Days after overthrowing Myanmar’s elected government, Senior General Min Aun Hlaing also pulled off another coup: making himself the country’s de facto military leader for life.
That was revealed in documents that have put his motives for throwing the country into turmoil into sharper focus.
On February 4, the newly installed junta issued a directive that effectively allowed Min Aung Hlaing to stay on as top general for as long as he sees fit.
The directive, which has only recently come to light, removes an age restriction that would have required the senior general to step down later this year.
The issue first came up five years ago, when he acknowledged that under existing rules, he would have to retire once he reached the age of 65.
“The duty of commander-in-chief is not unlimited. There is an age limit that cannot be extended,” he told reporters in June 2016, when he was 60 years old.
Now less than two months away from his 65th birthday, Min Aung Hlaing should be making his way to the exit. Instead, he spends his days cementing his hold on power.
In a recent interview with the BBC’s Burmese-language service, Maj-Gen Zaw Min Tun, the regime’s deputy information minister and military spokesperson, confirmed the move.
The new directive allows both the commander-in-chief and the deputy commander-in-chief to remain in their positions for as long as the situation requires, he said without elaborating.
“It was changed because they are performing state duties,” he added, referring to the military’s resumption of direct control over the country since ousting its elected leaders.
Even before the coup, there were signs that Min Aung Hlaing was positioning himself to remain as the military’s unchallenged supremo, according to observers.
One sign, they said, was his appointment of officers many years his junior to senior military posts, side-lining any prospective rivals from among those closer to him in age and influence.
Many of the military’s most powerful commanders are now relatively young men in their fifties or even forties, all of whom are beholden to Min Aung Hlaing for their rapid rise to the highest echelons of power.
The current air force chief is Gen Maung Maung Kyaw, who graduated from the 26th intake of the elite Defence Services Academy (DSA), seven years behind Min Aung Hlaing (DSA 19). His navy counterpart, Gen Moe Aung, is an even younger DSA alumnus from the 28th intake.
Younger still is Lt-Gen Moe Myint Tun (DSA 30), a Min Aung Hlaing favourite who now serves as army chief of staff. He is also a member of the ruling military council and, since the coup, the new chair of the Myanmar Investment Commission.
Lt-Gen Myo Zaw Thein, a DSA 28 graduate who is also closely linked to Min Aung Hlaing, was appointed adjutant general in July 2019, while DSA 35 graduate Lt-Gen Kyaw Swar Linn was named quartermaster general in May of last year, when he was just 49 years old. (He is also the youngest member of the Myanmar military ever to hold his current rank.)
Junta joint secretary Lt-Gen Ye Win Oo, who is also chief of military security affairs, and Lt-Gen Than Hlaing, the deputy home affairs minister and newly appointed police chief, are also at least 10 years younger than Min Aung Hlaing.
Maj Hein Thaw Oo, who served in the military for nearly 20 years before defecting in late March, said the senior general’s choices reflect his obsession with holding onto power.
“It’s madness. He just doesn’t want to transfer power to any of his peers. There are outstanding officers under him, but he doesn’t want anyone else to have power,” he said.
