When Prime Minister Thein Sein and 26 other military officers quietly retired their military stripes, little to nothing of the Burmese jigsaw changed. As the country lurches precariously toward its first general election in two decades, the protagonists to the crisis stand as polarized as ever.
While Burma has in the past characteristically been described as a military dictatorship, the fact that 27 ranking officers in April shed their uniforms for civilian attire does not change the fact that people are demanding an end to dictatorial rule, be it military in nature or otherwise.
Clearly, Burma’s ruling clique is keen to present itself as something other than a military grouping, embracing the marketing game that has come to grip the world over. But, if they truly care about the legacy of their image, they must yet come to an understanding of how their image can best be enhanced by means of adopting a more inclusive political process.
There is no shortage of regional examples to whom to turn regarding ex-officers cum political honchos, from current Indonesian strongman Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to former Philippines Head-of-State Fidel Ramos. However, Burma’s generals, as was the case with Yudhoyono, Ramos and others, have to appreciate the necessity of a corresponding broadening of the political class, and at least outward recognition of civilian supremacy, that accompanies the transformation of military men into civilian politicians.
Conversely, it is also easy to find examples of civilian leaders who came to find themselves at odds with the people they purported to work for owing to exclusive patterns of governance. Only last month, Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev was violently forced from office through mass protests, having previously reached the apex of the Central Asian country’s political ladder in the heady days following the Tulip Revolution. Meanwhile, in Thailand, the specter unleashed as a product of divisive and corrupt political patronage as practiced by former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra continues to wreak havoc on the country.
There can be no question, Burma’s former generals are certainly going to run for political office and take on ministerial portfolios as civilian candidates and representatives. And as such, in a truly vibrant democratic environment, they should be welcomed as legitimate players in the political theatre. But such an atmosphere does not exist in Burma.
The ball is clearly in the junta’s court. With ethnic ceasefire groups largely failing to heed the regime’s demands to transform their armies into a Border Guard Force, and the National League for Democracy revealing their hand in their refusal to join the electoral fray, it is time for Burma’s ex-generals to acknowledge the shortcomings in their own strategy and embrace a more inclusive political process.
And, if done correctly, the net result for the ex-officer corps will be an enhanced image. And the enhanced image will have ultimately arisen not due to any proclivity to don civilian garb over military uniforms, but rather owing to the structural changes they were willing to initiate in Burmese society and institutions. Quite simply, it is not the clothes that make the man.
