Yangon, Mar 30: Myanmar’s military handed power to a nominally civilian government after almost half a century of army rule Wednesday, as the junta was disbanded and a new President appointed.But the army hierarchy retains a firm grip on power in the resource-rich Southeast Asian country, and many analysts believe Senior General Than Shwe will attempt to retain some sort of control behind the scenes.The handover came after controversial elections last November - the country’s first in 20 years - which were marred by the absence of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi and claims of cheating and intimidation.
Quoting an order signed by strongman Than Shwe, Myanmar state television reported the junta’s State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) “has been officially dissolved”. Than Shwe, who has ruled with an iron fist since 1992, is apparently no longer in the hitherto most powerful position
of head of the army.But Myanmar analyst Aung Naing Oo said: “Everyone will be required to report to him for quite some time.” He added the handover was similar to the slow withdrawal of Than Shwe’s predecessor, late dictator Ne Win.“We have not had any kind of democracy in the past 50 years so it is more like an experiment,” the Thailand-based analyst said.

Lastupdate on : Wed, 30 Mar 2011 21:30:00 Mecca time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 30 Mar 2011 18:30:00 GMT
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