Posted on 03/06/2005 2:31:02 PM PST by ZayYa
Almost everyone associated with former prime minister Khin Nyunt is now on trial on graft-related charges
Hundreds of senior Burmese military officers are expected to be sentenced to decades in prison this week. More than 300 former military intelligence officers and several civilians are currently being tried inside Rangoon's notorious Insein prison.
The trials have increased uncertainty and tension within Burma over the country's political and economic future. The verdicts and sentences for the top two dozen generals, former prime minister Khin Nyunt's closest confidants, were originally scheduled to be handed down more than three weeks ago but have been deferred more than five times.
Diplomats in Rangoon believe the original delay may have been because the country's top military leaders were pre-occupied with the restart of the national convention which is drafting a new constitution. But the verdicts and sentences have still not been handed down nearly three weeks after the convention resumed.
The continuing delay now may reflect a growing power struggle between the country's top generals, Senior General Than Shwe and his deputy General Maung Aye. More crucially, it may be the result of uncertainty over whether to go after General Khin Nyunt and his family.
The trials are now expected to draw to a close within the next few weeks. The top generals are expected to be given jail sentences of more than 30 years and have their property and valuables confiscated by the state. Court officials and the police have recently visited the homes of many of the top officers on trial to photograph their homes and assets, including their cars.
The military men are all facing multiple charges related to economic crime and corruption. They are being tried in some 30 courts that have been set up inside the prison.
Thirty prosecutors and 30 judges who were appointed to conduct the trials have been sequestered in a state guesthouse outside Rangoon since the middle of January to prevent them talking to anyone.
None of the military men have had the benefit of defence counsel. ``Many of them decided not to hire lawyers as they believe it would make matters worse for them to have a defence counsel,'' according to a family member of one of the generals on trial.
Relatives of one junior officer did try to arrange legal representation, but the lawyer was never admitted to Insein to consult his client, let alone appear before the court on his behalf. In fact, none of the defendants have been allowed to see their families. Many of them have been badly tortured, according to government sources. One officer even died during interrogation and was secretly cremated.
Many of the intelligence officers on trial have been charged with crimes related to commercial activities. All the officers were closely associated with the former military intelligence chief and prime minister, Gen Khin Nyunt. He is currently under house arrest at his home in Nawaday, next door to General Maung Aye, in the wealthy area of Rangoon near Inya Lake, where most of Burma's elite live.
Diplomats in Rangoon believe it is unlikely he will be put on trial even though he was sacked because of the corruption of his subordinates. His two sons _ Ye Naing Win, a businessman whose main commercial venture was the private internet provider Bagan Cyber Tech, and the elder son, Lieutenant-Colonel Zaw Naing Oo _ have not appeared before the courts in Insein yet, but may face trial in the future, according to Burmese businessmen in Rangoon.
The verdicts in the trials may be postponed again as the regime's leaders decide what to do with Gen Khin Nyunt himself. His sons were taken from their homes more than two weeks ago and are currently being interrogated in a secret location somewhere near Rangoon. A new team from the Bureau of Special Investigations, or BSI, has been appointed to rigorously investigate Gen Khin Nyunt and his family, according to Burmese government sources.
The regime plans to confiscate all of Gen Khin Nyunt and his family's personal and business assets, according to sources close to the former prime minister. They believe all the companies owned, controlled or related to members of his family will be confiscated.
Gen Than Shwe is believed to have favoured being lenient with Gen Khin Nyunt and was even prepared to release the two sons. ``There has been a lot of bargaining going on between the two men. Khin Nyunt has pleaded with Than Shwe for clemency for his sons,'' according to one Burmese businessman with previous contact with Gen Khin Nyunt.
But Gen Maung Aye did not agree with this approach. He wanted Gen Khin Nyunt's two sons jailed and the family's business interests confiscated. Fresh investigations have also begun into Bagan Cyber Tech, a joint operation between the police _ two BSI teams _ staff of the post and telecommunications ministry and officers from army signals, according to sources close to the company.
Many people are convinced that these investigations and trials are all a pretext to destroy Gen Khin Nyunt and his men. Even the police carrying out the investigations are certain they are part of a charade. ``All we are doing is putting innocent people in jail,'' a policeman investigating one of Gen Khin Nyunt's senior generals recently confided to friends.
The senior intelligence officer, Colonel Hla Min, the former military spokesman, has been charged with possession of a service revolver and of living above his means for owning a flat worth 40 million kyat (1.6 million baht) _ extremely modest by the standards of the Rangoon elite, according to Burmese businessmen. ``His only crime was to be loyal to his boss, Gen Khin Nyunt,'' said one.
Concern is beginning to grow within the ranks of the military over the future of the country.
The mass trial of former military intelligence officers has caused disquiet within the military, particularly in the navy and air force. ``It's a form of cannibalism _ the army is eating its own flesh,'' said one retired Burmese officer.
There is certainly a witch-hunt under way to destroy Gen Khin Nyunt and anyone who might have sympathised with him. Anything to do with the former prime minister has been purged.
Photographs, posters and billboards showing him have been taken down. The spire in the famous Shwedagon temple in Rangoon which Gen Khin Nyunt had covered in gold has been boarded up.
The authorities have also scoured the civil service and had anyone who had got their post as a result of a recommendation from a military intelligence officer sacked.
Anyone with past links to military intelligence is being purged. Within the last few weeks, the director-general of the censorship board has been sacked and replaced by a major. A key member of the drug police, Lieutenant-Colonel Htun Htun Oo, who was responsible for an innovative HIV programme, was also dumped recently.
Ambassadors with close ties to Gen Khin Nyunt and former foreign minister Win Aung are in the process of being replaced. Fifteen brigadier-generals were seconded to the foreign ministry over a month ago and are being trained to replace a dozen ambassadors posted abroad, including in Bangkok, Jakarta and Singapore. More than 30 army lieutenant-colonels are also being trained before being posted abroad.
Apart from cleansing the government of any traces of Gen Khin Nyunt's influence, it marks a new strengthening of army control over every aspect of government. The defence ministry now has become the centre of power and control.
The witch-hunt against Gen Khin Nyunt is reminiscent of Burmese monarchs of the past, when all the relatives of a deposed king were thrown into the pit with him.
But this campaign is undermining the authority of the generals. It has contributed to a growing resentment within the military and government. ``It's creating a deep reservoir of hatred,'' according to a senior retired military man.
Many observers, including the former leading student activist, Min Ko Naing, who was recently released after being held in prison for more than 15 years, believe the atmosphere in Rangoon is similar to 1988. ``Burma is a social volcano about to erupt,'' said a Burmese businessman recently.
Good. Let's hope the Burma regime splits and dies. It's one of the worst in the world.
On of the six revised Axis of Evil nations targeted for liberation (announced by Secretary Rice), along with the other hellholes of the planet earth: Zimbabwe, North Korea, Cuba, Iran, and Belorus.
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