Sandar Win Walks Free After 6 Years

By AUNG ZAW

The release from house arrest of Dr Khin Sandar Win, the much favored daughter of late former dictator Gen Ne Win, has been greeted with little or no fuss in Burma.

There had been speculation for months that Sandar Win, 56, would be freed after military officers had been spotted visiting her at her Inya Lake home.

Some sources reported that neighbors saw her waving to passing vehicles and passers-by from inside her compound after news of her release was announced on Friday.

However, nothing appeared in the state media and few commentators seemed interested in her status, an indication of how far down the pecking order the Ne Win clan has fallen since the despot’s death.

Once one of the most recognizable faces in the country and seen by many as a Lady Macbeth figure at her father’s side, Sandar had in recent years faded into the background of Burma’s collective memory—a lonesome figure regularly spotted walking her dog in the unkempt garden of her lakeside villa.

Her swimming pool, which used to be the scene of some of Rangoon’s highest profile parties hasn’t been cleaned in years.

Having spent the past six years with only her cook for company, Sandar Win’s priority will undoubtedly to see her husband, Aye Zaw Win, and their three sons, all of whom were implicated in the high treason charges in 2002 and sentenced to death.

In the meantime, Aye Zaw Win and their sons remain detained in Insein Prison, isolated from the general prison community in “VIP bungalows” instead of common cells.

Political prisoners who have seen them from a distance said that Sandar’s husband prays regularly.

Sandar Win was always Ne Win’s favorite child.

Ne Win married seven times. With his second wife Khin May Than, Ne Win had three children—Sandar Win, Kyemon Win and Phyoe Wai Win.

Sandar Win reputedly graduated high school with the highest honors in all of Burma and went on to attend medical school and become a physician. She also served as a major in the armed forces.

She accompanied her father on several overseas trips, including his trip to Indonesia in 1997 to meet President Suharto.

It was during the 1988 uprising that Sandar came to national prominence. Many believe she played a major role in the crackdown on the pro-democracy movement, constantly at her father’s side while he was making key decisions.

What was lesser known was that she also wielded influence during the days of the Burmese Socialist Program Party in the early 80s, acting as a go-between for BSPP officials who wanted to meet with Ne Win.

In 1984, Sandar lent a helping hand to a promising government spy who aspired to rise in the military hierarchy. With Sandar Win whispering in her father’s ear, Col Khin Nyunt was soon appointed chief of military intelligence.

With Khin Nyunt in charge, Sandar continued to enjoy considerable influence and undertook several business ventures.

She and her husband ran several companies in Rangoon, including the Nawarat Concorde Hotel with a nightclub that was popular among Rangoon’s high society.

The couple also served as representatives for the Rangoon branch of the Thai-owned Bumrungrad Hospital and managed Associated Business Consultancy Services, an investment consultancy firm that matched foreign investors with local partners.

But their wealth and influence started to wane in the early 2000s.

In May 2001, Ne Win, Sandar and his powerful grandsons surprised everyone by appearing at the Sedona Hotel in Rangoon to celebrate Ne Win’s 90th birthday. None of the military elite was invited and the event was regarded as an attempt by the former dictator and his family to reassert their power.

Then, Sandar and her husband threw a lavish party to celebrate their wedding anniversary at their lakeside villa, which Sandar had named “Mount Olympus.” All guests were requested to wear Western suits or dresses.

In March 2002, Sandar Win’s husband and their three sons were charged with plotting a coup d’état against Snr-Gen Than Shwe. The family’s downfall was sealed when Gen Ne Win died in December 2002.

During the trial of Sandar Win’s family, government prosecutors played on the family’s "Western tastes" and accused them of being unpatriotic. Ironically, the junta has leveled similar accusations at Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who married a British citizen.

Although the military regime requisitioned almost all of Ne Win’s family’s assets, Sandar was left with her lakeside home. The senior army officers and troops that guarded Ne Win’s house and protected his grandsons were all purged.

Even the family astrologer, Aung Min Khaung, was not spared. He was implicated in the coup plot and thrown in prison, where he remains to this day.

Since her release from house arrest, Sandar Win has reportedly appealed for her husband and three sons to be set free too.

The release of Ne Win’s daughter raises perhaps only one question of significance—whether the regime will apply the same rules to the case of Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest since 2003.

If so, Suu Kyi would be free by May next year.

The irony is that both women live all but alone in large villas overlooking Inya Lake—almost facing each other from opposite sides of the lake.

A further testament to the Burmese junta’s sense of irony is that both Suu Kyi’s father, independence hero Gen Aung San, and Sandar’s father have long been regarded as the fathers of Burma’s armed forces.