It is in a dictator’s nature to show no mercy when their power is challenged. Myanmar dictators both past and present provide the perfect example, the latest instance being the arrest of Dr. Nay Soe Maung, son-in-law of ex-dictator Than Shwe, by Min Aung Hlaing’s regime.
News of Dr. Nay Soe Maung’s detention felt like a familiar story to Myanmar people. In 2002, then-dictator Than Shwe opened the previous chapter by jailing the son-in-law and grandchildren of his predecessor, Ne Win, the country’s first military dictator. Now, Than Shwe finds himself on the receiving end, prompting many to remark that karma has come full circle.
Min Aung Hlaing – whom Than Shwe handpicked as his successor – had Nay Soe Maung arrested on a charge of “damaging state peace and stability” following his recent Facebook posts criticizing the regime. Nay Soe Maung is married to Than Shwe’s favorite daughter, Kyi Kyi Shwe, and is father of the old dictator’s beloved grandson, Nay Shwe Thway Aung.
Speculation about Than Shwe’s continued influence in Myanmar politics heightened when Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited him at his luxury residence in Naypyitaw in mid-August. But soon after that visit, Min Aung Hlaing had his son-in-law arrested in a public move reported by junta-controlled newspapers.
Nay Soe Maung is a former colonel in the military medical corps and, at 68, is the same age as Min Aung Hlaing. At the 2020 general election, he announced his support for the National League for Democracy (NLD) and said the military only formed part of the government. He participated in street protests following the military’s 2021 coup, even posting a photo of himself flashing the three-finger democracy salute with a portrait of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in the background.
He has also drawn ire from former generals with posts describing the incorruptibility of his father Major-General Tin Sein as deputy defense minister in Ne Win’s regime.
His last social media post, dated Oct. 7, expressed condolences on the death of jailed NLD vice chair Dr. Zaw Myint Maung and praised his achievements as chief minister of Mandalay Region.
One political observer said: “At first, the regime just let him do as he pleased, but as his criticism deepened, they got nervous and eventually took action. This is hardly unusual: Than Shwe arrested Ne Win’s grandchildren. Likewise, Min Aung Hlaing arrested his son-in-law as soon as his power was challenged. The next military chief will arrest Min Aung Hlaing’s children if his power is threatened.”
In October last year, the regime jailed Ye Htut, information minister and presidential spokesperson for Thein Sein’s government, on charges of sedition and incitement. He had been taking veiled swipes at the regime on Facebook since 2021. Many thought the regime would refrain from punishing him given he was the right-hand man of Thein Sein and a classmate of deputy junta chief Soe Win in the Defense Services Academy 22nd intake.
Ye Htut was, however, given 10 years in jail.
Purges are routine occurrences in Myanmar’s modern history, triggered whenever generals feel any threat to their status.
Purges in Ne Win’s era
During strikes in Yangon in 1974-75, protesters shouted “Long live [military chief] Tin Oo and [chief minister] Sein Win! Down with Ne Win and San Yu!”
The growing popularity of U Tin Oo, who would later become NLD leader, aroused malicious envy in Ne Win.
During the Ne Win’s period of martial law, soldiers in Yangon began seizing young people off the streets in Yangon and shaving their hair if it was deemed too long. Among those caught by the haircut squads was Ne Win’s son, Phyo Wai Win.
Ne Win was angered when a captain insisted that Yangon was not ruled by the dictator but by military chief General Tin Oo’s martial law. When Captain Ohn Kyaw Myint’s assassination plot against Ne Win was exposed in 1976, the dictator found an excuse to jail Tin Oo.
Neither did Ne Win spare his bespectacled intelligence chief, Myat Hmen Tin Oo, despite mentoring him since he was a junior officer. Myat Hmen Tin Oo’s power grew to the point that Ne Win’s staff called him “Number one-and-a-half”, just behind their boss as No 1.
The ethnic Mon’s rapid rise to power was cut short when he was jailed for “misappropriation of public funds”.
Purges during Than Shwe’s era
Than Shwe was no less ruthless than his predecessor, Ne Win.
His strategy for regional military commanders he deemed as threatening his power was to transfer them to ministries, before dismissing them from their posts.
Former Lt-Gen Tun Kyi, who served as Mandalay Command chief and commerce minister under the State Law and Order Restoration Council and its successor the State Peace and Development Council led by Than Shwe, wrote in his memoir that Than Shwe fired him and other outspoken officers with initiative and replaced them with younger subordinates who would do his bidding without questions.
Than Shwe threw Ne Win’s son-in-law Aye Zaw Win and three grandsons – Aye Ne Win, Kyaw Ne Win and Zwe Ne Win – into Insein Prison in 2002 for “high treason and mutiny”. The family astrologer Myo Myint Aung was also put behind bars.
Ne Win’s son-in-law and grandsons had been seeking support from military commanders for a campaign of national reforms. The plot leaked after they roped in 77th Light Infantry Division commander Brigadier-General Than Htay, former chairman of the military’s proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party.
Ne Win, then 93, was placed under house arrest along with his favorite daughter, Dr. Sandar Win. The military dictator who had ruled the country with an iron grip for 26 years died in isolation soon after.
Only a few family members were allowed to attend the funeral, which was announced in small notices by junta-controlled newspapers.
In 2004, two years after Ne Win’s death, Than Shwe finally purged his powerful prime minister and military intelligence chief, General Khin Nyunt, who was reportedly poised to take power had the internal coup succeeded two years earlier. Khin Nyunt was placed under house arrest until Than Shwe stepped down as military chief to make way for Min Aung Hlaing.
History has come full circle: now in his 90s, Than Shwe has lived to see his successor arrest a member of his own family.
