Burmese Government Is Tottering

Greymouth Evening Star, 16 August 1948, Page 5

Burmese Government Is Tottering

/ Rec i 0.20 a.m.) LONDON, August 15. The Burmese Government is tottering under the weight of popular discontent and the internal fight for power, says the Associated Press correspondent, who left Rangoon a few days ago. The Prime Minister, Thakin Nu, during the past 10 days, put down an intended revolt within the army.

The first hint of the uprising came less than a week ago when Rangoon papers cautiously revealed that 809 men of the sixteenth battalion of military police had been surrounded and disarmed in their barracks. The Government asserted that they intended to join 70 of their'comrades who had previously joined the Communist rebels near Rangoon. The Government swiftly disarmed other suspect army units and barricaded the roads into Rangoon.

“Hands-Off“ Policy

The British seem to be observing a strictly “hands-off” policy. The only British troops in Burma are 15 officers and men who are due to leave soon and a small group of training the Burmese army. Rangoon’s Prome Road gaol is crowded with political opponents of the Thakin Nu regime. Most of Burma’s political parties have gone underground. ' The man behind the political purge is Kyan Nyein, Home Minister and founder of the Burmese Socialist Party. The opponents of the regime include Communists, some Independents, the People’s Volunteer Organisation and ambitious army officers. Reuter’s diplomatic correspondent says the Burmese situation is reported to have deteriorated badly as a result of quarrels inside the Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom League, which supports the Thakin Nu Government, which resigned on July 15, and was re-appointed until the election of a new Cabinet by the Constituent Assembly. This election is due today.

Moving On Rangoon

According to latest reports, insurgent forces are moving on Rangoon from the north-west, while communications between the capital and the provinces have already broken down.

The Government position is considered to be extremely dangerous, although it may be possible for them to hold Rangoon with two loyal battalions of the Burma Rifles, and keep Rangoon port open for overseas communications. There is so far no news of hostile action against British subjects in Burma. Plans for safeguarding them are under consideration in London.

Reuter’s Rangoon correspondentsays it is reliably reported that Thakin Them Pe, the former chairman of the Burma Communist Party, was arrested at Rangoon under the Public Order Preservation Act. He resigned from the Communist Party in March, owing to a disagreement with the Communist leader, Thakin Than Tun, because he was opposed to an insurrection.