Obama visits bizarre heart of Burmese military regime

Nay Pyi Taw, BURMA – The generals running Burma's brutal military regime grew so scared of an American seaborne invasion that they moved the capital city far inland.

So goes one popular explanation for the sudden 2005 relocation from Rangoon, when officials were ordered to pack up overnight and swap the country's largest city for purpose-built Nay Pyi Taw, constructed in secret more than 200 miles to the north.

This week, on his second visit to Burma, Barack Obama became the first U.S. president to visit the bizarre capital, as Washington continues both to reward the Burmese government for its steps away from dictatorship, and warn against backsliding before promised democratic reforms are complete. In the massive, ornate presidential palace of his counterpart Thein Sein, Obama voiced U.S. concern Thursday over violence against Muslims, and the failure to change the constitution ahead of next year's election.

Without such change, Burma's democratic icon Aung San Suu Kyi, whom Obama met briefly Thursday and will visit again in Rangoon Friday, remains barred from competing for president, thanks to clauses the military introduced specifically to prevent her candidacy.

The unchecked power and folly of Burmese dictator Than Shwe, who masterminded the building of Nay Pyi Taw, and still lives there, are apparent throughout this strange city, a monument to public waste. Vast, empty highways link equally large public buildings and several military-only zones. Its residents, emboldened to speak out by recent reforms, expressed hope for Obama's second visit, and regret at insufficient progress since his first.

After decades of junta-enforced isolation, pilgrims at the giant Uppatasanti Buddhist pagoda -- the city's five-year-old signature site named after a prayer to protect against foreign invasion -- welcomed Obama's visit.

"I'm very happy the leader of the world's most powerful country recognized our small country," said shopkeeper Nyunt Nyunt Wai, 50. "I hope he can bring change both political and economic," she said.

Buddhist monk U Sunn Patha said he hoped Myanmar's expanding global ties will finally raise the living standards of his still mostly poor countrymen.

"I didn't expect the U.S. president to visit during my lifetime," the 63-year-old man said. "We must stop such violence in the future," he added.

More outspoken residents fear Obama is being duped.

"Our people like Obama as America always supports our people and our struggle," said Maung Thin Khaing, 74, who has been jailed and harassed for years. "But Obama embraces this government, and believes Thein Sein to some degree, and this is very dangerous for our country and the coming election."

The pro-democracy poet said he hopes Aung San Suu Kyi will move the capital back to Rangoon if her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), takes power. He noted his distrust for the government, calling it "semi-military and semi-civilian."

"Thein Sein is the same as the generals before him," he said. "This is a fake capital, it belongs to the military," he said.

He further lamented the old teak trees cut down in his hometown, Pyinmana, which has since been absorbed by Nay Pyi Taw.

"We lived right next door, but we were unaware of the secret plans to build," he said.

At a customer-free, military-owned mall, off an empty 10-lane highway that serves a sealed off army zone containing massive statues of ancient kings, Nay Aung, 40, runs a café called Hollywood.

"I was excited by Obama's first visit, but now I have no feeling as nothing changed in between," he said. His family knows all too well about dashed hopes.

In 1990, the military allowed a genuine general election, then rejected the resulting NLD victory. Nay Aung's father, Utint Win, won victory as an NLD MP, but was stopped from taking his seat and suffered regular detentions and harassment afterward.

"I doubt the military will be willing to give up power, next year could be like the 1990 election all over again," he said.

The Junction Center, Nay Pyi Taw's first privately-operated mall, also features basic shops, no brand names, and only a few more customers. At its cinema, Min Su Neing, 25, waited with his girlfriend, both in the traditional dress that remains commonplace in Burma.

"We're happy that Obama is here," he said as he waited for the spy flick "November Man" to begin. He wished that U.S. brands, including KFC, will follow.

Hotel staffer Aung Paing Min, 28 voted for the military-backed party in 2010, the NLD in a later by-election, and keeps an open mind about 2015.

"I will vote for any party who can do good for the country, not just the NLD," he said. Pleased by Obama's return, Aung Paing Min raised another sizable request for the U.S. president's 48-hour visit: push the peace-building process, to achieve a binding end to multiple civil wars.