{"id":4714,"date":"2018-01-18T12:37:10","date_gmt":"2018-01-18T06:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/equalitymyanmar.org\/new-eng\/?p=4714"},"modified":"2026-01-28T11:02:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T04:32:07","slug":"myanmar-military-gains-favour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/equalitymyanmar.org\/?p=4714","title":{"rendered":"Myanmar military gains favour"},"content":{"rendered":"

BANGKOK:<\/strong>\u00a0Activist Nyo Tun spent 10 years as a political prisoner locked away by Myanmar\u2019s military in the notorious Insein prison, where he endured beatings and other cruelty for his efforts to bring democracy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe military government was so brutal for many years,\u201d he said of the former junta, which ruled the country for decades until 2012 and then by proxy four more years \u2013 and still has a final say on security matters. \u201cAll they knew was how to torture anyone who was against them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Myanmar, long isolated both by choice and by international sanctions, has undergone a transformation in recent years. Another former political prisoner, Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, was elected the head of a civilian government, which led to the easing of most sanctions and an influx of foreign investment.<\/p>\n

Yet the most striking change may be the majority Buddhist Burman population\u2019s view of its military: An institution once despised has seen its popularity surge alongside a rise in nationalism that has accompanied a crackdown on Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine state in western Myanmar that has left thousands dead and more than 650,000 displaced.<\/p>\n

That includes Nyo Tun, who says he was beaten, slapped, denied food and water and access to the toilet for days during his interrogation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe military dictatorship was in the past and the new military institution is much different,\u201d he said. They are \u201cdefending the country and that\u2019s how they get the support from people because it\u2019s all about the national spirit for everyone\u201d.<\/p>\n

Thousands have rallied in cities across the country in support of the troops, known locally as the Tatmadaw. Commander-in-chief Senior Gen Min Aung Hlaing, who remains constitutionally beyond the control of Suu Kyi\u2019s government, is regularly praised by the public on his official Facebook page.<\/p>\n

The military said in November an internal investigation has absolved its forces of allegations of atrocities. However, citing credible evidence of mass killings, rapes and villages being burned, the US announced last month it had sanctioned Maj-Gen Maung Maung Soe, who until recently was chief of the army\u2019s Western Command responsible for security operations in Rakhine.<\/p>\n

\u201cLong live the army and commander in chief,\u201d said one recent Facebook comment. \u201cThe army has done well for the country, we are very proud of it,\u201d said another. \u201cThank you for clearing all the Bengali terrorists,\u201d read another.<\/p>\n

Such praise was not only unheard of under the former junta, but it would have been practically impossible. The junta sealed off the country from outsiders for decades and its citizens were not allowed to watch international news let alone have access to the Internet. People were prohibited from speaking about politics and rallies were banned.<\/p>\n

The military has been locked in civil wars with ethnic rebels fighting for self-determination and indigenous rights. On the rare occasions when frustrations boiled over into attempted pro-democracy uprisings \u2013 such as in 1988 and 2007 \u2013 the military responded with overwhelming force that left hundreds dead or imprisoned.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Tatmadaw has gone from the most reviled institution to enjoying a renaissance, at least amongst the ethnic Burman population,\u201d said David Mathieson, an independent political analyst who formerly worked with Human Rights Watch. \u201cThis curious adulation comes from a dark place though.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following its trouncing in the 2015 election, when voters sent a clear message that they would no longer tolerate military rule, the army has focused on a \u201cwinning formula of violence and vilification of the Rohingya and ethnic rebels,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The transition to democracy is \u201cworking beautifully for them, as remembrance of repression past fades within the general population,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Most alarming to many observers is the support the military has gained from the very activists and former political prisoners who once campaigned for the international community\u2019s help in removing the generals from power. They now preach a gospel of nationalism and sovereignty.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause of the international pressure and criticism, people inside Myanmar are even more united under nationalism and people start to get stronger national spirit because this is not just a normal case, this is about the history and politics of our country,\u201d said Ko Ko Gyi, another former political prisoner. \u2014 AP<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.thestar.com.my\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BANGKOK:\u00a0Activist Nyo Tun spent 10 years as a political prisoner locked away by Myanmar\u2019s military in the notorious Insein prison, where he endured beatings and other cruelty for his efforts to bring democracy. \u201cThe military government was so brutal for many years,\u201d he said of the former junta, which ruled the country for decades until […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4715,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/equalitymyanmar.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/equalitymyanmar.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/equalitymyanmar.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/equalitymyanmar.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/equalitymyanmar.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4714"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/equalitymyanmar.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4714\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4716,"href":"https:\/\/equalitymyanmar.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4714\/revisions\/4716"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/equalitymyanmar.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/equalitymyanmar.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/equalitymyanmar.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/equalitymyanmar.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}