‘President Replaces Junta in Myanmar Shadow Play’ reads the headline of Bangkok datelined despatch in the New York Times on the swearing in of Thein Sein as the President of country, which ‘elected’ its Parliament in November last. Neither the swearing in nor the election has the conventional trappings. But then there is nothing conventional about today’s Myanmar.

The election was a one-leg race in the absence of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD); the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) won 388 of 493 elected seats in Parliament. 65-year-old Thein Sein entered the fray after resigning from the army like many other military men. And he got the ‘prized job’ because Senior General Than Shwe (77), Myanmar’s strong man, willed so.

Broadly speaking, therefore, the criticism of the West and the West based Burmese scholars and democracy champions is justified. But there is need to let pragmatism run its course in the context of Burma, as Myanmar is known in good old days.

Military, known locally as the “Tatmadaw” is ruling the country since 1962. The present junta came to power in 1988 as the baton passed from Gen Ne Win to General Than Shwe. It ruthlessly crushed democratic forces and entrenched itself with no visible challenge whatsoever. The US-EU sanctions did not cripple the regime but turned out to be ‘counterproductive’ as the Brussels- based International Crisis Group (ICG) says, and caused more hardship to the common people.

Frankly, the changes that Than Shwe has brought about are not great. But the fact is that these have been put in place more or less suo moto. The transition to ‘democracy’ was organised over three years beginning with the drafting of a new statute and constitutional referendum in 2008.  Neither the road map to democracy nor the way it was executed is the most ideal. In fact, both have been seen as fraudulent.

Yet, the criticism should not blur the fact that what is being attempted in Burma has a positive side with in-built gradualism. Because the army has allowed a large section of its ranks to do the sartorial change.  Than Shwe has not taken on the political mantle. It is surprising since most army rulers don’t like to be behind the throne. One thing is clear though. He has created a structure with a civilian façade that will keep the army away from the front line. That is no small step and it may last the Senior General.