The Beast and the Beauty

The general perception of Burmä/ Myanmar is shaped by the compelling motif of 'Beauty and the Beast' that defines the confrontation between the country's military junta and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. The conflict started with a public uprising in 1988. This was crushed by a military coup and simultaneously the daughter of Burma's national hero made her sudden appearance on the political scene of her native country.

This study is the first detailed chronology of the events between 1988 and 2011, from the coup until the military junta's handover of power to a nominally civilian government. The events are contextualised through an analysis of some pivotal themes of Burma's history, such as civilian-military relations, the legal system and the role of Aung San. The communication patterns of the conflicting parties, and the impact of the global assessment of the conflict are analysed, highlighting the role of the media in portrayal of the conflict partners, the failure of foreign mediators to resolve the conflict and the iconography of Aung San Suu Kyi. The book presents a comprehensive and differentiated picture of Myanmar's recent history over fifteen chapters (enhanced by an extensive index) and draws some cautious conclusions on how the fairy tale motif may influence the country's future.

Foreword vii
Table of Figures xiii
Abbreviations xv
Glossary xvii

I Introduction 1
1 Trials in and of Myanmar 1
2 The scope of the study 2
3 Contrasting images 5
4 Conceptualisation of a conflict set in a global context 7
5 Contingency and constancy 15
6 Design of the enquiry 16

II Setting the Stage March to 18 September 1988 19
1 Introduction 19
2 1988 in various perspectives 20
3 A note on the sources 23
4 Rough chronology of the events in 1988 leading to the seizure of power by the SLORC 25
5 On the logic of the events 31
6 Outlook The genesis of an antagonism between the military and Suu Kyi 45

III Civilian-Military Relations in Burma up to 1988 51
1 Introduction 51
2 Professional armies, civilian leaders, military intervention 53
3 The Tatmadaw in Burma 57
4 Aung San 72
5 Factors influencing the civilian-military relations up to 1988 77

IV Ten Tense Months and First House Arrest: 18 September 1988 to 20 July 1989 83
1 Introduction 83
2 A multiplex chronology of events 83
3 Conflicting rhetoric communicated indirectly 98
4 On the logic of events 116

V The Law s Many Faces 121
1 Introduction 121
2 Law in society 125
3 The history of the legal system in Burma 126
4 Martial law 131
5 International law 137
6 Bringing crimes committed in Burma to court outside the country 139
7 The tradition of Burmese-Buddhist law 141
8 The Buddhist law and the conception of human rights 143
9 Law, order, justice, the time factor and a vicious circle 145
10 Concluding remarks 151

VI Burma Goes Global, Myanmar Develops Its Own Agenda: July 1989 to July 1995 153
1 Introduction 153
2 Chronology 154
3 The elections of May 1990 and their aftermath 158
4 International developments 172
5 On the logic of events 190

VII Noisy Silence and the Codifying of Fixed Standpoints 195
1 Introduction 195
2 Suu Kyi and her direct communication partners 195
3 Emphatic proclamation of a no-compromise attitude 197
4 The role of the mass media 200
5 Rigid perceptions of democracy and the consequence: a double bind communication 208
6 The other side: Paternalistic attitudes and a conspiracy theory 212
7 Sender recipient relations 218
8 Effects of the meetings between SLORC representatives and Suu Kyi 225
9 Conclusion 226

VIII Controlled Confrontation: July 1995 to September 2000 229
1 Introduction 229
2 Chronology of events 232
3 Some remarks on Suu Kyi s release 240
4 Emergence of a symbolic alternative power centre 242
5 The 1998 stand-offs a case study 253
6 An anti-climax and some final stand-offs 272
7 On the logic of events 274

IX TheFlexibilityofaSteelIcon:SuuKyi s andherOpponents Iconography 277
1 Introduction 277
2 Theoretical background: a note on iconography 280
3 The background: iconography and conflict communication in Burma before 18 September 1988 284
4 Burma s image in the international media before 1988 299
5 Constancy and variations in the portrayal of Suu Kyi vis-a -vis the military 301
6 Advertising freedom for Burma 333
7 Summary 341
8 Suu Kyi portrayed in novels and a film 350
9 Outlook 359

X Interlude: Nineteen Months of Secret Diplomacy and Conciliatory Gestures 361
1 Introduction: Razali Ismail and a thaw 361
2 The context of secret diplomacy: a variety of crashes and clashes 363
3 Restrictions imposed on Suu Kyi 364
4 Gestures on the side of the SPDC 367
5 The NLD stance 369
6 Commentaries of Burmese exiles and solidarity groups 371
7 Reactions of other nations 372
8 On the logic of events 373

XI Helpless Helpers The Mediators Role 377
1 Introduction 377
2 Intervention prior to late 2000 377
3 Trust and mistrust in conflict transformation 392
4 Razali Ismail s mission 398
5 Further initiatives 409
6 Summary 418

XII The Collapse of an Unwritten Agreement: 6 May 2002 to 30 May 2003 421
1 Introduction 421
2 General events 423
3 Suu Kyi s travels 425
4 Evaluating the Depayin incident and antecedent events 440
5 Conclusions on the nature of the unwritten agreement 444
6 Speculations about motives 446
7 Summary 447

XIII Aung San s Long and Ambivalent Shadow 449
1 Introduction 449
2 Aung San as the mythical founder of a Burmese `nation-to-be 450
3 A note on the elections of 1947 and 1990 453
4 Reflections on the political concepts of father and daughter 454
5 Re-consecrating a country 456
6 Conclusions 458

XIV Back to Square One For the Last Time: June 2003 March 2011 461
1 Introduction 461
2 The policy of the SPDC 463
3 Suu Kyi and the NLD 473
4 Conclusions 479

XV Evaluating a Period of Transition 483
1 Introduction 483
2 Contextualising Myanmar s transition to some type of democracy 484
3 Stages of transition 491
4 Looking beyond the transfer of power 496

Epilogue: Moving beyond a Fairy Tale 505
1 The magic of turning things around 505
2 Recent works 507

Bibliography 511
Index 525