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| Ducks in a row: Than Shwe (far left) and his wife, Kyaing Kyaing, reportedly worry for their family's security. |
RANGOON — Burmese military supremo Snr-Gen Than Shwe reportedly denied having an influence over the new government, and expressed concern for his family's future security at a recent private meeting with retired high-ranking military officials.
Than Shwe, who renounced his post as commander-in-chief of the armed forces last month and has since disappeared from public life, recently invited a group of former high-ranking military officials, including ex-Gen Than Tin, ex-Gen Khin Maung Kyaw, ex-Gen Hla Oo and ex-Lt-Gen Chit Swe, for an informal meeting at his home in Naypyidaw, according to a family member of one of the attendees.
With the exception of Chit Swe, who served as minister of forestry until 1997, the other officials were senior to Than Shwe in the army, and were former ministers and regional military commanders during the rule of late dictator Gen Ne Win.
According to the source, Than Shwe said in the meeting that he was no longer involved in state affairs, and said that he “permitted” current president Thein Sein to choose his own government ministers.
He said that Than Shwe admitted to the group that he offered some advice in the forming of the new government, but was very worried about his family members being prosecuted, jailed, punished or even hanged after he died.
Although it remains unclear whether Than Shwe still holds any formal position either in the government or in the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party, many believe that the 78-year-old dictator continues to wield influence over the army and the new government, and has kept himself in a position to call the shots from behind the scenes.
Photographs of Than Shwe in his army uniform as a senior general still adorn the walls of administrative offices around the country.
According to an inside source, Than Shwe's wife, Kyaing Kyaing, keeps busy by consulting astrologers, soothsayers and mediums.
A local resident in Mingaladon Township, where Than Shwe's daughter Thandar Shwe owns a spacious compound, said that he spotted individuals in the compound, some of whom looked like hermits while others were unshaven with the appearance of bogus Buddhist monks.
“In that compound, there are numerous temples with piles of animal heads,” he said. “They frequently have ceremonies for spirits and nats.”
Although Than Shwe has completely disappeared from the spotlight and his daily sojourns have not been published in the state media for over a month, his deputy Maung Aye was seen at a pavilion during last month's water festival in Mandalay in Upper Burma and is reportedly now ordained as a Buddhist monk in his native Kanbalu Township in Sagaing Division.
“Maung Aye has donated his ancestral homes to the meditation centers and just spends his days meditating,” said a resident of Kanbalu Township. “However, he is always surrounded and watched by four or five plainclothes security guards.”
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