|
The
junta blames insurgents and shadowy foreigners for several blasts, but analysts
suspect the military itself
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| A third explosion went off near the ticketing office at the Rangoon
Railway Station |
Burma's
ruling State Peace and Development Council has accused Karen ethnic minority
insurgents and a "major group from abroad" for a series of bombings
over the past 10 days, raising suspicions that the junta itself is behind the violence
in an effort shore up unity in the armed forces or as an excuse for crackdowns
against the pro-democracy movement and ethnic resistance groups.
The
first of four explosions took place in a public toilet at the
Naypyidaw-Pyinamana Railway Station on January 11, killing a 40-year old Karen
woman. It was the first time that a bombing has taken place in the area
of the new Burmese capital at Naypyidaw. Although security was tightened after
the blast, authorities reportedly did not think it was sufficient cause to
disrupt the train schedule.
On
the evening of the same day, another explosion occurred at a travelling circus
near the town of Pyu in Burma's central
Pegu Division. According to the state-run mouthpiece New Light of Myanmar, the bomb exploded prematurely while it was
being set by a member of the Karen National Union, an armed opposition group
fighting the military regime. A Karen man was said to have been killed in
the explosion and a revolver and 20 rounds of ammunition and another explosive
device were found on the body, according to the New Light. Four civilians were injured in the blast,
including a 4-year-old boy.
Two
days later a third explosion went off near the ticketing office at the Rangoon
Railway Station, injuring a woman. The bomb was reportedly in a drain
near a toilet outside the building. The last explosion occurred on January
16 on a bus as it pulled into a rest stop 65 kilometers north of Rangoon. The driver
was reportedly killed.
The
junta, through The New Light of Myanmar,
initially claimed on January 12 that it had a "tip-off" that
"insurgents have sent terrorists and explosives to the country across the
border to carry out sabotage." It is widely understood that the
border is the one with Thailand.
The
next day a longer article gave details of the second attack and blamed both on
foreigners as well as insurgents. The victim of the bomb in Pyinmana was
now said to be a bomber who was killed when her device exploded
prematurely. According to The New
Light of Myanmar, “a major group from abroad that is desirous of practicing
hegemony over Myanmar
provided terrorist insurgent saboteurs with cash and related equipment with the
intent of harming the public, causing panic among the people and undermining
peace and stability.”
The
"group from abroad" is often meant to refer to the United States
or the Central Intelligence Agency, although other groups such as the US-based
National Endowment for Democracy, the Open Society Institute of George Soros and
Thailand-based exile organizations have been blamed for disturbances and plots in
the past. The public was also called on to report sightings of possible
terrorists.
No
groups have claimed responsibility for the bombings and the Karen National
Union has denied involvement. David Taw, the KNU's Foreign Minister, has
denied that the organization has anything to do with the attacks and Padoh Mahn
Sha, the KNU's General Secretary, has stated that it is the KNU's policy to
avoid harming civilians. He went on to say that no orders were given for
the attacks.
The
junta’s accusations do not ring true with many observers. Each year since
1996 several bombings have taken place in central Burmese cities and
towns. Almost every time, with a few notable exceptions, the bombs were small,
caused minimal damage and resulted in few casualties. Almost none of the
targets had much military significance. Foreign organizations and
individuals, political opposition groups and insurgents have always been blamed
by the regime. Sometimes elaborate press conferences are called with
organizational charts complete with photographs attached that set out the
conspiracies against the junta. The charges have become a joke among Burmese
exiles, and it has become something of a badge of pride to be named.
The
junta, through its spokesman Major General Kyaw Hsan, seems quite aware of the
power of the word "terrorist.” By invoking it, the regime not only hopes
to paint the opposition in a negative light domestically, but also to reduce
support for them internationally. The term was used extensively to
justify the 2006 offensive against the KNU in Pegu Division and Karen State.
Burma has not been the scene
of a really large-scale terrorist act since the October 1983 bombing in Rangoon that resulted in
the deaths of 17 South Korean diplomats and four Burmese. That attack was
carried out by North Korean agents trying to assassinate South Korean President
Chun Doo Hwan.
The
many ethnic insurgencies in Burma,
most of them defeated or in retreat for years, have generally not used assassinations
and terrorist bombings. The Karen themselves have suffered defeat after
defeat and sources within the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed
wing of the KNU, which has been blamed for the recent bombings, say that it has
been almost impossible for them to operate in central Burma since the late
1980s.
Burma watchers also suspect
the regime for different reasons. On a few occasions bombings are believed
to have been the result of intramural battles inside the junta. A December 1996
double bombing in Rangoon killed five people and wounded 17; an April 1997 parcel
bomb killed the eldest daughter of Lt. General Tin Oo, a senior member of the
junta at the time; a second bomb that month at the elite Defense Services
Academy in Maymyo killed 15 and wounded 10 and on May 7 2005, simultaneous
bombings of two supermarkets and a convention center in Rangoon left 19 people dead
and 162 injured — all were seen by analysts as the likely result of disputes
within the military, which are often put down to infighting between factions
loyal to SPDC Chairman Senior General Than Shwe and a faction loyal to Vice
Senior General Maung Aye, SPDC Vice Chairman.
The
junta has also been accused of setting off bombs to distract attention from dissent
within the ranks of the military. There is some speculation that this may
be the reason for the current series of bombs. The harsh crackdown
against protesters in September, especially the shooting and beating of monks, was
reportedly unpopular within the officer corps. With the Burmese military brass
insisting it is the only institution that can maintain national unity, bombings
are a good way to reinforce the idea and calm the soldiers.
From
the 1950s through the 1980s the ethnic and communist insurgencies were strong
enough to justify a large military and the army could point to the insurgencies
as a reason for maintaining control, especially after seizing power in 1962.
Since the ceasefires of the late 1980s and early 1990s and the demise of the
Burmese Communist Party, there is a less obvious reason for the military to
retain control.
The
SPDC used a string of eight bombings in Pegu Division in 2006 to justify an offensive
against the remnants of the KNU in eastern Pegu Division and northern Karen State.
At a press conference in May 2006, several foreign diplomats and journalists
were told that the offensive was necessary to stop the KNU from carrying out
"atrocities and sabotage acts" and to "ensure the public safety."
The SPDC has quietly begun another offensive in Karen State
and the bombs may be used to justify its counterinsurgency campaign there.
The
September protests highlighted dissatisfaction with military rule and the
crackdown, which killed at least 31 persons, according to the United Nations
Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Burma Sergio Pinheiro. Arrests are
continuing and the bombings serve as a convenient justification for the regime to
crack down further.
Accounts
from Rangoon
and Pegu Division indicate that security has been stepped up since the bombings
around important buildings, shopping centers, railway stations and the Shwedagon
Pagoda, a focal point for demonstrations. Troops from the 77th Light Infantry
Division were reportedly patrolling the city amid rumors of possible renewed
street protests. If nothing else the bombs give the regime a reason to step up
security — another way to make it very difficult for new demonstrations to be
organized.
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