 kilometres north
of Yangon.
They moved the seat of government and the military headquarters to the
remote, purpose-built city abruptly in November 2005. Thousands of
civil servants were only give a few hours' notice to pack up and move.
Myanmar's government says it wants
international aid but not aid workers [AFP]
During the mass pro-democracy demonstrations in August 1988, which
brought the country to a stand still for months, they feared a US
invasion when ****ps of the US Pacific fleet moored off the country's
southern coast.
Then they turned to Beijing for protection and today China remains
Myanmar's most-im****tant diplomatic ally.
The regime is also highly suspicious of the UN and other international
aid agencies, fearing they are in cahoots with the West and only want
to whip up opposition to military rule inside the country.
Even before the current cyclone disaster hit Myanmar, international
aid workers found it hard to travel around the country and visit
development projects.
Rejected
Last year the government expelled the United Nation's top
representative in the country, Charles Petrie, on the grounds that he
was interfering with government policy.
"We must get rid of all the white faces," Senior General Than Shwe
told his cabinet several times, according to reliable military
sources.
Since then the government has refused to accept several Western
nominees as head of UN agencies.
Senior General Than Shwe heads Myanmar's
reclusive military government [Reuters]
An American candidate was rejected last year as head of the United
Nations High Commission for Refugees while two western nominees to
replace the ousted UN representative were also recently turned down.
Both posts have since been filled by an Asian from a developing
country.
The restrictions on aid workers' movements are in part because the
military regime fears that they will be gathering intelligence that
might be used to undermine the government, but also because of the
generals' paranoid obsession with being in total control of
everything.
Given this mindset, there is no prospect the military regime will
allow foreign aid workers to flood into the country, let alone allow
foreign troops to enter.
"They're afraid that if foreign soldiers come in, they are the
spearhead to overthrow the government," says Josef Silverstein, a
retired Rutgers University professor and Myanmar expert.
=46rom the generals' perspective, he says, "aid workers could be
carrying weapons to give to the people, they could give them ideas of
how to overthrow the government."
Subversive
The families of Myanmar's ruling generals
enjoy a lavish lifestyle
For decades, the ruling military regimes have kept Myanmar isolated,
fearing that opening the country up would impact both its businesses
and culture, and still worse, foster subversive thoughts like freedom
of speech and democracy.
Even tourists were not allowed access to the country until the 1970s,
when visitors were given a strict, seven-day visa.
This changed a decade ago, when the lure of foreign currency spurred a
relaxation of the rules. Nonetheless, all visitors are closely
controlled and constantly monitored by military intelligence officers.
Meanwhile, there has been an almost total ban on journalists, with
authorities granting media visas only for largely meaningless army-
arranged ceremonies.
The generals' paranoia and distrust extends to all civilians =96 they
believe that only the army has the ability to unite the country and
protect it from foreign invaders.
=46rom their perspective, only the military represents the nation as a
whole, not the factional interests of political parties or business
people.
Intimidation
The irony is, of course, that they have divided the country as never
before =96 political parties are effectively banned, more than 2,000
political prisoners are langui****ng in jail, there is strict
censor****p of the press and the people are beaten into submission
through a concerted campaign of harassment and intimidation.
Last year they alienated the country's revered Buddhist monks after
they brutally cracked down on the saffron-led protests against rising
food prices.
In the end, the real issue is one of control =96 the military government
understands that it must remain united or perish.
Their greatest fear now is losing control, losing their wealth, and
facing Nuremberg-style trials from a future civilian government
bringing them to account.
The current military rulers, especially General Than Shwe and his
family, have amassed vast fortunes through corruption and nepotism.
Little wonder then that, despite the overwhelming suffering caused by
Cyclone Nargis, the generals seem so anxious to press ahead with their
referendum and institutionalise their power.
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