Burma’s Quick-Change Artists

Posted on May 2, 2010

AP / David Longstreath

How does he look in a blue suit? Senior Gen. Than Shwe heads a group of a dozen generals that runs Burma.

As the military in Burma prepares to replace itself with a civilian government, as per new regulations in the country’s 2008 constitution, the generals of the ruling junta are shedding their military ranks and—voilà!—transforming themselves into respectable civilian politicians.

Many analysts, as well as Burma’s opposition, see parliamentary elections coming up later this year as a mere ruse to attempt to give the military rulers legitimacy. —JCL

The New York Times:

It is an obvious move when generals in a military junta decide to step aside in favor of civilian rule: shed military ranks and uniforms and transform themselves into civilians.

Last week, several cabinet members in Myanmar’s junta did a quick change, resigning from the armed forces, apparently in preparation for parliamentary elections expected later this year.

Under a new Constitution adopted in 2008, the military that has ruled Myanmar, formerly Burma, since 1962 is preparing to replace itself with a civilian government that includes a 440-member House of Representatives.

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