One of the few unchallenged accomplishments of Myanmar's military junta — securing peace with the country's armed ethnic rebel groups — may be in jeopardy after Prime Minister Gen. Khin Nyunt lost his job this week. A delegation of Karen ethnic guerrillas — among the last rebel groups that has not signed a cease-fire with the government — returned to their jungle bases Thursday from a peace mission to Myanmar's capital, staying only two days for what were supposed to be weeklong talks. The interruption came after Khin Nyunt, architect of 17 ceasefires reached with ethnic separatists, was abruptly ousted on Tuesday and replaced with Lt. Gen. Soe Win, who is associated with a more hard-line army faction disinclined to compromise with its opponents. Myanmar officials have quickly underlined that policies won't change on some of the major issues facing the regime — a promised timetable for gradual democratization and the cease-fires with ethnic minorities seeking greater autonomy.
Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been under military rule since 1962. The current group of generals has been in power since 1988 and has attracted widespread international criticism for its widely documented human rights abuses and refusal to allow democracy. It held elections in 1990, but refused to hand over power when the party of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi won a landslide victory. Suu Kyi is currently in detention. Amid the government assurances, the Karen are taking a wait-and-see attitude to the new premier. But another group, the Shan State Army, believes the future is bleak. "The generals are clinging to a military solution, we believe that once they settle their internal affairs, the military will launch more offensives on the ethnic nationalities," said the group's spokeswoman, Khur Hsen.
| Burma "has been under military rule since 1962." I'd call that one of the most gradual transitions to democracy imaginable, second only to Soddy Arabia and North Korea. The generals have made Burma — historically Thailand's rival — into a backwater basket case. I'd call them one of the best imaginable arguments against military rule. |
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