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| Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Appears at Burmese Military Parade | Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Appears at Burmese Military Parade |
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| BANGKOK — Myanmar’s military asserted its role in the country’s politics at a ceremony on Wednesday that featured a prominent guest, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel laureate, whose presence among the generals would have been unthinkable a few years ago. | |
| In the capital, Naypyidaw, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi sat in the front row, flanked by her former military captors and watching a display of the country’s armed might. It was a scene that symbolized what members of her party say is a fledging partnership, jarring to some, that recognizes the military’s continuing power in a country moving toward greater democracy. | In the capital, Naypyidaw, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi sat in the front row, flanked by her former military captors and watching a display of the country’s armed might. It was a scene that symbolized what members of her party say is a fledging partnership, jarring to some, that recognizes the military’s continuing power in a country moving toward greater democracy. |
| The ceremony, in observance of the country’s Armed Forces Day, was broadcast on national television and featured a parade of tanks and rocket launchers as helicopters and fighter aircraft flew overhead, a more militaristic display than in previous years. | |
| Nearly two years after a military junta ceded power to a nominally civilian administration, the army appears ascendant again, buttressed in part by Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, who despite widespread hatred and resentment in Burmese society for the military after decades of oppression, has flattered the army with praise in recent months. | Nearly two years after a military junta ceded power to a nominally civilian administration, the army appears ascendant again, buttressed in part by Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, who despite widespread hatred and resentment in Burmese society for the military after decades of oppression, has flattered the army with praise in recent months. |
| The army’s profile rose last week when soldiers flooded the streets of the central city of Meiktila, where the police had been unable to stop three days of killings of Muslims by Buddhist mobs. The troops, ordered into the city by President Thein Sein, a former general himself, have kept the city calm. Over the weekend, religious violence flared in other parts of the country, raising the prospect of further military interventions. | |
| At the ceremony Wednesday, Myanmar’s commander in chief, U Min Aung Hlaing, said the military would maintain its “leading political role.” | |
| This month, he took the title of senior general, the same rank as his predecessor in the job, U Than Shwe, the dictator who headed the military junta. | This month, he took the title of senior general, the same rank as his predecessor in the job, U Than Shwe, the dictator who headed the military junta. |
| Although Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi has sent public signals for greater cooperation with the military for several months, the ceremony Wednesday was among the first public signs that the military was reciprocating. | Although Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi has sent public signals for greater cooperation with the military for several months, the ceremony Wednesday was among the first public signs that the military was reciprocating. |
| “Today is historic for our country,” said U Zaw Htay, a former military officer who is a director in Mr. Thein Sein’s office. “Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was a V.I.P. guest.” | |
| “No one could have expected this in the past,” Mr. Zaw Htay said. “This is a good sign for the new generation in Myanmar. And the warm welcome for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi shows the Tatmadaw recognizes her role,” he said, using the Burmese term for the armed forces. | |
| U Nyan Win, a leading member of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, said her presence symbolized a rapprochement between the army and civilians. | U Nyan Win, a leading member of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, said her presence symbolized a rapprochement between the army and civilians. |
| “Judging from today’s event, we can say the Tatmadaw is no longer separate from the people,” he said, using the Burmese term for the military. | |
| Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi was kept under house arrest for a total of 15 years by the military before her release in 2010. She is now the leader of the opposition in Parliament. | Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi was kept under house arrest for a total of 15 years by the military before her release in 2010. She is now the leader of the opposition in Parliament. |
| Members of her party, especially former political prisoners, have expressed apprehension at the party’s new strategy toward the military. | Members of her party, especially former political prisoners, have expressed apprehension at the party’s new strategy toward the military. |
| They and outside analysts say it could alienate some of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s supporters and mutes the party’s role as a critical voice toward the military as the army continues to battle rebel ethnic groups. | They and outside analysts say it could alienate some of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s supporters and mutes the party’s role as a critical voice toward the military as the army continues to battle rebel ethnic groups. |
| “She’s obviously trying very hard to show the leaders of the armed forces that she is not their enemy, but it’s a dangerous game she’s playing,” Bertil Lintner, an author of many books on Myanmar, said by e-mail. “It may antagonize many of her supporters who are ordinary people with no love for the repressive military.” | |
| International human rights groups have documented abuses by the Burmese military in its campaigns against ethnic militias, including the use of child soldiers and civilians as human minesweepers. | International human rights groups have documented abuses by the Burmese military in its campaigns against ethnic militias, including the use of child soldiers and civilians as human minesweepers. |
| In a speech Wednesday, Mr. Min Aung Hlaing, who rose to prominence by leading the rout of an ethnic minority group along the border with China, took a defensive tone about the military’s legacy. | In a speech Wednesday, Mr. Min Aung Hlaing, who rose to prominence by leading the rout of an ethnic minority group along the border with China, took a defensive tone about the military’s legacy. |
| “All our members are being trained in the provisions of the Geneva Convention so our Tatmadaw does not commit any war crimes,” he said, according to Reuters. “There is no such thing as genocide in the history of our Tatmadaw.” | |
| The role of the military in Myanmar, despite the green shoots of democracy in the country, is often described as indispensable under the current Constitution, which the military wrote. | The role of the military in Myanmar, despite the green shoots of democracy in the country, is often described as indispensable under the current Constitution, which the military wrote. |
| Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi needs the military perhaps more than anyone else if she is to advance in her political career. She is barred from the presidency under to the 2008 Constitution because her late husband was English. The military controls one-quarter of the seats in Parliament, enough to block the amending of the Constitution. | Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi needs the military perhaps more than anyone else if she is to advance in her political career. She is barred from the presidency under to the 2008 Constitution because her late husband was English. The military controls one-quarter of the seats in Parliament, enough to block the amending of the Constitution. |
| This month, Parliament agreed unanimously to form a commission to review the Constitution. But the scope and structure of the commission have not been decided, leaving it unclear whether the rule barring Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi from the presidency might be changed. | This month, Parliament agreed unanimously to form a commission to review the Constitution. But the scope and structure of the commission have not been decided, leaving it unclear whether the rule barring Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi from the presidency might be changed. |
Wai Moe contributed reporting from Yangon, Myanmar. | Wai Moe contributed reporting from Yangon, Myanmar. |