The fractured heritagescape of the Rangoon Secretariat, Myanmar

Myanmar is transitioning from a dictatorship to a democratic state after more than a century of political oppression under British Colonial rule (1885-1948) and military rule (1962-2010).  Today, people are free to consider 'What is Myanmar heritage?' in public discourse for the first time in generations.  Yet Myanmar's transition to democracy is impeded by a troubled peace process, as the military maintains key checks on the civilian government's power and armed conflict between the military and ethnic minorities continues to foster instability.  This paper analyses the preservation of Myanmar's historic Secretariat Building, a massive Victorian complex in central Yangon (Rangoon) built as the headquarters of the India Office in Burma and the site of frequent anti-Colonial protests.  Key moments of Burmese independence also occurred here: the ceremonial lowering of the Union Jack and raising of the flag of the new Independent Union of Burma in 1948 and the assassination of General Aung San, the architect and heritor of the newly independent nation.  His murder left a voice in leadership that led to six decades of military dictatorship and political isolation.  His martyrdom remains a unifying force and an indelible scar for Myanmar people.  Scarce data from the military period depict the Secretariat as a heavily guarded compound for high ranking military officials, sealed off with fences and razor wire - a black box in the centre of the city reflecting the black box in Southeast Asia that Burma became to the West during the military period.  Today, this symbol of occupation, hegemony, oppression and national grief is slated for a $100 million mixed-use development comprising shops, restaurants, art galleries and a Martyrs Museum.  Tracing the Secretariat's changing heritage narrative over time reveals broader socio-political dynamics in Myanmar from Colonialism to the current day.  Indeed, the Secretariat's preservation effort, with its ambition, opacity, and tensions between military and civilian heritage narratives is in many ways a microcosm for Myanmar's rocky road to democracy and peace.