Is Than Shwe Seeking Military Advice in Sri Lanka?

Burma’s military dictator Snr-Gen Than Shwe may well seek tactical advice pertaining to the defeat and eradication of ethnic rebels during his state visit to Sri Lanka, observers say.

Than Shwe left his capital, Naypyidaw, on Thursday for a four-day trip to Sri Lanka, the first official visit to the country by a Burmese head of state since Gen Ne Win in December 1962.  

In this handout picture released by The Sri Lankan President's Office on June 14, 2009, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa (C) stands with Snr-Gen Than Shwe (R) as they listen to the playing of national anthems following Rajapaksa's arrival in Naypyidaw. (Photo: Getty Images)

A Theravada Buddhist nation like Burma, Sri Lanka was visited by previous Burmese statesmen, including Gen Aung San and former Burmese Prime Minister U Nu.

During his trip, Than Shwe and his family will pay homage at the temples of the Sacred Tooth Relic in the town of Kandy and will pay a visit to Sri Lanka’s ancient capital of Anuradhapura, according to a Xinhua report on Thursday.    

Observers said Than Shwe’s trip to Sri Lanka highlighted the close relations between Sri Lanka and Burma, because the junta strongman seldom travels abroad.

Burma does not have many interests in Sri Lanka, except for military and religious aspects, said U Aw Batha, a Buddhist monk in Sri Lanka.

Some observers say Burmese generals were inspired by Sri Lanka’s military defeat of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), more commonly known as the Tamil Tigers, in May after more than a quarter century of civil war.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa paid a two-day state visit to Burma on June 14-15, one month before his troops defeated the Tamil rebels. The Burmese regime made a cash donation of US $50,000 to the Sri Lankan government to assist internally displaced persons in the South Asian country.

A few days after the presidential visit, a joint force of Burmese government troops and the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army defeated the Karen National Liberation Army’s Brigade 7, overrunning its headquarters and causing more than 3,000 refugees to flee to Thailand.    

A veteran Burmese politician in Rangoon, Chan Tun, said Than Shwe may be looking to tighten relations with the Sri Lankan government by way of exchanging information about their respective defeats of ethnic insurgents. His trip is also a reciprocal diplomatic response following Rajapaksa’s visit to Burma, he added.

Benedict Rogers, the co-author of a forthcoming book called “Than Shwe: Unmasking Burma's Tyrant,” said he was surprised that Than Shwe is visiting Sri Lanka because he seldom travels overseas.

Than Shwe has visited foreign countries in the past, including China, India and member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

“It is almost certain that Than Shwe is keen to learn from the Sri Lankan government's success in crushing the Tamil Tigers, so that his regime can apply any lessons learned to its efforts against the ethnic groups in Burma,” said Rogers. 

In May, at the 8th Shangri-La Dialogue Meeting in Singapore, Burma’s Deputy Defense Minister Maj-Gen Aye Myint said the world had witnessed the successful end of the conflict in Sri Lanka, but had forgotten about the insurgency in Burma.  

However, despite the fact both the Tamil Tigers and Burma’s ethnic rebels shared the goal of achieving freedom and ethnic rights, the Tigers were widely regarded as a ruthless terrorist organization, said Rogers.

The LTTE was often hated by the people it claimed to defend, and was notorious for conscripting child soldiers and using women as suicide bombers.

“It is very important that the international community does not equate Burma's ethnic resistance groups with Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers,” said Rogers.