The SPDC said in a news conference in Rangoon that parcel bombs have arrived at Burmese embassies in Japan, Malaysia and Singapore. As these parcels had arrived from Thailand, they could be the handiwork of Moe Thee Zun who is now in Japan and based in Thailand - said Lieutenant-Colonel Nyan Linn to reporters. We asked the KNU's General Secretary and spokesman Phado Mahn Sha for his comments about the allegations:
Phado Mahn Shar : Concerning the activities of opposition groups (of Burma) based in Thailand, it's nothing to do with us. The reason is we are based in our own territory and fighting for our freedom and they are nothing to do with us. What we have seen is - relationships among the SPDC members are getting more complicated. They could be attacking each other or they could be deliberately staging this scenario. First, the matter concerning Burmese Embassy in Japan we reserve great doubt and suspicion about it. It's not easy for a parcel bomb to travel from one region to another. We are very suspicious of the fact they knew it straight away as soon as they saw the parcel. I think they deliberately plotted and made the whole thing up.
Htet Aung Kyaw : Whatever the truth, they held an official news conference and they could pressurise the Thai authorities. How could this latest episode affect the opposition groups in Thailand?
Phado Mahn Shar : In my opinion, when it comes to this kind of thing, neither the Thai nor other international governments would be that stupid. I hope they could see the whole set up and situation.
Interview with Dr. Minn Nyo, an activist in Japan :
Dr. Minn Nyo: According to the news from the (Japanese) police, they (the police) are quite suspicious of the fact that they were not told straight away. It is the third time it has occurred in Japan. The first was in 1989 when they told the police that they found a bomb on the main door of the ambassador's resident. The second time was when they claimed that a parcel bomb was sent to Lt-Colonel Tin Oo's house. They said that the parcel was sent from Japan and the authorities in Burma accused Burmese people who lived in Japan of sending the parcel. But the Japanese police and bomb experts personally checked the item. They said that there was no reason the parcel could have come through the Japanese postal system - even though they (SPDC) claimed to be so. Now, it's the third time. They seem to be saying that the bombs were sent from Thailand. Their assumption is - it could be coming by flights. In order to be able to go through the aeroplane, there are strict security checks either letters or parcel bombs are likely to be stopped at the airport. We are seeing that the local police here are not very suspicious of (Burmese) activists here. |