Most residents of Panglong, the town where Aung San and ethnic leaders signed an agreement to form the Union in 1947, think the bomb blast on 16 February at the gambling fair sanctioned by junta authorities, was the handiwork of a militia group, according to the report from Shan State South.
The explosion took place behind the Lay Gaung Jin (game played with a top having four sides with a picture of one animal on each side) tent, and not at the power generator as reported by the New Light. Two (New Light says four) were injured.
“It wasn’t a funfair as reported in the paper,” said the source. “It was a gambling fair.”
The permission to hold the fair was reportedly given by the Eastern Region Command based in Taunggyi, Shan State’s capital, to the SSA 758th Brigade splinter group led by Maj Htoi and Maj Ta. They had in turn contracted Aung Soe Win (40) a Panglong resident, to run the fair.
“Aung Soe Win, after two weeks have passed, has refused to pay the militia group, thereby sparking anger among the militia members,” the source quoted one of the gamblers as saying. “The bomb was planted to serve as a warning to Aung Soe Win.”
The SSA South that operates in the surrounding areas of the town has denied it has anything to do with it.
Gambling is prohibited by law in Burma, but often ignored by the authorities. “The military loves to blame the Sao Fas (traditional rulers of Shan State, who relinquished their powers and privileges in 1959),” said another resident who requested anonymity. “But since it came into power, we have more gambling fairs.”
The 758th Brigade had left the SSA in 2005, when the “Interior Shan Government” was formed by some Shan activists. However, it suddenly changed its mind the next year, and decided to become the Burmese Army’s militia group.
