Military intelligence of Myanmar
Office of the Chief of Military Affairs Security (MAS) စစ်ဘက်ရေးရာ လုံခြုံရေးအရာရှိချုပ်ရုံး (စရခ), commonly referred to by its Burmese acronym Sa Ya Pa (Sa Aa Pa in S'gaw Karen), is the office of the Myanmar armed forces tasked with intelligence gathering. It was created to replace the Military Intelligence Service, which was disbanded as its chief Khin Nyunt fell from favour in 2004.[1] The office is charged with handling political issues, and had played a central role in monitoring the 2007 popular protests in Myanmar; coordinating widespread arrests of protesters and their interrogation. Human Rights Watch reported that as part of its interrogation process, MAS uses sleep deprivation and condones the beating and kicking of detainees until they are unconscious.[2] Notable former commanders of MAS include current Chief of General Staff (Army, Navy and Airforce) General Mya Tun Oo and Union Minister for Home Affairs Lieutenant General Kyaw Swe. As of September 2016, MAS is headed by Lieutenant General Soe Htut.[3]
Chiefs
| Office Name | Head | Term |
|---|---|---|
| Directorate of Military Intelligence | Colonel Lwin | 1959–1969 |
| Directorate of Military Intelligence | Colonel Chit Khin | 1969–1972 |
| Directorate of Military Intelligence | Brigadier General Tin Oo | 1972–1978 |
| Directorate of Military Intelligence | Colonel Aung Htay | 1978–1980 |
| Directorate of Military Intelligence | Colonel Myo Aung | 1980–1982 |
| Directorate of Military Intelligence | Colonel Kan Nyunt | 1982–1983 May |
| Directorate of Military Intelligence | Colonel Aung Koe | 1983 May -1983 September |
| Directorate of Defence Service Intelligence / Office of Chief of Military Intelligence ( OCMI ) | Lieutenant General / General Khin Nyunt | 1983 September–2004 October |
| Chief of Military Affair Security | Lieutenant General Myint Swe | 2004–2005 |
| Chief of Military Affair Security | Lieutenant General Ye Myint | 2005–2010 |
| Chief of Military Affair Security | Lieutenant General Kyaw Swe | 2010–2014 |
| Chief of Military Affair Security | Lieutenant General Mya Tun Oo | 2014–2016 |
| Chief of Military Affair Security | Lieutenant General Soe Htut | 2016–present |
References
- ↑ Paing, Yan (September 9, 2014). "Burmese Military Reshuffle Sees New Security Chief Appointed". The Irrawaddy. Retrieved 2015-08-18.
- ↑ "Crackdown: Repression of the 2007 Popular Protests in Burma". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
- ↑ Paing, Yan (September 9, 2014). "Burmese Military Reshuffle Sees New Security Chief Appointed". The Irrawaddy. Retrieved 2015-08-18.