Lieutenant General Myint Aung declines to be defense minister

Lieutenant General Myint Aung, who was on a list to be appointed defense minister on Friday has reportedly declined the cabinet post and was placed under house arrest in Naypidaw on Thursday.Lieutenant General Myint Aung, once thought to be an heir apparent to Than Shwe, was reportedly under house arrest on Thursday after he refused a ministerial post.Lieutenant General Myint Aung, once thought to be an heir apparent to Than Shwe, was reportedly under house arrest on Thursday after he refused a ministerial post. Unconfirmed reports said Myint Aung, who previously served as the adjutant general, is thought to have refused the ministerial position because he perceived it as a demotion.

Prior to his rejection of the post, the Than Shwe loyalist was thought by many observers to be next in line to replace Burma’s reclusive dictator at the helm of the nation’s armed forces. The future for Myint Aung, 55, remains unclear but his military career appears to have come to a screeching halt.

Sources said the defense minister position is now expected to go Lieutenant General Ko Ko.Lieutenant General Min Aung Hlaing is now expected to be named commander in chief of the Armed Forces, with Major General Soe Win taking the vice commander in chief position, sources said.Soe Win was until very recently leading the Northern Command and was a junior to Myint Aung.Both Min Aung Hlaing and Soe Win are considered to be from the Maung Aye faction, giving Burma’s No. 2 general a significant boost in power.Experts in Naypidaw said that Myint Aung’s apparent rejection is just the latest bump in Than Shwe’s plan to impose a parliamentary façade on the government.