BurmaNet News June 2, 2005

[Editor]

June 2, 2005 Issue # 2731

INSIDE BURMA
AP: Myanmar accuses "powerful nations" of bullying
Xinhua: Myanmar to establish regional crime-related database
SHAN: Khun Sa kin on bomb suspect list

ON THE BORDER
Narinjara: Nasaka reformed along with a large number of officers for
reunification

HEALTH / AIDS
Mizzima: Burma-bordering Indian States in Dire Peril of Drug Abuse

DRUGS
SHAN: Speed: Wa's Trojan horse for Shans

ASEAN
AFP: ASEAN legislators urge Myanmar to implement democratic reforms
Jakarta Post: ASEAN urged to unite against Yangon
AP: Philippines still troubled by rights abuses in Burma

REGIONAL
Thai Press Reports: Suu Kyi set to receive honourary degree from Thammasat
University

INTERNATIONAL
AFP: Amnesty presses Japan to improve rights records as part of UN bid

OPINION / OTHER
Irrawaddy: Dissidents and activists suffer after bomb blasts

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

June 2, Associated Press
Myanmar accuses "powerful nations" of bullying

Yangon: In a thinly veiled criticism of the United States, Myanmar's
military government has accused powerful countries of "bullying" smaller
developing nations and pursuing a foreign policy that repeatedly fails.

A commentary in the state-run Myanma Ahlin newspaper said the foreign
policy of powerful nations was fundamentally flawed as their
"well-planned" actions always went awry.

The article did not identify the nations, but the U.S. has led tough
economic sanctions against Myanmar, also known as Burma.

"Some powerful nations are bent on bullying smaller developing nations and
have regarded the countries that do not tow their policy as enemies," it
said. "Their arrogance and bully tactics are obvious if a thorough study
of international developments is made."

The editorial said "the bullies" were able to implement their foreign
policy because of their wealth.

"However, their plans always go awry and their money is wasted, never
achieving the required result," it said.

The commentary added that countries that bullied small nations have
historically met a tragic end.

____________________________________

June 2, Xinhua General News Service
Myanmar to establish regional crime-related database

Yangon: Myanmar will join other members of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) in establishing a crime-related database system in
2006 to help fight crimes through exchange of such data, a local weekly
reported Thursday.

The country's database will be set up in accordance with the guidelines
laid down by the 25th ASEAN Police Chiefs' Conference held in Bali,
Indonesia, late last month, the 7-Day News quoted the Myanmar Police Force
as saying.

Myanmar and Laos are the only two countries yet to ink for the
introduction of the system, it said.

That conference mainly covered 12 kinds of crimes including illicit
trafficking of narcotic drugs, human trafficking, terrorism, arms
smuggling, economic offenses, fake credit cards and travel documents.

According to the Myanmar anti-drug authorities, the country exposed a
total of 3,012 narcotic-drug cases in 2004, punishing 4, 153 people in the
connection. It netted a total of 939 human traffickers in 474 related
cases between 2002 and 2004, preventing 2,629 people, including 1,225
young women, from being victimized.

Meanwhile, Myanmar has been drafting a law on suppression of trafficking
in persons. The law, drafted in accordance with the UN Convention Against
Transnational Organized Crimes, is to be enacted later this year.

In April 2004, Myanmar enacted the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters
Law to serve as a legal basis for the country's international cooperation
in crime suppression including human trafficking.

Again in October that year, as part of the Coordinated Mekong Ministerial
Initiative Against Trafficking (COMMIT) process, Myanmar joined five other
countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) in signing the first ever
memorandum of understanding on suppression of such crime in the
Asia-Pacific region.

The memorandum lays out methods and areas of cooperation to combat all
aspects of human trafficking, encompassing areas of policy and cooperation
at the national and international levels, legal frameworks, law
enforcement and criminal justice, protection, recovery and reintegration
of victims as well as preventive measures.

_____________________________________

June 1, Shan Herald Agency for News
Khun Sa kin on bomb suspect list

One of the close relatives of retired warlord Khun Sa is definitely on
Rangoon's distinguished roll call of bomb suspects, according to family
friends:

Erh Kuo, 47, also known variously as Mr Lee, Tha Aung and Suchart
Suksaeng, as a result is believed to be taking refuge somewhere in
Thailand.

The ground for suspicion was the sealing-off of Erh Kuo's apartments at
Rangoon's Junction 8 condominium early this year, after authorities
uncovered a $ 50,000 cache hidden in an air-conditioner during a search
for a drug suspect. Erh Kuo was absent at the time and escaped arrest.
"The authorities thought he could be out for revenge," explained the
source.

Apart from Erh Kuo, three unnamed Karens and Ko Ko Naing, said to be a
member of the All Burma Students Democratic Front, are reportedly on the
list of suspects that had killed more than 70 people, according to the
Democratic Voice of Burma, at Rangoon's three shopping centers, including
Junction 8, on 7 May.

"Erh Kuo has denied having anything to do with the bomb blasts," said
another source.

Erh Kuo is married to Khun Sa's cousin, daughter of his fifth uncle Kham
Leng. He had handled Khun Sa's cross-border logging deals during his Mong
Tai Army heydays, 1986-1996, the year he surrendered to Rangoon.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

June 1, Narinjara News
Nasaka reformed along with a large number of officers for reunification

Maungdaw: Nasaka, or Border Security Force, in Arakan state, was reformed
recently along
 with 60 senior officials and 1850 junior level officials in the number 9
administrative region including 25 camps in Arakan state, according to a
report of Nasaka department.

The reformation is intended to reunify Nasaka officials. Nasaka officials
have been in disarray since the dismissal of 100 officials last year.

Major Thu Rain Zaw has been posted as the head of the Nasaka department,
and three other captain level officials, including Kyaw Pho Aung, Moe
Khaing and Kyaw Kyaw Htwe, have been poste d as second in charge of the
Nasaka department. The Nasaka department headquarters are located in
Kyigun Byin, in Maungdaw Township, bordering Bangladesh.

Another nine senior officers have been posted as regional commanders,
those are: Major San Win Khaing who is a Nasaka region (1) co mmander,
based in Aungthapray village; Major Nay Myo who is a Nasaka region (2)
commander, based in Aung Zuu village; Captain Aung Myint Tun who is a
Nasaka region(3) commander, based in Taung Bro village; Major Than Htay
who is a Nasaka region (4) commander, based in Litra village; Major Kyaw
Aung who is region (5) commander, based in Ngakura village; Major Kyi
Hlaing who is a region (6) commander, based Pyin Pru village; Captain
Thein Htoo who is a Nasaka region(7) commander; based in Alay Thankyaw
village and Major Sein Win who is a Nasaka region (8) commander; based in
Inn Din village. All of these are located in the Maungdaw Township. In
addition, Captain Moe Thwin has been posted as a Nasaka region (9)
commander in Taung Bazaar under the Buthidaung Township.

Previously, the Nasaka force has been the most powerful organization on
the Burma-
Bangladesh border, but the name is notorious among the border people for
collecting
bribes from the locals. The Nasaka force would sometimes intrude upon
Bangladeshi territory, hijack Bangladeshi fishermen, and confiscate local
people's land, said a townsperson from Maungdaw.

After Forme r Prime Minister General Khin Nyunt was detained by
authorities last year, Nasaka's power decreased in the area and had almost
disintegrated.

Before the reformation of Nasaka's department, a battalion of the Burmese
army was stationed in Nasaka's headquarters to maintain law and order
among Nasaka officials.

Even though Nasaka was reformed along with changing a number of Nasaka
officials, the number of Nasaka members will not reach their previous
numbers. In previous times there were about 3000 Nasakamen in the Nasaka
department in Arakan state.

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

June 2, Mizzima
Burma-bordering Indian States in Dire Peril of Drug Abuse - Nava Thakuria

Guwahati (Assam): It is now official. All North-East Indian states,
bordering Burma, are in the high peril of drug abuse with an alarming rate
of HIV infection and AIDS.

As disclosed by Indian Union Health and Family Welfare Minister A Ramdoss
in New Delhi last week, Manipur and Nagaland are among the "high HIV/AIDS
prevalence" states while Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram are termed
"vulnerable".

India has 5.134 million HIV patients, where 103,857 cases (counted till
March 2005) are of full-blown AIDS on the last count.  Statistics of the
National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) reveal that 1,114 people died of
AIDS during 2004. Over 69 percent of the infected population is
from high prevalence states of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra
Pradesh, Manipur and Nagaland, the Minister informed.

In North-East, Manipur is reported to have the highest density of HIV
infected people in the country. According to the statistics of Manipur
AIDS Control Society, the insurgency-ridden state has around 16000 HIV
positive people and more than 2,800 victims have contracted AIDS. Till
2004, over 300 people died of AIDS in the state.

"But there is a distinct difference in the pattern of infection. While in
86 per cent of the cases of HIV infection in other parts of India, the
transmission route is sexual, in Manipur, about 72 per cent of the cases
originate from sharing of needles and syringes by injecting drug users,"
said an activist of Kripa Foundation, a leading anti-addiction centre in
Manipur.

The availability of heroin, primarily from Burma (with Thailand and Laos)
and other illicit drugs are responsible for high addiction rate in
Manipur. The number of estimated drug addicts in the state has increased
up to 50,000 out of which 20,000 are reported to be injecting drug users.

The drugs like spasoproxybone, ganja, alcohol, phensedyle, opium, cough
syrup, nitrazepam, detroproxythene and buprenorphine are used by the
addicts. The young one normally start taking drug orally and later shift
to injection with  needles, which are shared by many at a time paving way
for HIV transmission among the users.

"The absence of an institutionalised intelligence framework within the
police forces of the affected  states like Manipur (last reported AIDS
cases 2,866), Nagaland (736), Mizoram (106), Assam (225)and  Meghalaya (8)
to tackle the well-coordinated narcotics trafficking into the region from
the Golden Triangle has been a boon for the thriving racket," said a
retired custom officer in Guwahati. He also added that the frustrated
youths of the region were vulnerable to HIV infection and  AIDS through
illegal drug consumption. If Manipur is identified as a high-incidence
zone for AIDS, Mizoram has hit the headlines in newspaper for the death of
more than 940 youths because of drug abuse since 1984.

Drug abuse is rampant in the sleepy villages in the hilly Mizoram terrain.
Official figures confirm that more than 1,000 habitants are infected with
HIV.  However, the real number will be far more that the statistics. More
than two percent pregnant women in Mizoram are found HIV positive. Betty
Lalthantluangi, an adviser to the Mizoram State AIDS Control Society,
warned, "If the trend goes on like this, there is going to be a big bang
very soon." However, the HIV/AIDS epidemic has no longer remained confined
to drug users only. It has found prey also in their spouses and  children
creating a real menace for the people of North-East India.

Though India and Burma  decided to share intelligence on drug trafficking,
no tangible result has yet been received. The ongoing socio-political
turmoil in the North-East and a near lawlessness in Northern Burma have
encouraged the drug peddlers to increase trafficking in this troubled
zone.

The Narcotics Control Bureau, the apex coordinating agency, also falls 
short of controlling  the widespread narcotics trade in this conflict zone
due to lack of manpower.

____________________________________
DRUGS

June 1, Shan Herald Agency for News
Speed: Wa's Trojan horse for Shans - King Cobra

Worsted at each onslaught on the besieged Shan border stronghold during
the past three months, the pro-Rangoon United Wa State Amy is assembling
its upcoming attack with millions of meth pills to lure its opponent's
underpaid fighters, according to an insider source:

Past experience has taught the Wa that without cooperation from Thailand,
defeating the Shan State Army of Col Yawdserk purely on the military field
is next to impossible, explained the source, who asked not to be named.
"We were able to bring Khun Sa to his knees, because of Thailand's
unwavering policy of blockade on him."

The kingdom's restrictions on Khun Sa's Mong Tai Army border enclaves,
coupled with a rebellion from his own ranks, had broken the MTA and led to
its surrender in 1996.

The Wa plan, said the source, is to offer Shan officers "special
interests" to handle Wa products. "We keep in touch with hilltribes along
the border, members of whom are working for Thailand's anti-drug
agencies," he elaborated. "Passing information to them won't be
difficult."

The UWSA has already set aside 20 million pills for the purpose, he added.

>From 1976-96, Khun Sa had become so notorious even Wa consignments seized
by authorities were dubbed as belonging to Khun Sa.

_____________________________________
ASEAN

June 2, Agence France Presse
ASEAN legislators urge Myanmar to implement democratic reforms

Singapore: Southeast Asian legislators urged Myanmar on Thursday to
relinquish its chairmanship of ASEAN next year unless the country's
military rulers implement democratic reforms and free political prisoners.

The parliamentarians, belonging to the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Caucus on
Myanmar, met at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies here to discuss
ways to pressure Yangon into carrying out the reforms.

A statement issued after the meeting called for the "lifting of
restrictions" on opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San
Suu Kyi, as well as other political prisoners, and the setting of a "firm
schedule" for the completion of a new constitution and other reforms.

It reminded Myanmar's leaders that political and economic conditions in
their country "affect ASEAN and its standing in the international
community".

"This group will continue to fight for the credibility for ASEAN, it is in
its own stability and strategic interest that member nations ... comply to
basic standards of political governance and democracy," said Zaid Ibrahim,
a lawmaker from Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi's ruling party.

Ibrahim noted that past efforts by the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) to convince Myanmar to carry out democratic reforms have
failed.

"It's time for ASEAN to take a stand, that if Myanmar does not make
progress on its roadmap to democracy, it should relinquish the
chairmanship," he said at a news conference.

Myanmar is next in line to take over the alphabetically rotating chair of
the 10-member ASEAN from Malaysia next year.

Holding the ASEAN chair means Myanmar will set the group's agenda and
direction, as well as host a series of meetings, including a summit and a
top-level security forum involving the US secretary of state and the
European Union (EU) foreign minister.

The United States and the EU have warned they will boycott ASEAN meetings
if Myanmar is allowed to chair the bloc, which also includes Brunei,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and
Vietnam.

When asked if parliamentarians could influence their respective
governments into taking a harder stance against the Myanmar junta, Ibrahim
said he was hopeful of their support.

The Inter-Parliamentary Caucus on Myanmar is a loose grouping of MPs from
Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

____________________________________

June 2, The Jakarta Post
ASEAN urged to unite against Yangon - Ivy Susanti

Jakarta: The road to democracy may be a fraught one, but for Myanmar's
pro- democracy activists, it is better to light a candle than to curse the
darkness.

In the past 15 years, Myanmar's pro-democracy movement has been preparing
for the time when the military finally decides to call it a day, including
the sharing of power between more than 100 ethnic groups, the form of
government and the constitution, which is more or less based on the
Western concept of a democracy, said Myanmarese activists Daw San San and
Khin Ohmar.

The latest move came on Feb. 12, 2005, when 41 organizations representing
major ethnic groups signed an agreement on the principles that would
provide the foundations for the new government.

"Within our democratic movement, the ethnic leaders, the youths and women
were able to come together, and helped shape the vision of a future Burma.
We agreed to form a coalition called the democratic federal union of
Burma.

"Only recently, we came up with eight principles for the future
constitution," Ohmar said without elaborating.

She added that this year's agreement was based on a number of previous
agreements. The first formal agreement was signed in 1996. "These are all
on how we will shape the federal union, how we're going to share the
resources and how we're going to share the power."

"It's not true that without the Army, the Union of Burma will collapse.
There has never been any ethnic conflict at the community level. The
ethnic groups are resentful of the system and the Army's human rights
violations," said Ohmar.

She admitted that the military government had entered an agreement with 17
armed groups recently, but said that this was merely an effort to shut
them up and remove them from the political equation.

San San, 73, is the secretary of Aung San Suu Kyi's Members of Parliament
Union (MPU). In July 2003, she left Myanmar for fear of being arrested.
She is now based in Mae Sot, Thailand.

Ohmar is the coordinator of the Peacebuilding and Reconciliation Program
of the Women's League of Burma (WLB) and Policy Forum member of the Forum
for Democracy in Burma (FDB), also based in Thailand.

The two were testifying before the House of Representatives' Commission I
on Tuesday evening. Though they were the first foreigners to testify
before the House, they elicited little attention as only three out of the
46 commission members attended the meeting.

"We felt very encouraged (by the Indonesia's legislators attention) ...
They are elected representatives, I'm sure the government will pay serious
attention to the legislators," Ohmar said.

Some legislators from Indonesia are members of the ASEAN Inter-
Parliamentary Caucus for Burma. The Caucus is a loose grouping of
legislators from Malaysia, Cambodia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore
and Thailand. The activists are due to visit other caucus members in
Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand as part of their campaign to raise
awareness among Southeast Asian legislators and people to help put
pressure on the Myanmar government to give democracy a chance.

The Myanmar government outlined a "road map" to democracy in August 2003
in response to international condemnation of the detention of Suu Kyi and
the lack of democratic reform by the isolated regime.

San San and Ohmar said they wished that ASEAN government would reach a
consensus on Myanmar's chairmanship of ASEAN in 2006. "There is no visible
reform in Burma," San San said.

"The key is ASEAN," Ohmar added. "ASEAN wants to see a gradual change, but
the problem with Burma is they constantly buy time from neighbors and the
international community. So as to make sure they can really hold on to
power."

"Myanmar is not a civil society and the people have little or no
opportunities for economic development. Without intervention, how Burma
move toward change, albeit gradually?"

_____________________________________

June 2, Associated Press
Philippines still troubled by rights abuses in Burma - Jim Gomez

Manila: The Philippines remains “gravely concerned” over human rights in
Burma amid calls that the military-ruled nation should yield the
chairmanship of Asean when its turn comes next year, Foreign Secretary
Alberto Romulo said Wednesday.

Romulo reiterated Manila’s position that Burma’s ruling junta should
implement promised democratic reforms, release pro-democracy leader Aung
San Suu Kyi from house arrest, craft a new constitution and allow a UN
special envoy to visit.

Indonesia’s parliament Wednesday issued a resolution urging Jakarta to
boycott meetings of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations
next year if Burma takes over the group's chairmanship.

The United States and European Union may boycott any meetings hosted by
Burma and could withhold crucial funding of Asean development projects.

Malaysian and Philippine legislators, along with pro-democracy groups,
have also opposed Burma’s chairmanship, warning that Asean could lose
credibility.

“The Philippine government continues to be gravely concerned over the
situation of human rights in Burma and respects the calls made by
parliamentarians from Asean member countries for Burma to inhibit itself
from the chairmanship of the Asean summit in 2006,” Romulo said in a
statement.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has in the past conveyed to Burma’s
leader “the need for definite progress in Burma’s roadmap to democracy,”
Romulo added.

Asean foreign ministers decided in an annual retreat in the central
Philippines in April to allow Burma to decide for itself whether to assume
the group’s chair, declining to contravene the regional group’s policy of
not interfering in each other’s affairs.

Burma’s foreign minister told his counterparts at the retreat that he
would convey their concerns to the junta and added that Burma would
consider Asean’s interests.

The ministers agreed to discuss Burma again at their next meeting, in Laos
in July.

The Burma issue has divided Asean, with Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam
reportedly backing Burma’s right to the rotating chairmanship. Malaysia,
the Philippines and Singapore have indicated they want to see progress in
implementing reforms first.

Asean, founded in 1967, groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos,
Malaysia, Burma, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. It
admitted Burma in 1997 despite strong opposition from Western nations.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

June 2, Thai Press Reports
Suu Kyi set to receive honourary degree from Thammasat University

Thammasat University Council agreed to confer an honourary doctorate on
Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi on June 19 to mark her 60th
birthday, The Nation reports.

The university originally decided to confer her with the honorary degree
1991 after her National League of Democracy Party (NLD) won a landslide
victory in the Burmese election, which the military subsequently refused
to recognise.

But Suu Kyi, who is currently under house arrest in Rangoon, could not
accept the degree on that occasion because she was under arrest.

Daw San San, NLD's secretary-general in exile, will accept the degree on
her behalf this time.

Daw San San, 73, fled Burma after a junta-organised mob attacked Suu Kyi
and her supporters on May 30, 2003.

She currently lives in Australia.

Saitip Sukatipan, an Administrative Court judge and former political
lecturer at the university, was instrumental in the decision to confer the
degree in political science on her.

"[The degree] was intended to support democratic principals and foster the
spirit of Thammasat, which opposes the abuse of power and violations of
people's will," Saitip said.

Gothom Arya, lecturer at the Asian Institute of Technology, proposed that
Thammasat confer the honorary degree to the Nobel laureate again to
celebrate her birthday.

As the university council had no objection to the proposal, it was decided
that Suraphol Nitikraipoj, rector of Thammasat, consider the procedure.

"The university will use the same principle as it does for other
recipients," Suraphol said, adding that the ceremony would have to be
conducted on the grounds of Thammasat.

Democracy campaigners around the world will mark Suu Kyi's birthday on
June 19 to call for the activist's release and the release of other NLD
members and supporters.

Celebrations in Thailand will be conducted jointly by academic
institutions, Senators, artists and non-governmental organisations.

_____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

June 2, Agence France Presse
Amnesty presses Japan to improve rights records as part of UN bid

Tokyo: Amnesty International called on Japan Thursday to abolish the death
penalty and improve treatment of refugees and prisoners, saying its bid to
join the UN Security Council put it under greater scrutiny.

Amnesty International Secretary General Irene Khan said Japan could lead
by example in a region with vast problems in human rights.

"Japan's keen interest to join the group of countries in the UN Security
Council opens Japan up to higher scrutiny of its human rights records,"
she told a press conference in Tokyo.

Japan is in "a neighborhood where there are major human rights concerns,"
Khan said.

"North Korea, China, somewhat further a field, Indonesia and Myanmar.
These are all areas where we would like Japan to play more active human
rights roles.

"It is an area where in Asia, where there are seeds of instability, which
require a commitment by governments like Japan which has interest in
promoting human rights," she said.

Japan has made a permanent seat on the Security Council, whose set-up
represents the power balance of 1945, a top foreign policy priority. China
has vowed to stop Japan, saying it must further atone for its wartime
atrocities.

Khan said Japan must accept more refugees and be more transparent about
how it screens them, noting that Japan has shown "generosity" elsewhere
with its overseas missions for refugees.

Amnesty has strongly criticized Japan in the past for the lack of
transparency in the penal system, allowing prisons to implement arbitrary
and sometimes cruel punishment.

Japan drafted guidelines in May outlining the rights of inmates. Khan said
Japan has improved its treatment of prisoners, but it "needs to do more".

Khan called on Japan to abolish the death penalty. Japan is the only major
industrialized nation other than the United States to practice capital
punishment, which enjoys wide public support.

_____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

June 2, The Irrawaddy
Dissidents and activists suffer after bomb blasts

Burmese dissidents and activists are fearful of a new crackdown by the
junta on people in Burma with connections to opposition groups in the
outside world.

Since the May bombings at three shopping centers in Rangoon on May 7, the
military government has arrested several dissidents suspected of
involvement. The official death toll so far is 19 and with at least 160
people injured. But the actual number of people killed is thought to be
much higher.

Having little clue on who was behind the bombings, the security
authorities are now harassing the families of exiled activists and
dissidents, including that of Aung Din, the policy director and co-founder
of US Campaign for Burma..

The authorities took Aung Din’s mother, sister and brother— a famous
writer—to an unknown location where they were detained and then allegedly
released after a few days.

Sources in Burma also say that posters of the Washington-based dissident
began appearing in downtown Rangoon in which he was labeled “a suspect” in
the bomb attacks. Worse still, names of Aung Din’s family members also
appeared in the notices, an allegation without any evidence causing
repercussions for their safety and reputations.

There are reports that family members of other prominent dissidents have
also been targeted, but the Burmese intelligence officers have little or
no information on the real culprits of the blasts, a source in Rangoon
said. The military government and its intelligence units are under
pressure and desperate to discover the identities of the bombers.

Informed observers agree it is highly unlikely Aung Din was involved—a
person who has worked to re-establish human rights and democracy in Burma
and who has contacts in the country.

Ironically, many in Rangoon are now pointing the finger at the military,
or a faction of the armed forces. A siege mentality is still part of
everyday life in the country and particularly the capital. Indeed, the
generals themselves still seem to be in the dark, with accusations being
pinned on anyone but the military.

Hours after the attack, Rangoon accused Thai border-based dissident groups
of masterminding the blasts. But the junta’s constant updating of the list
of suspects has only served to further deny it credibility, especially
after accusations were made against a “super power” and a “world-famous
organization,” namely the US and CIA.

Veteran journalists and analysts in Rangoon, however, suspect a splinter
group with no connection to mainstream political groups of being behind
the deadly attacks.

The truth appears to be the government and its intelligence services have
no clue who the culprits are, choosing to harass and arrest people who
seemingly have no connection with the bombings.