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Burmas Animal Farm: The Pigs

By Saneitha Nagani

If I were to compare what has happened and what is happening on in

Burma under the successive military regimes since 1962 to George Orwellssatire Animal Farm, I might or I might not be able to do some justice by

highlighting the characters of the animals in the story.

I am tempted to use cows as the characters representing the military in general

and the generals in the ruling council in particular. However, Orwell used the pigs

in his fairy story so I might as well stick to the pigs in mine as well.

I need to explain why the military is represented as cows. As far as I can

remember from what some of my relatives who were more aligned with the left

in Burmese politics told me denoting the military official with the cow started in a

play called, Ludu Aunglan (Peoples Victory). In that play there was a scenewhere a young village girl was pleading with the military official not to take her

cow away. Instead of saying, Captain, please dont take my cow she said, Cow

please dont take my captain away.

Another story where the military was referred to as cow comes from a joke. This

was a joke that you cant tell in public. Its something like a joke about Russia

too. In Russia, during the time when Nikita Khrushchev was at the zenith of his

power, when a guy shouted in public that, The Premier Khrushchev has only a

small willy he was charged and sent to the gulag not for insulting the Premier

but for revealing state secrets. The joke that I am about to tell could not be toldin public.

When U Ne Win relinquished his post as the President of the Republic but

decided to stay on as the Chairman (Okkahta-gyi) of the Burma Socialist Program

Party (BSPP) his deputy U San Yu took over as president. San Yu may be

president but like in most communist states, Russia or China, the Party is always

above the State. Ne Win had to be consulted on any decisions, even on

insignificant or trivial matters.

President San Yu was very conscious of his health (I was told that that was a

keen reader as well). He likes to keep himself fit by jogging in the park, which isknown as Bogyoke Pan Chan in Kandaw-gyi (the park dedicated to the late

Bogyoke Aung San (General Aung San) with a big lake named Kandaw-gyi).

There was (I hope there still is) a statute of Bogyoke standing with an arm

outstretched. Bogyoke being the founding father of the Burmas military and also

the hero of Burmas independence from the British, San Yu had high regard for

him. He stopped by the statute and gave a salute every morning. One day, the

statute spoke to him. The statute ofBogyoke said, Hey San Yu, Ive been

standing here for a long time now I want a horse to ride. The President was

shocked. Even though he could not believe that such a thing could happened he

dare not keep it away from the Chairman either.

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The President told the Chairman about it and the Chairman said that he would

come along and had a look for himself. The next morning they went. As usual,

the President gave his salute but the statute would not utter a word. Since U Ne

Win was notorious for his short temper and his use of foul language when

abusing his subordinates, the President got it up to the hilt. Luckily that he was

not sacked.

In another incident when Ne Win lost his cool and smashed the drums of a band

at a party in a hotel across the Inya Lake saying that he could not sleep because

of the noise U San Win, the minister responsible of Trade and Tourism (it was

told that he has been asleep that night) was sacked the next day.

Psychologically bruised and feeling humiliated the President went on with his

routine the next day. As he gave the salute to the statute he lamented that,

Bogyoke, you have been unfair with me. When I brought the Okkahta-gyi you

didnt spoke a word. To his shock the statute replied, I told you to bring me a

horse, not a cow.

Now that I have explained my preference for cows to pigs, I do find Orwells

use of pigs as much more appropriate than cows in his tale. Like pigs, the

generals in Burma are greedy and will eat anything sweet smelling or foul.

They never seem to have enough even when the natural resources of our

country is almost depleted because of their pillaging and plundering.

Napoleon was the only Berkshire on the farm and Senior General Than Shwe is

the only Anyatha (the person from Upper Burma - Kyaukse) in the ruling

military council. Like Napoleon, he is also the main villain of Burma undermilitary regime. He does not have charisma like Bogyoke Aung San, U Ne Win or

even U Tin Oo. However, being a sly character he build up his power gradually. In

the aftermath of the military coup in 1988 he was just a subordinate to the then

General Saw Maung. Many who knew him saw him as neither brilliant nor a

courageous leader. A postal clerk who turned himself into a military official and

now the Supreme leader by cunningly elimination his rivals who are smarter then

him.

The other General who was said to have been smarter, being the Chief of Military

Intelligence, Khin Nyunt is like Snowball. He was pragmatic than most of the

Generals in the ruling council State Law and Order Restoration Council or

SLORC. It later adopted the name State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).

The logic behind these changes of names must have been like this; when they

took over power from the then Socialist regime in 1988 the excuse was that they

(the military) had to step in and saved the country from chaos. They also

promised free and fair elections would be held and had one in May, 1990.

However, when the National League for Democracy won in a landslide they

changed their mind. Instead of handing over power to the party that won the

majority of seats in the Parliament they changed their status from an ad hoc and

temporary one to a more permanent one; thus they became the State Peace

and Development Council.

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When there is such a saying that, Society of sheep begets Government of

wolves then we should not be surprised that the military regime in Burma could

get away with reneging their promises. Like sheep, neither the people nor the

rank and file in the military calls upon the generals to honour their promise.

There were incidents like some pigs engaging in revolt in Animal Farm. Some

junior officials in the military such as Captain Ohn Kyaw Myint and his colleagues

plotted to assassinate U Ne Win and some of the generals in the military

leadership. They were somehow betrayed by someone whom they trusted. Their

plot was uncovered and Ohn Kyaw Myint was charged on sedition and

executed. He also implicated General Tin Oo and the general had to pay a big

price for his silence. The other general, Than Tin, then the commander of the

Eastern Command betrayed them. He was later promoted to become the

Minister for Mines for being loyal to Ne Win.

We have Squealers in Burma too. The Squealer-in-chief I must say is Brigadier

General Kyaw Hsan. He was the Minister for Information and I must say that hewas the Squealer par excellence in his role. Like Squealer he manipulates the

language to excuse, justify and extol all of Than Shwes actions. In Orwells satire

Squealer was the first pig to walk on his hind legs. Kyaw Hsan, however, is yet to

behave like a human though.

The character of Squealer could be given to not just one person in Burma. Many

of those in the regime who became Foreign Minister fit into that role very well. As

a well known definition of a diplomat attributed to Sir Henry Wotton, an English

ambassador at the beginning of the seventeenth century that, a diplomat is an

honest man sent abroad to lie for his country foreign ministers in Burma are

men who lie for the generals. They are mostly men, as the former Czech

President and playwright Vaclav Harvel mentioned in his essay Living in Truth,

who are unprincipled and spineless, prepared to do anything in their craving for

power and personal gain. As long as it brings them some advantage they are

willing to support anything at anytime.

Whenever I read Orwells writings and in particular the Animal Farm, I could not

help but thinking, What if Orwell is still with us today? What if he could see

whats happening in Burma today? With his detestation of political phonies he

would have scorned on what we have as leaders and politicians today. Pigs might

fly but I doubt that there can be many politicians who understand the wordliberty as Orwell. For him it is that, If liberty means anything at all, it means the

right to tell people what they do not want to hear. END