Two Blasts Hit Main Burmese City

Two blasts hit Burma’s main city of Rangoon this past Tuesday. According to an eyewitness the first blast was near a park close to Myaynigone junction – a busy area with a bus terminal. The second explosion occurred about an hour later at Hledan junction, near Rangoon University. The explosions occurred shortly after an Asia summit failed to chastise Burma’s rulers, and it is unclear what caused the explosions. Luckily, no one was hurt during the two explosions.

These types of small explosions have been happening in Burma since early 2008. The two explosions this past Tuesday came after the Assocation of South East Asian Nations (Asean) closed an annual summit, where Burma’s neighbors offered support to the United Nations mediation efforts in Burma but failed to make any statement of its own. The summit also opened with efforts to put in place a new human rights charter, but Burma refused to meet members of civil society groups.

Events such as these show Burma’s continued struggle. The summit attempted to address human rights but Burma’s leaders refused to take any action. It shows that change may be coming very slow for Burma because its leaders are showing minimal effort toward the issue. Thankfully the explosions this week did not hurt anyone, but since they have been a regular occurrence the next blast could happen at anytime. Right now it seems that Burmese citizens are facing an uphill battle against their government, hopefully efforts will start to be seen and the fight for democracy will continue.

By Sara Lucid
Burma Group