Ne Win: Difference between revisions

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Ne Win's date of birth is not known with certainty. The English language publication ''Who's Who in Burma'' published in 1961 by People's Literature House, Rangoon, stated that Ne Win was born on 14 May 1911. Dr. Maung Maung stated in the Burmese version of his book ''Burma and General Ne Win'', also published in English, that Ne Win was born on 14 May 1911. However, in a book written in Burmese titled ''The Thirty Comrades'', the author Kyaw Nyein gave Ne Win's date of birth as 10 July 1910.

Following independence there were uprisings in the army and among ethnic minority groups. In late 1948, after a confrontation between army rivals, Ne Win was appointed second in command of the army and his rival Bo Zeya, a communist commander and fellow member of the Thirty Comrades, took a portion of the army into rebellion. Ne Win immediately adopted a policy of creating Socialist militia battalions called 'Sitwundan' under his personal command with the approval of U Nu. On 31 January 1949, Ne Win was appointed Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces (Tatmadaw) and given total control of the army, replacing General Smith Dun, an ethnic Karen. He rebuilt and restructured the armed forces along the ruling Socialist Party's political lines, but the country was still split and the government was ineffective.

Following independence there were uprisings in the army and among ethnic minority groups. In late 1948, after a confrontation between army rivals, Ne Win was appointed second in command of the army and his rival Bo Zeya, a [[communist]] commander and fellow member of the Thirty Comrades, took a portion of the army into rebellion. Ne Win immediately adopted a policy of creating Socialist militia battalions called 'Sitwundan' under his personal command with the approval of U Nu. On 31 January 1949, Ne Win was appointed Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces (Tatmadaw) and given total control of the army, replacing General Smith Dun, an ethnic Karen. He rebuilt and restructured the armed forces along the ruling Socialist Party's political lines, but the country was still split and the government was ineffective.

He was asked to serve as interim prime minister from 28 October 1958 by U Nu, when the AFPFL split into two factions and U Nu barely survived a motion of no-confidence against his government in parliament. Ne Win restored order during the period known as the "Ne Win caretaker government". Elections were held in February 1960 and Ne Win handed back power to the victorious U Nu on 4 April 1960.

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In 1988, 26 years later, Ne Win denied involvement in the dynamiting of the Student Union building, stating that his deputy Brigadier Aung Gyi — who by that time had fallen out with Ne Win and been dismissed — had given the order and that he had to take responsibility as a "revolutionary leader" by giving the sword with sword and spear with spear speech.

In foreign affairs, Ne Win followed a strictly neutralist policy during the Cold War, participating in the Non-Aligned Movement and keeping his distance from both the United States and the Soviet Union. On the other hand, his relations with [[Mao Zedong]] and the People's Republic of China were initially excellent, but were temporarily broken between 1967 and 1971, due to Mao's covert support for the Communist insurgency within Burma and the outbreak of anti-Chinese riots by regime supporters; however, in March 1971 relations were fully restored and Chinese economic aid continued.

In foreign affairs, Ne Win followed a strictly neutralist policy during the [[Cold War]], participating in the Non-Aligned Movement and keeping his distance from both the United States and the Soviet Union. On the other hand, his relations with [[Mao Zedong]] and the People's Republic of China were initially excellent, but were temporarily broken between 1967 and 1971, due to Mao's covert support for the Communist insurgency within Burma and the outbreak of anti-Chinese riots by regime supporters; however, in March 1971 relations were fully restored and Chinese economic aid continued.

Ne Win oversaw a number of reforms after taking power. The administration instituted a system including elements of extreme nationalism, Marxism, and Buddhism, though Ne Win lacked interest in either ideology or religion – terming this the Burmese Way to Socialism. He founded the Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP), which in 1964 was formally declared to be the only legal party.

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 Ne Win's date of birth is not known with certainty. The English language publication ''Who's Who in Burma'' published in 1961 by People's Literature House, Rangoon, stated that Ne Win was born on 14 May 1911. Dr. Maung Maung stated in the Burmese version of his book ''Burma and General Ne Win'', also published in English, that Ne Win was born on 14 May 1911. However, in a book written in Burmese titled ''The Thirty Comrades'', the author Kyaw Nyein gave Ne Win's date of birth as 10 July 1910.
-Following independence there were uprisings in the army and among ethnic minority groups. In late 1948, after a confrontation between army rivals, Ne Win was appointed second in command of the army and his rival Bo Zeya, a communist commander and fellow member of the Thirty Comrades, took a portion of the army into rebellion. Ne Win immediately adopted a policy of creating Socialist militia battalions called 'Sitwundan' under his personal command with the approval of U Nu. On 31 January 1949, Ne Win was appointed Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces (Tatmadaw) and given total control of the army, replacing General Smith Dun, an ethnic Karen. He rebuilt and restructured the armed forces along the ruling Socialist Party's political lines, but the country was still split and the government was ineffective.
+Following independence there were uprisings in the army and among ethnic minority groups. In late 1948, after a confrontation between army rivals, Ne Win was appointed second in command of the army and his rival Bo Zeya, a [[communist]] commander and fellow member of the Thirty Comrades, took a portion of the army into rebellion. Ne Win immediately adopted a policy of creating Socialist militia battalions called 'Sitwundan' under his personal command with the approval of U Nu. On 31 January 1949, Ne Win was appointed Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces (Tatmadaw) and given total control of the army, replacing General Smith Dun, an ethnic Karen. He rebuilt and restructured the armed forces along the ruling Socialist Party's political lines, but the country was still split and the government was ineffective.
 He was asked to serve as interim prime minister from 28 October 1958 by U Nu, when the AFPFL split into two factions and U Nu barely survived a motion of no-confidence against his government in parliament. Ne Win restored order during the period known as the "Ne Win caretaker government". Elections were held in February 1960 and Ne Win handed back power to the victorious U Nu on 4 April 1960.
@@ Line 28: / Line 28: @@
 In 1988, 26 years later, Ne Win denied involvement in the dynamiting of the Student Union building, stating that his deputy Brigadier Aung Gyi — who by that time had fallen out with Ne Win and been dismissed — had given the order and that he had to take responsibility as a "revolutionary leader" by giving the sword with sword and spear with spear speech.
-In foreign affairs, Ne Win followed a strictly neutralist policy during the Cold War, participating in the Non-Aligned Movement and keeping his distance from both the United States and the Soviet Union. On the other hand, his relations with [[Mao Zedong]] and the People's Republic of China were initially excellent, but were temporarily broken between 1967 and 1971, due to Mao's covert support for the Communist insurgency within Burma and the outbreak of anti-Chinese riots by regime supporters; however, in March 1971 relations were fully restored and Chinese economic aid continued.
+In foreign affairs, Ne Win followed a strictly neutralist policy during the [[Cold War]], participating in the Non-Aligned Movement and keeping his distance from both the United States and the Soviet Union. On the other hand, his relations with [[Mao Zedong]] and the People's Republic of China were initially excellent, but were temporarily broken between 1967 and 1971, due to Mao's covert support for the Communist insurgency within Burma and the outbreak of anti-Chinese riots by regime supporters; however, in March 1971 relations were fully restored and Chinese economic aid continued.
 Ne Win oversaw a number of reforms after taking power. The administration instituted a system including elements of extreme nationalism, Marxism, and Buddhism, though Ne Win lacked interest in either ideology or religion – terming this the Burmese Way to Socialism. He founded the Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP), which in 1964 was formally declared to be the only legal party.