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Burmese Approved for Release: 2020/08/11 C02000168 Senior Burmese Army officers, long discontented with administrative deterioration under Prime Minister Nu, have obtained assurances from General Ne Win that he intends to do something about it. Ne Win told his colleagues that if the lack of government discipline continued, "the army would have to act very soon." an army takeover may occur in February or March. Since Nu resumed the office of prime minister last April, Ne Win has opposed persistent demands from his army subordinates for a return to army rule, insisting that the elected civilian government be given an opportunity to prove its worth. It now appears, however, that the continued decline of law and order in the country and the deterioration of the economy since he resigned the prime ministership are convincing Ne Win that he should resume office. He told his staff and brigade commanders that he had hoped the present leaders would "step up the pace of managing the government, but they were too busy fighting among themselves," and he reportedly added, "The Burmese people have again shown that they are not ready for democracy and self-rule." There have been persistent reports of dissension within Nu's Union party and indications that he cannot control its actions. Nu considered the party poorly organized, with many "wrong" people in power. A national party conference is scheduled for February, at which time a showdown for party control is possible. Nu intends to step down from the party presidency, but will remain the dominant political figure in Burma. However, he is backing the minority faction against Union party Secretary General Kyaw Dun, a political hack whose party role was the immediate cause of the 1958 breakup of the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League. Should Nu lose this struggle, his organizational backing and control of the government may disintegrate completely. There has been one report suggesting that because of the dissension within his party, Nu would welcome the army's return to power. SECRET 5 Jan 61 CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN Page 4 Approved for Release: 2020/08/11 C02000168

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