WASHINGTON - The Denmark-based son of former Burmese dictator Ne Win told Radio Free Asia (RFA) he has received assurances that his 92-year-old father would be well treated, despite the arrest of four of the elderly general's relatives in a suspected coup plot. Burma's military rulers said over the weekend they had foiled a planned coup by detaining four of Ne Win's relatives and firing three senior officials. Ne Win ruled Burma from 1962 until 1988, when he stepped down in the face of massive pro-democracy protests. The military then stepped in to restore order and remains in power today. "I have been assured that they [the ruling junta] will respect him, they will protect him, and they will not do anything to harm him," Phyo Wai Win told RFA, speaking in Burmese from his home in Copenhagen, Denmark. "I got assurances and guarantees from the authorities that he would be treated well." Although he has all but vanished from the public eye, Ne Win has long been seen as wielding decisive influence in matters of government. The arrest of his relatives could signal the end of an era. Ne Win "was well when I rang him two or three weeks ago, and if his condition has changed then the doctors or my sister would have contacted me," he said. Phyo Wai Win declined to give details of his talks with authorities in Rangoon. "I would like everyone [in Burma] to be considerate of everyone else," he added. Ne Win�s son-in-law, Aye Zaw Win, and three of Ne Win�s grandsons were arrested last week on suspicion of plotting a coup against the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). The grandsons have been identified as Aye Ne Win, Kyaw Ne Win, and Zwe Ne Win. According to reliable sources in Burma, three senior officials have meanwhile lost their jobs. They are police chief Soe Win, Air Force commander Myint Swe, and Golden Triangle regional military commander Chit Than. More firings were expected to follow. The ruling junta seized power in September 1988 after suppressing a nationwide pro-democracy uprising. It held national elections in 1990 in which Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won by a wide margin, but the junta has refused to honor those election results.
