Editing Ne Win (section)

==Military coup of 1962==
{{main article|1962 Burmese coup d'état}}
On 2 March 1962, Ne Win again seized power in a [[1962 Burmese coup d'état|coup d'état]]. He became head of state as [[Chairman]] of the [[Union Revolutionary Council]] and also [[Prime Minister of Myanmar|Prime Minister]] and [[Ministry of Defence (Myanmar)|Minister of Defense]].<ref name="bidwell" /> The coup was characterized as "bloodless" by the world's media.  Declaring that "[[parliamentary democracy]] was not suitable for Burma," the new regime suspended the constitution and dissolved the legislature.<ref>Aung-Thwin, Michael; Aung-Thwin, Maitrii (2013). [https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/H/bo13235575.html ''A history of Myanmar since ancient times: Traditions and transformations'' (2nd ed.)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123211257/https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/H/bo13235575.html |date=23 January 2021 }}. p. 247 [[London]], [[United Kingdom|UK]]: [[Reaktion Books]]. {{ISBN|1861899017}}.</ref>

Following [[1962 Rangoon University Protests|riots at Rangoon University]] in July 1962, [[Tatmadaw|troops]] were sent to restore order. They fired on [[1962 Rangoon University protests|protesters]] and destroyed the student union building.<ref name="Boudreau">Boudreau, Vincent (2004) ''Resisting Dictatorship: Repression and Protest in Southeast Asia'' Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZpoCNHhUe7QC&pg=PA37 pp. 37–39, 50–51], {{ISBN|0-521-83989-0}}</ref>

Shortly afterward, around 8&nbsp;pm local time, Ne Win addressed the nation in a five-minute [[Radio Speech|radio speech]] which concluded with the statement: "If these disturbances were made to challenge us, I have to declare that we will fight sword with sword and spear with spear".<ref>The [[Burmese language|Burmese]] phrase is "dah go dah gyin, hlan go hlan gyin". Two different English translations of the speech can be read on the front page of the Rangoon ''Nation'' and the Rangoon ''Guardian'' of 9 July 1962. Part of ''The Nation''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s headline of 9 July 1962 read 'General Ne Win States Give Us Time to Work: Obstructionists are Warned: Will Fight Sword with Sword').</ref> On 13 July 1962, less than a week after the speech, Ne Win left for [[Austria]], [[Switzerland]] and the [[United Kingdom]] "for a medical check up".<ref>News items of Ne Win's trip to these countries for 'medical check up' can be found in ''[[The Guardian]]'' and ''[[The Nation]]'' of 14 July 1962</ref> All universities were closed for more than two years until September 1964.{{Sfn|Maung|1965|p=59}}

In 1988, 26 years later, Ne Win denied involvement in the dynamiting of the Student Union building, stating that his deputy Brigadier [[Aung Gyi]] – who by that time had fallen out with Ne Win and been dismissed – had given the order and that he had to take responsibility as a "[[revolutionary]] [[Leadership|leader]]" by giving the ''sword with sword and spear with spear'' speech.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Taylor|first=Robert H.|url=http://archive.org/details/stateinmyanmar0000tayl|title=The state in Myanmar|date=2009|publisher=Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press|others=Internet Archive|isbn=978-0-8248-3362-6|page=134}}</ref>