Neither Modesty nor Mea Culpa in Memoir

U Khin Nyunt defends the 1988 military coup and the accomplishments of the former junta in a new autobiography

By SEAN GLEESON / YANGON

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was attacked by a pro-junta militia, leading to the deaths of up to 70 of her supporters.

“That time, Aung San Suu Kyi was campaigning in a long convoy from place to place, which was a concern for our government,” the book reads. “When the convoy of Aung San Suu Kyi arrived in Monywa from Mandalay, the SPDC chairman [Than Shwe] summoned me and four or five other senior leaders and told us to stop the convoy by all means. I said we should not use violence and the leader did not agree with me. Then he did not assign the duty to me, instead asking Lt-Gen Soe Win to handle it.” should I apologize?” U Khin Nyunt infamously retorted in 2013 when asked by a reporter whether he would express contrition for his role in Myanmar’s former military junta. If the former prime minister’s new autobiography is any measure, his quest to find a suitable cause for atonement continues.

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Released in early March, the Myanmar-language “My Life Experience” covers the former general’s rise through the country’s armed forces to the head of Military Intelligence (MI), his role in negotiating peace with the disparate ethnic armies and drug lords, and his rocky tenure as prime minister of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), which ended in his unceremonious dumping and detention in October 2004.

As a protégé of former dictator Gen. Ne Win, U Khin Nyunt remained a resolute defender of the crackdown on nationwide democracy protests in 1988, which ushered in 22 more years of military rule.

“It was not a coup, but an action by the army to ensure the safety of the people,” he wrote.

The former prime minister’s esteem remains intact for Snr.-Gen. Than Shwe, the long-serving former chairman of the SPDC, with the new memoir fondly reflecting on their 50year association.

“We discharged military and State duties together for a very long time and it is true that we had mutual respect,” he wrote. “I accomplished any duty assigned by Snr-Gen Than Shwe as he was my superior and leader of the State. I believe he also had trust in me and was friendly toward me.”

The former prime minister appears to bear no animosity toward Myanmar’s last dictator, despite U Khin Nyunt’s 44-year sentence on corruption charges being widely viewed as the endgame in a power struggle between the two figures.

“It can’t be that I was punished solely through his desire,” he wrote. “There were certain persons who persuaded him and made him take action against me, and I know who they are. But, I don’t want to reveal them. Let it be.” Nonetheless, U Khin Nyunt readily implicates Snr.-Gen. Than Shwe in the 2003 Depayin Massacre, during which a convoy transporting National League for Democracy (NLD) chairwoman

U Khin Nyunt’s 2004 downfall was soon followed by the dissolution of Military Intelligence, a sprawling network of agents across the country which spied on government officials and detained opposition activists, and which formed the core of the former prime minister’s support base. Many senior MI members were imprisoned as a result.

In his new book, U Khin Nyunt said he had petitioned the government to release his former MI staffers, and promised to ensure their fealty to the new, nominally civilian government.

“My staffers are not political prisoners and not rebels,” the book reads. “Maybe they did wrong out of their greed. In December 2013, I sent a letter to President U Thein Sein, telling him that I would take responsibility for my staffers who are still behind bars and I would make them pledge that they would be loyal to the country.”

While not confessing to any misdeeds of his own, U Khin Nyunt said he regretted the disbandment of Military Intelligence for the wrongful actions of a few, and accepted responsibility for the shortcomings of the unit.

“In fact, it is not that the entire MI was not good,” he wrote. “There were many good staffers. I couldn’t put any blame on them because I am a responsible person. I take it that I am responsible for all. I apologize on behalf of my staffers who did wrong.” 

Excerpts from “My Life Experience” were translated by Thet Ko Ko.