Since ousting the Nobel Laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Feb. 2021, the junta had an iron grip on power, and it did not see the need even for a fig leaf of a controlled parliamentary democracy
An autocracy is to be run in the name of parliamentary democracy in Myanmar. The country is an object lesson in how democracy can be twisted to make way for an army general to take over as the President. That takes us back to the famous cry of Madame Roland — “O Liberty! What crimes are committed in thy name!” — against the depredations of the Jacobins in their “Reign of Terror.”
The story of Myanmar’s military ruler, senior general Min Aung Hlaing, who stepped down early this week as commander-in-chief and is expected to be declared as the President is similar. The transition is a rebranding exercise designed to grant the junta international legitimacy without yielding any actual power or ending the systemic violence and economic collapse.
Since ousting the Nobel Laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Feb. 2021, the junta had an iron grip on power, and it did not see the need even for a fig leaf of a controlled parliamentary democracy. Things are changing now in name with the general seeking legitimacy by choosing to become the civilian head of government after holding polls in December and January that were rigged to create an outcome by excluding the Opposition while keeping Aung San Suu Kyi imprisoned at a secret location.
In an unusual process to conform to the constitution, the general named two aides and himself as vice-presidents who will then choose him as President next month when parliament meets. To ensure that the military also remains under his thumb, the general has named a loyal ally in Gen. Ye Win Oo to succeed him as commander-in-chief.
The junta’s record of keeping the people in the cities repressed while they suffer under rising inflation, joblessness and frequent power breakdowns even as they are fighting a civil war against rebels in the countryside is not going to change. The new setup may just keep the military or ‘Tatmadaw’ in the background to keep doing the dirty work of handling rebels and dissidents.
Will at least the bombing of civilian areas be called off? Can the minority Rohingya people who were made to run for their lives nurse any hope of returning? There is little hope that Myanmar, with whom India shares a 1,600-km border, will emerge from the dark ages of repressive rule that has lasted for 60 years. More's the pity as the general becoming President is not going to change the fate of the Myanmar people.
