Drugs and astrology: how Burma's 'Bulldog' wields power

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,2185476,00.html

Welcome to the world of General Than Shwe - nicknamed, in muted whispers, the 'Bulldog'. Alliances in the tight circle surrounding him are oiled by money, influence and business opportunities, including arms and heroin dealing, and defined by paranoia, self-enrichment and astrology.

Than Shwe, 74, in power since 1992, is famed in Burma for his megalomania. The junta's bunker capital, Naypyidaw - 'The King's Place' - was built on the advice of his astrologer. A common rumour - exiles and dissidents paint the picture of a mad despot - is that the superstitious Than Shwe believes he is a Buddha. He commissioned a Buddha statue, whose face is uncannily like his own, which stands in Rangoon's most sacred pagoda, Shwedagon, where opposition activists go to venerate Aung San Suu Kyi.

But it was last year's extravagant wedding of Than Shwe's daughter that offered his subjects a rare glimpse inside this secretive world. A video was leaked onto the internet, showing a well-fed Thandar Shwe, perspiring under the weight of diamond-encrusted necklaces and hairbands and swathed in yards of silk as plump junta members sat on gold-trimmed chairs in front of a five-tiered wedding cake and champagne. For the Burmese, who struggle to find basic foodstuffs, the lavishness of the scene seemed surreal.

Lo Hsing Han, chair of Burma's Asia World conglomerate which owns a share in Rangoon's famous hotel Traders, organised the catering, while another crony, Tay Za, head of the Htoo Trading Company, footed much of the bill. While Lo Hsing Han's relationship with the junta has focused on a joint interest in the heroin trade, Tay Za's has more personal links. The tycoon is reputed to have dated one of Than Shwe's daughters, Khin Pyone - although Htoo Trading denies the relationship. When Than Shwe and his family go on holiday, it has often been to the beach at Ngwe Hsaung where Tay Za owns a resort. He has travelled there on occasion to avoid visiting foreign delegations or UN emissaries.