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Chapter 7
Abstract
For reasons never clearly explained, in November 2005 Burmas SPDC
suddenly moved the administrative capital from Rangoon to Pyinmana, a small
city (ca. 100,000) in the jungle some 200 miles (320 km) to the north, near
which they constructed a new capital named Naypyidaw (royal city). This
chapter explains why they did so, with what likely political, cultural, and fiscal
consequences for the country.
Keywords: Pyinmana; Summer of Democracy.
Introduction
More than four years have passed since the military junta that has
ruled Burma for nearly half a century decided to move the nations
capital.1 On Friday, November 4, 2005, hundreds of civil servants
from Yangon (Rangoon), the Burmese capital since independence in
Since the adoption of the Adaptation of Expressions Law by the junta in 1989,
which changed the official name of the country from Burma to Myanmar, the countrys name has caused many polemics among Burmas scholars. Because both terms
mean the same (the land of Burmans), I will use Burma for the period before 1989
and both names indistinctively when referring to the period after 1989. In that sense,
I will use mainly Yangon instead of the former Rangoon.
1
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1948, were informed that they were to pack their things and move
both office and home to a new city in three days time. The new administrative center would be located in the town of Pyinmana, 320 km
(200 mi) north of Yangon, in the southern part of the Mandalay
Division. With just a weekend to pack and leave, these civil servants
had to leave families behind temporarily because adequate housing,
schools and hospitals had yet to be built in the new city. Officially,
Yangon remained the national capital and the new place was only the
administrative capital. No name was given to the new city in the
months following the move and the secrecy of the State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC), the official name of the Burmese
military junta since 1997, added more confusion to this situation.
The juntas explanation for this relocation of the government
departments was announced at a short press conference held on
November 7 by Information Minister Major General Kyaw San.
Officially, it was to ensure more effective administration of nationbuilding activities.2 Some days later, the minister said that history
would vindicate the controversial decision to relocate the countrys
long-time capital from Yangon to a remote town in central Burma,
saying the move was in the interests of the nation and the
people.3
In the months following this decision, architects from around the
country converged in Pyinmana to design and build a large-scale
planned city. Apartment blocks were built for bureaucrats and their
families, who were forced to move to the new city, as well as ministries
and a large military area.4 The ministries and normal working of the
government were to be in place for the most part by the end of
February 2006. On March 26, 2006, the SPDC announced that the
citys new name was to be Naypyidaw (also spelled Nay Pyi Taw and
Governments Decision, The Myanmar Times, November 14, 2005.
Naing Pyi Chit, Armys New Graveyard, Burma Digest, November 19, 2005.
http://burmadigest.info/2005/11/19/armys-new-graveyard, accessed November
26, 2008.
4
Civil servants, who received a sharp pay increase during the weekend, complained
about the poor infrastructure during the first months after their deployment there.
2
3
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Nay Pyi Daw), the Royal City, and the Minister of Progress of
Border Areas and National Races and Development Affairs, Colonel
Thein Nyunt, was appointed Mayor.5 The new city, belonging to the
Pyinmana District, was territorially organized into three townships:
Pyinmana, Lewe and Alar.6 One day later, on Armed Forces Day,
more than 12,000 troops took part in a parade in the city, in the first
major political event held officially in Naypyidaw. This event marked
the proclamation of the city as the new capital of the Union of
Myanmar.7
But why did Burmas military government abruptly announce
at the end of 2005 that the capital was moving from the old city
of Rangoon on the coast to a little town in the middle of a malariainfested area, in an arid, mountain-framed spot in central Burma
more than 300 km inland? The secretive SPDC has never revealed
what lay behind such a decision. Apart from the official explanation, it is quite clear that there was more than one reason and that
these motivations were extremely important and serious for
Myanmars generals. If not, they would not have taken the trouble
to move the machinery of government north into the heartland of
the country.
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for the current rulers. This is especially evident in the case of Yangon.
As a university and cultural center, the biggest Myanmar city has been
since independence in 1948 (and even before then) very nonconformist towards the incumbent regime. But the nearly five decades
of government by the Tatmadaw (the Burmese Armed Forces) has
made Yangon a rebel axis against army rule.
The relation between the military and the city since 1962 has
been extremely difficult. With its huge student and middle-class
population, Yangon has always been a center of dissidence and opposition against the military dictatorship. For instance, some months
after Ne Wins coup dtat (March 2, 1962), the back-to-school
period was marked by student protests against the new military
regime on the Rangoon University campus. The governments
response was to send troops into the university and suppress the protesters. We do not know how many people died, but the death toll is
estimated to be over 100. Twelve years later, in December 1974,
amid important strikes due to the economic crisis, the fervor surrounding the death of former United Nations Secretary-General U
Thant and the disrespectful attitude of the government regarding his
funeral brought on a new explosion of angry protests led by university
students. The revolt was suppressed again with bullets and many
fatalities.
More important and fundamental to understanding the perception of Yangon as an enemy by the SDPC are the events of 1988.
The largest uprising in contemporary Burmese history took place in
the capital (in addition to other cities) from March to September,
forcibly ending Ne Wins regime. While enjoying unprecedented freedom, the citizenry waited for positive changes. Nevertheless, on
September 18 a new junta called the State Law and Order Restoration
Council (SLORC, the predecessor of the SPDC) seized power and
violently suppressed Burmas Summer of Democracy. Thousands of
protesters were killed.
Another important aspect for the SPDC is the religious relevance
of Yangon. The city is the site of two of the countrys most famous
pagodas, Sule and especially the imposing Shwedagon, the principal
Buddhist holy site in Myanmar. Both have been centers of political
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Andrew Selth, Burma and the Threat of Invasion: Regime Fantasy or Strategic
Reality. (Brisbane: The Griffith Asia Institute, Regional Outlook Paper No. 17,
2008), p. 4.
20
Aung Myoe, The Road to Naypyitaw, p. 6.
21
Stephen McCarthy, The Black Sheep of the Family: How Burma Defines Its Foreign
Relations with ASEAN (Brisbane: The Griffith Asia Institute, Regional Outlook
Paper No. 7, 2006), p. 12.
19
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that point. All these armed insurgent groups were a clear threat to the
authority of the Yangon-based government between 1950 and the
1990s, especially in the eastern part of Burma, where most of these
guerrillas were active. Since the 1990s, with its reinforcement of
Chinese weapons, the Burmese army has obtained important victories
against these groups. On the other hand, it has successfully negotiated
ceasefires with more than 20 groups. At this point, no insurgent activity really threatens the authority of the SPDC. Nevertheless, insurgent
organizations like the Karen National Union (KNU) are still active in
Karen State and other eastern parts of Burma, where there is still the
risk of new activity despite the ceasefire groups.
The centrality of Naypyidaw, closer to Kachin, Karen and Shan
States than Yangon, permits the state to project its power into the
periphery, an area traditionally populated by non-Burman minorities.25 The fact that Colonel Thein Nyunt, the Minister of Progress of
Border Areas, National Races and Development Affairs, was appointed
the Mayor of Naypyidaw while retaining his position in the national
government clearly demonstrates that keeping border areas under
closer observation was one of the SPDCs objectives when they
moved the capital. Having its military headquarters in Naypyidaw
permits the juntas troops to respond easily to troubles in the frontier
areas. By relocating the central authority close to these strategic
regions (some of them very important in the economy because of
their natural resources), this control over its population is not only
political but also psychological, preventing minorities from acting on
separatist temptations or the desire to confront the national government.
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Bagan existed as the capital of a Burmese kingdom from the 10th century but it
was Anawrahta who made it a shining capital of his empire.
27
A famous video was posted on the internet showing images of the ostentatious
marriage of Than Shwes daughter in 2006. Some semi-official sources said the newlyweds received 50 million dollars worth of wedding gifts, which included houses,
cars and jewellery, a tasteless extravagance in an otherwise poverty-stricken nation.
28
Bertil Lintner, The Generals Who Would be Kings, The Washington Post,
September 30, 2007. Anawrahta is the founder of the Pagan Kingdom (First Burmese
Empire). Bayinnaung is considered along with his brother-in-law Tabinshwehti the
co-founder of the Second Burmese Empire in the 16th century. And finally,
Alaungpaya founded the Third Burmese Empire (18th century).
26
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all of Myanmar.29 This link with royalty has been recently made more
obvious in Myanmars controlled media. During the inauguration of
a religion at the beginning of 2009, Than Shwe was described as
doing like a good min (a Burmese term for king) who supports
[Buddhist] religion.30
At the same time, one can include the consolidation of the political regime as a reason for his decision. Rulers of Southeast Asia,
including the Burmese, have long moved their capitals in order to
regenerate their kingdoms. Originally, capitals were founded with the
objective of establishing a new dynasty or consolidating the ruling
one. By doing so, Than Shwe and his comrades are insisting on
the durability of the current political regime, even after the death of
the current top leaders. Naypyidaw is, in that sense, the new capital
of the kingdom (the Union of Myanmar) where the ruling dynasty
(the Tatmadaw) is destined to govern for a long time yet. The new
capital could be interpreted as the inauguration of a new era for the
Burmese nation but with power remaining in the same hands.
This is linked to another characteristic of Burmese politics,
the role of occultism.31 Some sources have said that the decision to
move the capital is also in response to the advice of astrologers. In
Burmese history, astrologers and soothsayers have played a very
important role as advisors of political rulers. Kings in precolonial
times built new towns and palaces based on the advice of fortunetellers. This situation has persisted in Burma into contemporary
politics. It was astrologers who recommended the hour and day of
Although no personality cult has developed around Than Shwe, his presence in the
local press has increased substantially in the last ten years. On the other hand, during
the authors first trip to Burma at the end of the 1990s, he saw portraits of General
Aung San, the hero of Burmas independence, in public buildings. But these images
of Aung San disappeared later. On one trip in 2007, the author saw for the first time
a portrait of Than Shwe in a public building and another in a restaurant. Both places
were located in the Mandalay region.
30
Personal observation, Rangoon, 2009.
31
Occultism and superstition, such as the belief in astrology and numerology, play a
strong role in the still very traditional Burmese society and are connected with local
Buddhism.
29
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Senior General Than Shwes trusted soothsayers had predicted bloodshed in Rangoon and thus the necessity of relocating the countrys
capital. Not only that, on November 6, the first truck convoy of civil
servants sent to take up their posts in Pyinmana left Yangon at the
astrologically auspicious time of 6:37 a.m. The SPDC does not forget
yedaya either. In November 2006, they started the construction of
the great pagoda of Naypyidaw, a replica of the revered Shwedagon
but one foot shorter than the original. Named Uppatasanti (peace
pagoda), it was officially inaugurated in March 2009 by Than
Shwe.35
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part of the country. This was the case of Pagan (Bagan, 11th13thcentury) and its immediate successor, until the dynasty of Toungoo
became the main power and moved the capital to Pegu (Bago) in
Lower Burma in the 16th century. One century later, the capital went
back to the north and there it remained until the British conquest in
the 1880s, with Mandalay being the last capital in Upper Burma. For
Aung-Thwin, Yangon has always been considered by part of the postcolonial local political elite, especially the most nationalistic (among
them the military leadership), as a colonial city, a foreign capital. It is
in fact an old city, a port town named Dagon founded by the Mon
minority more than 1,000 years ago, but it became a large city only
because of British colonization. Until then, it was only relevant as the
site of the famous Shwedagon pagoda, and its Burmese relevance
dates back only to the mid-18th century when King Alaungpaya conquered it and named it Yangon (the End of Strife). It was during
colonial times that Yangon became the capital of Burma, to serve the
political and economic interests of Britain, being the main export
harbor of the country.37
This situation makes Yangon a special capital. According to this
theory, it is not even a real Burmese center (although today it is
mainly inhabited by Burmans) and it lacks religious, historical and
cultural weight in the Burmese world. There was no reason for it to
be the political center of independent Myanmar because, in AungThwins words, [Yangon] has been a constant reminder of the countrys colonial experience.38
In this context, it is natural that the ruling junta, nationalistic and
even xenophobic, decided to find a new political center in the socalled Dry Zone, the area between central and Upper Burma where
geographic conditions prevent the southwest monsoon. This Dry
Zone is considered the heartland of the country, the place where
The British had built a new Rangoon on a grid plan on delta land, bounded to the
east by the Pazundaung Creek and to the south and west by the Yangon River. By
the beginning of the 20th century, it had become the most populous city of
Burma.
38
Aung-Thwin, From Rangoon to Pyinmana.
37
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Conclusion
The birth of Naypyidaw has raised questions about the militarysvision
for Myanmar. The new generals heavily fortified capital is the most
extreme example of how isolated they are from the population. For
the Burmese people, the change of capital is another reason for
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The author can verify this discomfort. During one of his recent trips to Myanmar,
locals refused to mention the name of the capital, as if it were cursed. This is especially
evident in Yangon, which since 2005 has been clearly neglected by the central government.
40
Built to Order: Myanmars Capital Isolates and Insulates Junta, The New York
Times, June 24, 2008.
41
Some rumors point out that relatives of Than Shwe had benefited from the contracts for the development of the new capital. This links to reports since early 2009
that state properties in Yangon had been actually for lease or sale. A Yangon informant I spoke with affirmed that the junta knows that the states land and buildings in
the city are valuable and is considering to lease them to allies or has sold them for
profit. He insisted that some entrepreneurs had been reported visiting these areas.
Although this business theory cannot be demonstrated yet, the author noticed during
his last trip that the faades of some buildings in downtown Yangon (the City Hall,
the telegraph building and others) had been recently painted after decades of neglect.
Personal interview and observation, Yangon, 2009.
39
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The decision to move the capital has worsened the image of the
junta, even among its allies. Foreign diplomats in Yangon were notified on November 7 that the capital had been moved to Pyinmana.
Burmas military rulers did not even bother to inform their ASEAN
partners.42 Some of them openly expressed their disappointment with
the Burmese generals. This underscores the juntas strong distrust of
foreigners, including its own allies. This behavior, and the secrecy surrounding the construction and functioning of Naypyidaw, may
explain why all the embassies have decided to remain in Yangon.43
The founding of Naypyidaw clearly shows the weakness of
Burmas military elite. It is a relentless pursuit of the unattainable by
a regime that has been unable to develop the country and satisfy the
needs of its people. But, although the reasons for moving the capital
are diverse, there is one important aspect we cannot forget. The leaders and policies may change but the main objective is always the same:
to preserve the Tatmadaws control over society. The SPDC may be
conscious that in the future it will have to share power with a democratic government. Even if the capital is again moved to Yangon, to
have the army center at Naypyidaw will be a Sword of Damocles
hanging over the heads of democratic governments and will ensure
that the Tatmadaw continues to play an important political role.
The city was confirmed as the nations capital in the constitutional
referendum of May 2008. Judging by Burmese history, Naypyidaw
may not remain the nations capital forever. But there is no doubt that
it will endure as a political center as long as the regime that built it
remains in power.
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