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| Southeast Asia |
| Myanmar's Junta clamps down after Yangon blasts |
| 2005-05-13 |
| Myanmar's military government has stepped up security and ordered medical workers not to speak with reporters about three bomb blasts that shook the capital, Yangon, over the weekend. Eyewitness reports indicated the death toll could spike sharply higher. Medical workers contacted by telephone told [Radio Free Asia's] Myanmar service they had been warned against disclosing anything related to the blasts on Saturday at two upscale supermarkets and the Yangon Convention Center, site of a Thai trade fair. Thai officials, meanwhile, said at least 21 people had been killed - 10 more than the fatalities reported by the Myanmar junta. The Myanmar government routinely restricts information on sensitive incidents such as bombings, clashes between authorities and the opposition, conflict with the country's fractious ethnic minorities, and even natural disasters. The junta is blaming the bombings on ethnic rebel groups, including the Karen National Union and the Shan State Army, and exiled dissidents in the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB). Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) secretary Raymond Htoo, Karen National Union (KNU) secretary Phado Mansha, and Shan State Army (SSA) spokesman Nang Khur Sen have all denied any role in the blasts, along with NCGUB leader Dr Sein Win. The explosions came less than two weeks after a bombing at a market in the northern city of Mandalay killed two women and wounded 15 people. The junta blamed that attack on unnamed rebels. According to the witness, security in Yangon has been tightened since the blasts. "Monasteries and houses were ordered to report all overnight guests. Also, at the city gate and bus and train stations, security is up," the witness said. [Reprinted by Asia Times with permission of Radio Free Asia] |
| Posted by:Pappy |