Dictator

You may be puzzled how dictatorship began in Burma - and some other countries. There is, in fact, a general formula.

Years ago, when the Burma kingdom, made up of mostly Bamar (緬族), tried to expand, it conquered many of the small tribes around - all of which had their distinct culture and of course fought for their own land. To keep the entire kingdom in "harmony", there was no choice but to allow the army to have more power - on the now "internal" affairs. Years later, when the king was thrown out of his palace - alas, by the so-called democratic movement - military leaders naturally took charge of the country.

Oh, you may find this story familiar. Yes, it did happen more than once in human history, and tragedy always tends to repeat itself. When I first read The Animal Farm in secondary school, I did think that it was not about the Soviet Union but somewhere else !