In the early months of 1942, as British Burma fell to the Japanese, an indigenous entity, the Burmese Independence Army (BIA), became the effective government of the Crown colony.
The Japanese soon found themselves powerless against the BIA, which drew its authority from a close link between its army and the long-neglected villages of Burma.
When the British returned, they were unable to assert control for the same reason. Thus, when an independent Burma emerged in 1948, its military, the Tatmadaw, unsurprisingly assumed a dominant role. Its relationship with the countryside cemented that position for over six decades.
But then, last November, everything changed. (Courtesy of The Straits Times)
No comments:
Post a Comment