By Edward Blair/Rangoon - May,2006-Vol14,No.5
As Burma ’s military rulers settle into their new administrative capital near Pyinmana, the fate of Rangoon
Moreover, the enormous outlay of cash required to build the new capital has added to the burden of a population struggling to meet their everyday needs.
The symbolism was sure to spark rumors—towering concrete statues of three of Burma’s ancient conquerors overlooking the new military parade ground in Naypyidaw, the country’s newly-minted administrative capital. The name itself, which translates as “royal city,” suggests for some in Rangoon that the relocation is much more than the product of fear or astrology.
In recent months, the city’s rumor mills have churned out stories of increasingly bizarre behavior on the part of Snr-Gen Than Shwe. Some say that the aging dictator has grown weary of governing and devotes much of his time to making merit for the next life, while quietly positioning his chosen successor. Other reports state that Than Shwe, and particularly his wife, insist on being addressed by royal titles.
“They are behaving like former Burmese dynasties, like a royal family,” said one Rangoon-based journalist.
The political consequences of the move have yet to play out. Rangoon’s diplomatic corps and numerous non-governmental agencies have been thrown into turmoil as access to Burmese authorities—difficult at the best of times—has become even more problematic.
Economically, Burma has struggled in recent months with rising inflation that threatens to destabilize an already shaky currency, particularly in light of a 500-1,000 percent increase in government and civil servant salaries, which went into effect on April 30.
What is perhaps less obvious is the threat posed by the relocation of the capital to the character and quality of Rangoon, a city once called the “Pearl of the Orient” and the “Paris of the East.”
As the regime begins a new chapter of its history in Naypyidaw, among concrete kings and theme-park recreations of the country’s principal monuments, many in Rangoon fear that the city’s broad avenues and historic buildings will fall prey to foreign invaders of another sort—developers from China, Malaysia, and Singapore.
Reports have circulated for years that the military government has been quietly attempting to auction off some of Rangoon’s oldest buildings. Some say that the Ministry of Industry (1) has already been sold to Maung Weik, a friend of Burmese tycoon Tay Za, for commercial development. Others allege that the government is even trying to sell Maha Bandoola Park, which houses the city’s independence monument.
One rumor—that the port of Rangoon had been sold to a Chinese company—hits much closer to the truth.
A source involved in the project has confirmed to The Irrawaddy that the Burmese government has brokered a deal with the Chinese company Shanghai Jingqiao to develop plans for a special economic zone adjacent to Rangoon’s Thilawa Port in Thanlyin Township.
Such a move would further entrench Chinese investors who have already made enormous inroads into Mandalay and elsewhere.
“Burma is a dumping ground for cheap Chinese goods that cannot be exported or sold elsewhere,” said a retired university professor, adding that Chinese investors are looking for a much bigger payoff
“They are more interested in infrastructure than small business.”
Whatever their motives, Rangoon stands ready to become a stepping stone for China’s greater economic influence throughout the region. And should greater foreign investment extend to future development projects in the former capital, old Rangoon is poised to be steamrollered in the name of progress and economic prosperity. That process has already begun, despite nominal efforts by the government to establish mechanisms for historical preservation.
In 1996, the Yangon (Rangoon) City Development Committee devised a “Heritage List” of nearly 200 buildings—mostly religious or governmental—that could not be renovated or demolished without government permission. The Preservation and Protection of Cultural Heritage Act followed two years later, which further codified the methods for modifying or removing historical buildings.
These steps, taken during a nationwide push to increase tourism, merely required the government’s consent for any development or renovation of the city’s oldest cultural landmarks. The law makes no determination about how modifications or renovations can be made, only that the government has to approve of them.
The YCDC, however, has proven to be nothing more than a front for the military government, which controls every aspect of development and preservation.
In fact, the YCDC has no control over the many colonial era ministry buildings recently vacated by the government in its move to Naypyidaw. According to one YCDC official contacted by The Irrawaddy, the fate of these former ministry buildings now falls under the purview of the Ministry of Construction’s Department of Housing and Human Settlement, which will determine what, if anything, will be done with the abandoned buildings in the future.
While the government gave lip service to cultural preservation in the mid to late 1990s, the drive to make Rangoon a more attractive tourist destination, ironically, saw the destruction of numerous colonial structures to make way for multi-story apartment and shopping complexes.That so many colonial structures had survived so long was a testament not to past coordinated efforts at restoration and preservation, but rather to the country’s extreme economic isolation during the reign of Gen Ne Win and his pseudo-socialist regime, which seized power in 1962.
Even that would not have been enough to save the city’s colonial character had it not been for the intervention of one of his wives.
According to a former colleague living in Rangoon, Ne Win’s wife, Dr Ni Ni Myint, a long-time Rangoon University professor and former head of the Historical Research Commission was encouraged by fellow teachers to lobby her husband for the protection of Rangoon’s oldest buildings.
“Under Ne Win, old colonial buildings inspired shame because Burma had not transcended its past,” said the former colleague. “Old buildings were a sign of no progress, and so many were destroyed.”
While Ni Ni Myint managed to prevail over her husband’s shame, Burma’s new despots are not likely to make such concessions.
“I’m worried,” said one resident with a keen interest in Rangoon’s colonial heritage. “Our Rangoon is becoming a new Rangoon, with no identity.”
Developers and private owners are becoming increasingly adept at sidestepping the paltry restrictions imposed by the government.
“Beautiful buildings are being demolished because they are intentionally mislabeled as dangerous, or the owners bribe YCDC officials, and so receive permission to destroy them,” said the Rangoon resident. “Chinese shop-houses, Indian-built apartment complexes—almost all are gone now and cannot be replaced.”
In an article in the Burmese language journal Weekly Eleven from December 2005, history professor Kyaw Nyein lamented the lack of importance placed on Rangoon’s historical heritage.
“Society is not taking seriously the need to preserve historical architecture,” he said. “They are chasing modern trends.”
His concern was confirmed by a Myanmar Times article in February 2006.
I think people will soon have more appreciation for modern buildings with active and dynamic designs, rather than classical or frozen ones,” said San Oo, chairman of Design 2000 Co Ltd.
The crumbling colonial facades in the back alleys of Chinatown, the High Court building overlooking Maha Bandoola Park, and Rangoon’s City Hall building—currently clad in bamboo scaffolding, on which workers carry out haphazard repairs—may fall victim to a developer with a penchant for modernity.
And one day, the only reminder of the brutal assassination of Aung San and five of his ministers left in the secretariat complex may be a plaque on the lobby wall of a five-star hotel and convention center.
“We should look to the old buildings [in Rangoon] as part of our history,” said Kyaw Nyein in the Weekly Eleven.
He was unwittingly echoing a sentiment—perhaps too steeped in romanticism—expressed by British historian G E Harvey in a speech to students and staff of Rangoon University in 1919. “You, above all men, should look into the mirror of the past, to see its glories and its shames, and take guidance from its successes and its failures. In the beauty of old time, you will find an ideal for the future.”
Comfortably ensconced on his new throne in Naypyidaw, junta chief Than Shwe is obviously finding a far different message in the mirror.
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Ref:Irrawaddy.org
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