Hopes for a free and democratic Burma, already slim by any measure have been dashed with the ouster on Monday of the country’s prime minister Khin Nyunt and the appointment of a hardliner in his place.
Although the sixty-five-year-old army general and head of the Military Intelligence (MI) unit could hardly be described as a proponent of human rights, he represented a branch of the army ruling elite that believed engaging the outside world was preferable to the country’s previously isolationist path.
And this meant doing at least some of the things that please foreigners, like talking to the opposition parties and embarking on a so-called “roadmap to democracy.”
He was one of the few members of Burma’s top echelon to have met with the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi, someone he once described as “a younger sister.”
And for a year as prime minister, he sought on his trips abroad to present a new, business-like and seemingly more approachable face of the country’s junta leadership.
Even if the talks with the NLD amounted to nothing as Suu Kyi and a score other NLD leaders were still under arrest, Khin Nyunt was largely seen as a moderating force within the regime.
The appointment of Lt-Gen Soe Win, a conservative, as the new prime minister, however, is not likely to augur well for the democracy movement in Burma.
Regional human rights group Altsean-Burma co-ordinator Debbie Stothard said in a telephone interview Soe Win was believed to be the mastermind behind an attack on Suu Kyi, NLD Deputy Chairman U Tin Oo and hundreds of their supporters last year.
The May 2003 attack that resulted in scores killed and disappeared was interpreted as an assassination attempt on Suu Kyi, who had attracted tens of thousands of supporters to rallies held throughout the country in the preceding 12 months.
“While the focus has been on the arrests of Khin Nyunt and his associates, let’s not overlook that Suu Kyi remains key to Myanmar’s democratisation and stability,” she added, appealing to the international community to urgently demand access to the detained opposition leader.
Of particular concern to Burma observers is the propensity of the hardliners to adopt a “zero tolerance” approach to ethnic resistance groups.