Image makeover for Myanmar general

It is a U-turn from just a few years ago, when all information was whetted, and is a reminder that the changes sweeping the Southeast Asian nation have reached even the secretive generals who ruled for almost 50 years until 2011. 

As he cements his position as de facto No. 2 on Myanmar’s post-election political scene, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing has transformed himself from taciturn soldier into a politician, public figure and statesman, say diplomats in Yangon. “It was like speaking to a politician,” said one senior Western diplomat of a recent meeting. “Not a soldier.” 

People who know him say he is keen to show the army as a positive force in the transition to democracy. Until Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) won a resounding victory in the first nationwide democratic election for 25 years in November, Min Aung Hlaing had never had a one-on-one meeting with the Nobel peace laureate. Since then, they have met at least three times as the historic foes of the army and NLD try to reach agreement on how they will work together once a drawn-out power transition is completed at the end of March.