State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi as Chairperson of the National Reconciliation and Peace Centre (NRPC) released a statement On February 23 to denounce a deadly bomb blast in Myanmar’s north-eastern city of Lashio as an ‘act of terrorism’ in a coursechanging move by the Myanmar leader who in the past was observed to be normally reluctant to label clear-cut violent attacks occurred locally ‘terrorist acts’.
Aung San Suu Kyi was atypical to take initiative to call the ‘terrorist’ attacks as simply as they were through an official statement, released on the second day after the bombing terrified a private bank on February 21, causing high casualties and major damage. In her press release from the NRPC, the State Counsellor as well as Foreign Minister said the ‘act of terrorism’ explosion greatly affected the national reconciliation and peace effort that the Union Government was consistently striving for. Then she highlighted the condemnation of the attack.
“This terrorist act that targets public places and innocent civilians is strongly condemned and to protect the life and property of the people and for rule of law, the perpetrators of this act shall be exposed and effective action taken in accordance with the law”, the statement read.
Aung San Suu Kyi shared sympathies and deep sorrow with the bereaved families through her statement, saying that innocent people have suffered loss of life and injury because of the violent act. The explosion detonated by an improvised explosive device (IED) according to the press release and official news reports, hit Yoma Bank while severely affecting adjacent Ayeyarwady Bank at the junction of Lanmadaw Street and Shwebo Street in Ward (2) in the town of Lashio. The explosion took two lives and wound 22 others in a country where bomb blasts in cities that cause civilian fatalities and injuries are rare. Such infrequent explosions especially occur in restive regions like northern Shan state. The bombing left the Yoma Bank branch a sizeable damage, also having an effect on nearby structures. The windows of a government department and houses were also broken. Photographs and video clips taken by community members spread on social media showing the bank branch with broken windows and damaged signboards. At present, the dead were two female staff members at Yoma Bank while t h o s e w o u n d e d a n d c u r r e n t l y h o s p i t a l i z e d included 10 men and 12 women.
No organisation h a s c l a i m e d responsibility for t h e d e t o n a t i o n w h i l e t h e government has said it was launching investigation into the incident. Police did not elaborate on whether there were any suspects i n t h e a t t a c k immediately after the blast, albeit the announcement of an investigation being under way. “No suspects could be identified at this stage. We’re still investigating,” said a Myanmar police official Colonel Myo Thu Soe.
Lashio, one of the largest cities in Myanmar’s northeast, is a trade hub in Shan state, where several ethnic armed insurgent groups are active. Although no group made an instant responsibility claim for the blast, there has been a widespread speculation which attributes the perpetration to resident rebel groups given a recent experience.
The Northern Alliance – a coalition of Kachin Independence Army (KIA), Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and Arakan Army (AA) – attacked military checkpoints, police outposts and an important trade zone in Muse Township in northern Shan state in November 2016. Last year also, a rocket-propelled grenade hit a KBZ Bank branch in Muse city, important for border trade with China. Shan State Legislature dominated by the State Counsellor’s National League for Photo – Ministry of Information Democracy party refused to brand the assaults terrorist acts.
And there has been reports of blackmailing some private banks in the region by the KIA to collect protection racket-styled levies. Fliers were distributed among the public about a month ago in Lashio, reciting a warning by a senior Myanmar military official that two ethnic groups, the KIA and the TNLA, were preparing to attack the city. The fliers said that six men and four women from the KIA and 20 people from the TNLA were experts at bomb-making, and that they would target crowded places like markets, government buildings, and bus stops and railway stations in Lashio.
“We got the information that they were making bombs a long time ago, that’s why we distribute the fliers. The Northern Alliance is planning to destroy peace and disturb the public,” said Major Khaing Zaw Win, a military affairs security department spokesperson. But the rebel groups routinely reject such accusations.
The attack came a week after the signing of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) by two more ethnic armed groups – the New Mon State Party (NMSP) and Lahu Democratic Union (LDU). The NCA seeks to achieve a negotiated settlement between the government and ethnic armed organisations (EAOs) that paves the way for peace-building and national political dialogue to a federal union.
The ratification of NMSP and LDU increased the number of NCA-signatory ethnic organisations to 10, along with the pre-existing groups of Chin National Front (CNF), All Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF), Arakan Liberation Party (ALP), Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), Karen National Union (KNU), Karen National Union/Karen National Liberation Army – Peace Council (KNU/KNLA PC), Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) and Pa-O National Liberation Organisation (PNLO).
The NSMP and LDU had been part of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), an alliance of the nonceasefire signatory ethnic groups most recently comprising Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), NMSP, Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army (SSPP-SSA/N), Arakan National Council/Arakan Army (ANC/AA) and LDU. The KIA, TNLA and MNDAA were former UNFC members resigned in 2017 together with Wa National Organisation (WAO). The alliance also suspended three other groups in 2015 namely Chin National Front (CNF), Karen National Union (KNU) and Pa-O National Organisation (PNO). The bombing also came ahead of the next session of the Union Peace Conference, a result from the peace-building efforts of the previous government led by President Thein Sein. It is maintained and dubbed as the 21st Century Panglong by Aung San Suu Kyi.
The upcoming Union Peace Conference – 21st Centuary Panglong will be the third in the tenure of the current administration. The convention has been postponed for the third time to a yet-to-be-announced date in Mrach after originally planned to be held during the second week of December.
