The Office of the Chief of Military Security Affairs (OCMSA), commonly referred to by its Burmese acronym Sa Ya Pha (စရဖ), is the military intelligence agency of the Myanmar Armed Forces, tasked with intelligence gathering. It was created to replace the Directorate of Defence Services Intelligence (DDSI), which was disbanded in 2004.[1]
OCMSA 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, OCMSA uses sleep deprivation and condones the beating and kicking of detainees until they are unconscious.[2]
Notable former commanders of OCMSA include Vice President Lieutenant General (Ret.) Myint Swe, 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, OCMSA is headed by Lieutenant General Soe Htut.[3] Brig.-Gen Tin Oo (no relation to Gen. Tin Oo) was trained by the CIA on the Pacific island of Saipan and went on to run one of the most feared and effective military intelligence spy networks in Asia throughout the 1970s and ’80s.[4]
| 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 – May 1983 | |
| Directorate of Military Intelligence | Colonel Aung Koe | May 1983 – September 1983 | |
| Directorate of Defence Service Intelligence / Office of Chief of Military Intelligence (OCMI) | Lieutenant General / General Khin Nyunt | September 1983 – October 2004 | |
| Office of Chief of Military Security Affair | Lieutenant General Myint Swe | 2004–2005 | |
| Office of Chief of Military Security Affair | Lieutenant General Ye Myint | 2005–2010 | |
| Office of Chief of Military Security Affair | Lieutenant General Kyaw Swe | 2010–2014 | |
| Office of Chief of Military Security Affair | Lieutenant General Mya Tun Oo | 2014–2016 | |
| Office of Chief of Military Security Affair | Lieutenant General Soe Htut | 2016–2020 | |
| Office of Chief of Military Security Affair | Lieutenant General Ye Win Oo[5] [6] | 2020−present |