Living Silence in Burma by Christina Fink Read Free Book Online

constantly attacking each other and seemingly doing little to resolve the country’s problems. The AFPFL continued to dominate the parliament, but it split into two antagonistic groups, the Clean and the Stable AFPFL, in April 1958. Each group tried to outmanoeuvre the other by wooing army and militia leaders and ethnic representatives in the government. Rumours spread that a group of military officers were plotting a coup.
    In September 1958, General Ne Win and two other senior officers, Maung Maung and Aung Gyi, took power. Prime Minister U Nu tried to limit the damage to the constitutional government by inviting General Ne Win to form a caretaker government. U Nu announced that the handover had been voluntary, but it became clear later that he had had little choice in the matter. 24 The public did not initially oppose the caretaker government, because the elected parliament was in such disarray. Rangoon was filled with squatters who had fled the dangers of life outside the capital. Huts lined many of the city’s thoroughfares and covered vacant lots, andthe drains were like open latrines. If a military government could do a bit to clean up the cities and restore order, it was welcome.
    Under the caretaker government, known in Burmese as the Bogyoke (General’s) government, General Ne Win achieved several successes. He concluded a significant border demarcation agreement with China which led to better relations between the two governments. He also convinced the Shan and Karenni hereditary leaders to give up their powers and allow for the election of all political representatives in their states. Most importantly to those in the cities, he kept food prices low and moved the squatter communities to newly established satellite towns. 25
    Thoughtful individuals, however, viewed the government’s handling of the squatters with concern. The squatters were given only twelve to twenty-four hours’ notice before military trucks picked them up, and many were unable to bring all their things with them. The new sites were not adequately prepared as residential areas, and the new residents had to make do as best they could. In this and other projects, the army showed little respect for the people it was supposedly helping.
    The caretaker government was sensitive to criticism and imprisoned numerous journalists for daring to critique its actions. And much to civil servants’ annoyance, battlefield commanders were brought in to replace or work alongside bureaucrats. After the general’s government extended its term twice beyond the original six-month period, pressure increased for an election to restore democracy.
    General Ne Win complied, and the election date was set for February 1960. Nevertheless, some military leaders hoped to influence the outcome, and some Stable AFPFL politicians flaunted their connections with high-ranking officers, thinking this would win them the support of the people. But they miscalculated, for the voters wanted the military to return to barracks and were annoyed by its attempts to manipulate the election. At the same time, many Burmese Buddhist voters were drawn by U Nu’s pledge to make Buddhism the state religion. They gave a landslide victory to his ‘Clean’ faction of the AFPFL, which had been reorganized as the Pyidaungsu , or Union, Party.
    Among the ethnic nationalities, however, discontent with U Nu and other senior Burmese politicians was growing. Despite their promises, the parliamentary governments of the 1950s had done very little to develop the minority regions. Moreover, the central government had relinquished few powers to the ethnic states, and the tatmadaw ’s presence in areas of insurgency had often resulted in the suspension of the rule of law. Most upsetting to Christian minorities, U Nu pushed a law through parliamentmaking Buddhism the state religion. In doing so, he went against General Aung San’s insistence on keeping the state secular. With majority rule, it seemed that