BURMA'S THINGYAN: IN WITH A SPLASH OUT WITH A BLAST

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RANGOON 000274

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP
DEPT FOR IO
PACOM FOR FPA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/20/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM BM
SUBJECT: BURMA'S THINGYAN: IN WITH A SPLASH OUT WITH A BLAST

Classified By: Pol Officer Sean O'Neill for Reasons 1.4 (b) & (d)

SUMMARY
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1. (SBU) Witnesses reported isolated instances of
referendum campaigning during last week's Thingyan water
festival but described the festivities as overwhelmingly
free of overt political activity by either side. However,
several opposition activists were assaulted and arrested
over Thingyan, apparently in retaliation for their
referendum positions. On the evening of April 20, two
small bombs detonated in downtown Rangoon. No one was hurt
and no significant damage was observed. No arrests have
been made.

THINGYAN
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2. (SBU) Embassy officers, staff, and contacts reported
that this year's water festival was typically raucous but
overwhelmingly free of overt political campaigning.
Despite the presence of thousands of people in the streets
for over four days, none of our officers or staff who
observed the water festival in Rangoon, Mandalay, and Shan
State saw any "vote no" T-shirts or other evidence of an
organized opposition campaign. A Rangoon contact did
report seeing hand-held signs that read "NO" on one
occasion, but could not specify how many he saw or how long
they were displayed. A family member of an EmbQsy staff
member reported hearing a small group of men briefly
chanting "no, no, no" in the midst of a Thingyan
celebration in her Rangoon neighborhood, but described the
chanting as short-lived. Another embassy employee,
vacationing in Mandalay, saw a number of uniformed
SwanAr-Shin standing guard near the centrally-located royal
palace. The members of the pro-regime militia wore khaki
uniforms bearing shoulder patches that read "people power"
but our staff member did not see them interfering with any
celebrants or onlookers.


3. (C) A Ministry of Forestry employee told our
agricultural specialist that the ministry had given all
ministry employees a 60,000 kyat (USD55) Thingyan bonus
prior to the water festival. The employee believed the
true purpose of the unusually large bonus was to entice the
ministry's staff to vote for the draft constitution, but
acknowledged officials did not articulate any such
instruction. We are checking with sources at other
ministries but so far members of the Ministries of
Agriculture, and Livestock and Fisheries reported they did
not receive any Thingyan bonus or instructions on how to
vote.

ASSAULTS AND ARRESTS
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4. (C) NLD Spokesman U Nyan Win confirmed several NLD
members were assaulted over the Thingyan holiday last
week. An unknown number of men attacked NLD youth member
Ko Thi Han in Rangoon on April 16 as he rode his bicycle
home. He was wearing a "NO" t-shirt at the time. Another
Rangoon NLD member, Win Thein, and several members of his
family were assaulted while walking home from a bus stop in
North Okkalapa township. None of the victims were
seriously injured and all are at home resting. NLD
officials speculated the regime ordered the attacks in
order to intimidate opposition activists.


5. (SBU) Authorities arrested NLD member Tin Win on April
15 in Rangoon. The NLD believed he was arrested because
authorities suspected him of posting "No" signs on
billboards during last week's Thingyan water festival.
Authorities have not acknowledged Tin Win's arrest and his
family have not heard from him since April 15.


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SMALL EXPLOSIONS IN RANGOON
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6. (C) On the evening of April 20 two small bombs
detonated in downtown Rangoon. No one was hurt and no
significant damage was reported. One explosion took place
on a side street behind the Traders hotel while the other
took place in a drainage ditch outside a downtown bar.
Based on his inspection of the scene and discussions with
witnesses and police, ARSO believed the bombs were small,
handmade devices not capable of inflicting serious injury
or damage. The ranking police officer on the scene told
ARSO the police did not have any suspects and had not
received any claims of responsibility but was nonetheless
confident the perpetrators were not targeting foreigners.

COMMENT
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7. (C) Thingyan has traditionally provided the Burmese
people with a one-week escape from the hardships of life
under the regime. This year was no exception. Based on
what we saw and heard, most Burmese were content to enjoy
this time-honored tradition free from politics or protest.
The regime similarly did not mar the festivities with any
broad-based overt campaign in favor of its draft
constitution. Instead, the Than Shwe regime chose to
continue its cowardly nighttime attacks on the opposition
and those who reject their vision of a "discipline
flourishing democracy."

VILLAROSA