BURMA'S THINGYAN: IN WITH A SPLASH, OUT WITH A BANG

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RANGOON 000276

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP AND 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 BANG


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 Embassy 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.

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

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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 (sic)
flourishing democracy."
VILLAROSA