In the wake of the bomb explosion in Three Pagodas Pass (TPP) township, the Burmese junta authorities have ordered armed members of three ethnic groups to colour their rifle butts in order to distinguish each group.
The explosions occurred on June 28 in TPP town at 8:20 pm and 8:33 pm. Two bombs exploded, one at the entrance to the Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) No. 32 base, and the other inside the special branch police office compound.
The New Mon State Party (NMSP) soldiers were ordered to paint their rifle butts red, while the Karen Peace Front (KPF) members had to paint theirs blue, and the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army DKBA were made to colour their rifle butts yellow, according to a Karen Peace Force officer. State Peace and development Council (SPDC) authorities have also imposed a curfew, restricting travel to no later then 6 pm, through the areas where the two bombs exploded.
The order to apply the distinguishing colours came yesterday from the SPDC authorities during a meeting arranged by LIB No. 32, with armed group leaders and quarter headmen at the battalion headquarters.
“They [SPDC] said, that currently security is not so good here [at TPP], and that if they see colour on the guns, they [SPDC] would be easily able to recognize which group the soldier belongs to. It is a way to know an enemy from a friend,” an NMSP member who attended the meeting told IMNA.
Last night, the SPDC asked the three armed ethnic groups to form a joint security force with them, prior to going on patrol. Two of the ethnic armed groups, the DKBA and the KPF, joined the patrol with the Burmese Army. While the NMSP was asked to join the force, they did not patrol with the joint security force, according to a resident who is close to members of the NMSP. He did not know why NMSP forces did not want to join the SPDC patrol.
This is not the first time the Burmese Army has conducted joint patrols with area ethnic armed groups. When a bomb exploded on May 27 in Moulmein, the junta beefed up security by conducting joint patrols in TPP. At the time only DKBA and KPF forces were invited to join the joint security force.
During the meeting junta authorities also ordered quarter headmen to make lists of motorcycle numbers in their quarters, and to order motorcycle owners to put their quarter name on the rear of their two wheelers.
SPDC authorities are speculating that the bombs were hurled by motorcyclists.
TPP is divided into four quarters, each with its own headman.
Another resident of TPP town said, “They [SPDC] ordered residents to do this because, if a stranger arrives who is not from the TPP town, the SPDC will easily know.”
