A strangely familiar sight dominated the front pages of Myanmar's state-owned newspaper this week: photos of men in green military uniforms sitting in seats of power.

It was as if time had rewound a decade. "The Global New Light of Myanmar" has long been considered the mouthpiece for whoever is running the country, its pages dedicated to government propaganda and stiff images of officials on mundane visits to agricultural or development projects.

From 1962 until 2011, successive military regimes ruled Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, with an iron fist -- asserting their absolute power over the people through fear and brutality.