More than 50 senior Burmese military officials have found themselves nudged up the army hierarchy to fill spots made vacant by the mass ‘retirement’ of the country’s leading ringmasters.

A memo given to DVB by Burmese army sources lists 51 prominent military personnel that have been promoted to ranks ranging from Joint Chief of Staff to Commander.

This list makes no mention of Burma’s supposedly former top brass – including Senior General Than Shwe, Vice-Chairman Maung Aye and Shwe Mann, the junta’s number three – who all made headlines last week after reportedly quitting their military posts.

Observers believe the country’s largest military shake-up in decades is a forewarning of the junta’s intention to compete in controversial elections slated for 7 November, which are being widely viewed as a sham aimed at cementing military rule in Burma.

US State Department spokesperson Phillip Crowley said on Monday that the junta was merely “civilianising” the status quo, with “dictators [now] in civilian clothing”.

Than Shwe’s rumoured retirement has since been questioned however, with the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper publishing a front page story on Monday citing the congratulations given by the “Senior General” to mark Malaysia’s independence day, implying that he hadn’t left his military post.

According to the memo (copied below), however, some of the other rumours are true: the Joint Chief of Staff position previously held by Shwe Mann has now been filled by Lieutenant General Min Aung Hlaing, who has been promoted from heading the Bureau of Special Operations to become the army’s third-ranking official.

A Burmese foreign ministry official speaking to DVB on condition of anonymity last week said that Shwe Mann was likely to run for president, a new title in a country that has been under military rule for nearly half a century, although this remains a rumour.

In Min Aung Hlaing’s position comes Major General Myint Soe, who had led the Burmese army’s Northwestern Regional Military Command; indeed all of the key positions in the Bureau of Special Operations’ 1 to 6  are former regional army commanders.

The post held by prominent intelligence chief Ye Myint at the helm of what is called Military Affairs Security (MAS) has been filled by Major General Kyaw Swe, who previously led the Southwestern Regional Military Command.

Ministry of Defence

© Democratic Voice of Burma