The Myanmar military sees itself as the custodian of Myanmar's statehood and territorial integrity, drawing legitimacy from the belief that it was created earlier than the country itself, Thailand's former deputy foreign minister and former ambassador to Myanmar, Virasakdi Futrakul, told Sputnik on Friday
BANGKOK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th August, 2021) The Myanmar military sees itself as the custodian of Myanmar's statehood and territorial integrity, drawing legitimacy from the belief that it was created earlier than the country itself, Thailand's former deputy foreign minister and former ambassador to Myanmar, Virasakdi Futrakul, told Sputnik on Friday.
Futrakul, who currently serves as a senator, was among the candidates to become ASEAN special envoy to Myanmar, a post that was eventually entrusted to Brunei's Erywan Yusof.
"The army in Myanmar was born before the country itself, if we mean the independent Burma, now Myanmar," Futrakul said, speaking about the ideology of the Myanmar military.
The official believes that the Burmese army, which emerged during the Second World War, was the starting point of the nation's statehood. Its founder and commander, Gen. Aung San, became the only leader in the history of the country who managed to unite not only the Burmese themselves, but all political and military organizations of the country's minorities, Futrakul said. He described Gen. Aung San as "the father of Myanmar independence" and a mentor for the majority of both the military and civic leaders for decades to come.
"Therefore, the military in Myanmar considers itself the guarantor of the Myanmar statehood and territorial integrity. This is an ideology that Western countries, of course, cannot accept. But the Myanmar military sincerely believes in this," Futrakul said.
On February 1, the military came to power in Myanmar through a coup. Top-ranking generals accused the former civilian authorities of rigging the results of the November 2020 general election. After gaining power, they pledged to hold new elections within two years and hand over power to the winning party or parties.
The coup ignited mass anti-military protests and a subsequent crackdown. As a result of clashes, more than 1,000 civilians were killed.
The political and social crises, including the emergence of the so-called civil disobedience movement, paralyzed many of the country's institutes vital to surviving the pandemic.
