Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing attended Russia’s 80th annual Victory Day parade in Moscow’s Red Square on May 9, accompanied by his wife and her favorite fellow generals’ wives.
One new face spotted on the Russia trip was Daw Khin May Soe, wife of Chief of General Staff (Army, Navy, Air Force) General Kyaw Swar Lin.
In addition, the wife of Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister General Maung Maung Aye, and Daw Nilar, the wife of General Ye Win Oo, the joint secretary of the junta’s governing body, joined the entourage.
A shrewd woman, Daw Kyu Kyu Hla showers favors on her favorites among the generals’ wives—and their husbands get rapid promotions, sources close to them said.
Gen. Kyaw Swar Lin has been assigned to a planning position that doesn’t require him to fight at the front lines. Min Aung Hlaing’s trusted aide is also widely tipped to become the next military chief when Min Aung Hlaing retires from the military, with current Deputy Commander-in-Chief (Army) General Soe Win now seen as unlikely to assume the Commander-in-Chief position.
The junta leader and Daw Kyu Kyu Hla have always tried to surround themselves with people close to them when considering their future.
This is why the Myanmar military has become Min Aung Hlaing’s armed forces, shaped by the regime boss himself.
During previous military dictator Ne Win’s era, there were also references to the military as Ne Win’s personal army.
Military leader Min Aung Hlaing has already informed his trusted generals that he will hold an election by the end of this year and then become president.
But he is surrounded by enemies. He is losing the war.
For someone losing a war to attend such a grand victory celebration in Moscow is a brazen, shameless act.
The revolutionary armed forces have gained the upper hand. He knows that he faces challenges and threats.
Officially appointed ministers do not actually wield any power; it is Min Aung Hlaing’s secret cabinet that holds the real power.
When he sits in conversation with his trusted people, newly appointed generals and lieutenant colonels, the junta leader’s words are quite different from the speeches he delivers in public and which are published daily in the regime’s mouthpiece newspaper, according to people linked to his inner circle.
They said Min Aung Hlaing often says, “We might leave [office] dead or we might leave alive. We must be prepared.”
Analyzing this statement, it appears Min Aung Hlaing has himself thought about the possibility of “leaving dead”.
His comments were relayed by officers who have attended meetings with Min Aung Hlaing.
It appears Min Aung Hlaing is preoccupied with thoughts about whether he will face the gallows, be assassinated, or become president.
When he decided to stage the coup, astrologers, pseudo-scholars and cronies alike all encouraged him, forecasting success, but today the country has become utterly impoverished—something his secret cabinet knows.
Yet they continue on their foolish path.
Min Aung Hlaing’s public announcement about holding elections by the end of this year indicates that he is plotting to continue in power as president.
This is an undoubtable fact.
So, the man who always proclaimed that the country’s strength lies within became a puppet of Putin during his Moscow trip.
Who is providing external support?
It’s clear.
Min Aung Hlaing will continue to sink deeper into his folly with the help of Putin, the prophesied “King of Rats” (an obscure historical Burmese reference to the Russian leadership that the junta boss personally shared with Putin).
Along with him, a group of rogue military officers and cronies will continue to amass power and further their own interests.
But how long will this last…?
The question of whether Min Aung Hlaing will leave office dead or alive is a question being asked within the military.
