for help, without much luck. U Nu worked actively with connecting the government closer to
Myanmar’s Buddhist background, and he did receive support amongst the locals. However,
minority groups such as Christians, Muslims, and communist felt threatened by this direct
connection with Buddhism and the government, and their choice to make Buddhism the
official state religion. Additionally, U Nu built 80 000 sand pagodas, and amongst them; a
World Peace Pagoda. This “Buddhist-propaganda” did not help control the rebellions amongst
minorities and was therefore by some seen as unnecessary. Especially considering that
between 80-90 percent of the countries residents already considered themselves as Buddhist.
During this period, the military grew stronger and gained confidence. What could be
perceived as “irrational” decisions like the Buddhism-propaganda, were not overlooked by the
military for long (Aung-Thwin & Aung-Thwin, 2013, p. 247).
In 1958, the year that some consider as the first military coup, U Nu invited general Ne Win
and his now strong army, to “clean up the mess” with an interim military government. This
was considered as a “caretaker government.” The military government managed to gain some
structural order, and during an election in 1960, the civilian government with U Nu in front
regain their power. However, almost simultaneously would the bickering and lawlessness in
the urban areas increase once more. It did not take long until the military, with Ne Win, to
return to power. Furthermore, this time, they were not “asked nicely.” Already in 1962, under
the name The Revolutionary Council (TRC), the military staged a coup d'état to regain the
governmental power. This coup marks the beginning of a totalitarian rule and militarypolitical dominance that would last for 26 years. They arrested a total of 50 leading figures,
including U Nu, the former president. (Aung-Thwin & Aung-Thwin, 2013; Rønneberg, 2015)
In 1966 they banned all other political parties, and TRC became one leading party of the
country. This military rule had a significant impact on the country´s development.
During the military coup in 1962, Myanmar residents did not rebel or protest against it;
neither did other countries break diplomatic ties. It was even applauded in some foreign
newspapers – amongst them, in India and Thailand. The majority welcomed the military party
with Ne Win as the leading figure, and as the trusted torchbearer of Bogyoke Aung San´s
democratic ideology. Myanmar needed some structure, and there was a general understanding
from the military circles that the civilian government were not able to control the continuous
pressure and conflicts from both inside and outside the borders. The military, as is argued by
some, “saved the nation” (Aung-Thwin & Aung-Thwin, pp. 246-248; Rønneberg, 2015).
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