1. Interview with U Saw

New Zealand Listener, Volume 6, Issue 144, 27 March 1942, Page 7

1. Interview with U Saw

‘THE Prime Minister of Burma is young — in fact, at 40, he is the youngest Prime Minister in the world. In appearance, he is amazingly like what you would expect a Prime Minister of Burma to be like: he is of medium height, with a corpulent rotundity that is in utter harmony with his round, smiling, Burmese features. His English is no more than fair, but what he lacks in syntax and vocabulary, he makes up for in expressiveness. U Saw is reputed to be one of the best orators in the Burmese Parliament. In his bearing he is extremely friendly and democratic. Before U Saw became Premier, he was the editor of The Sun, most influential paper: in Burma. He is the leader of the Myochit Party (Myochit literally means "Lover of the Race"), which, with 36 seats, is the largest group in the Burmese Legislature. My first question dealt with the purpose of the Prime Minister’s visit. U Saw agreed that it was true, that he had come to England in an endeavour to obtain a definite promise of Dominion status. He told ‘me of the high hopes the Atlantic Charter had encouraged, and of how bitterly disappointed they had been by Mr. Churchill’s declaration of September 9. "I know how the argument is advanced that a’ country with Burma’s brief experience in constitutional government is hardly equipped for Dominion status. Yet, on all counts, the Burmese Legislature has made an impressive showing since its inception in 1937. The sole subjects which are reserved by the Governor are Defence and Foreign Affairs." I asked U Saw whether it was true that there was much pro-Japanese sentiment in Burma. "The attitude of my Government towards Japan,’ U Saw told me, "is expressed in the fact that Burma has followed the lead of Britain and the United States in virtually abrogating its trade with Japan. Don’t forget that Japan used to account for about 20 per cent of our total foreign trade. She took a large part of our rice crop and ninetenths of our cotton. "There is a small section of Burmese opinion which believes that to aid Britain win the war means to aid Britain to keep us in subjection. This opinion is represented in Parliament by the Freedom Bloc--but many of the leaders of this bloc, including Ba Maw, the former Premier, are now in jail. There is another section, which, while it cherishes no love for the Japanese, feels

that if it is Burma’s destiny to remain a subject nation, then it might be better to be governed By a nation that is of the same blood and of the same religion. But by and large, the Burmese people prefer the devil they know to the devil they don’t know." U Saw derided the suggestion that Burma was so rent by divisional differences that it would be dangerous to vest authority in a central Government. "The differences between the Burmese proper and the Shans, the Karens, the Kachins, and the Chinese are certainly of no more serious an order than the differences between the Englishmen, the Scotsmen, the, Welshmen and the Northern Irish. We share a common culture and a common religion. In addition to the fact that our languages are related, Burmese is the lingua Franca of the country. The attitude of the Burmese majority to the indigenous minorities has been one of complete tolerance. "The British Government has informed the Indian people that they must settle their internal differences before they can hope. for Dominion status. If it were to make such an offer to Burma, we would say ‘Good!’ because we are confident that, given the prospect of full self-government, we can easily achieve an agreement with our native minorities." — My final question to U Saw was whether a definite promise of Dominion status would result in an increased war effort on Burma’s part. At no point in the conversation was U Saw more categorical. "If the Burmese people were convinced that they were fighting for their own freedom as well as for that of the rest of the world, then there would be no question about it-Burma’s war effort would be increased four-fold."