Burmese move 'driven by fears of US attack'

Foreign diplomats and UN representatives are bewildered by Burma’s secretive military regime transferring its government ministries out of Rangoon, in a bizarre move analysts say is driven by fears of an American attack.

Convoys of trucks laden with personnel and equipment from ministries headed out of Rangoon on Sunday for the provincial trading post of Pyinmana, about 250 miles to the north, destined to be the country’s new capital.

Information Minister Brigadier General Kyaw Hsan confirmed the move at a news conference yesterday, but did not say when it would be completed or what the future status of the current capital Rangoon would be.

The announcement was not carried in the official radio, television or newspapers.

“We were surprised, although it has been in the cards for quite some time,” said an Asian diplomat who preferred not to be named as a matter of diplomatic etiquette.

Deputy Foreign Minister Kyaw Thu told diplomats yesterday that they can communicate with Pyinmana through a representative office in Rangoon, and send a fax to Pyinmana for urgent matters.

“This is a disaster,” a Western diplomat complained. “We are facing delays even as things are right now, so it could be even worse if we have to fax to Pyinmana.”

Information Minister Kyaw Hsan did not give a detailed explanation for the move, but said that as Burma develops, there is a need for a “command and control centre” in a strategic location.

The intense secrecy surrounding the move has fuelled speculation over its motives, with one popular theory being that the new capital would be easier to defend if the United States attacked.

Washington fiercely criticises the ruling junta for its poor human rights record and its failure to hand over power to a democratically elected government.

Pyinmana is located on the highway between Rangoon and Burma’s second biggest city Mandalay, but the massive new government complex is more than 20 miles off the main highway, according to engineers who have been there.

The sudden shift of the ministries also caused a sense of uncertainty and anger among government servants, many of whom were sent to Pyinmana on short notice.

“My husband was told to leave for Pyinmana only on Saturday. He had to hurriedly pack his papers and leave the next day,” said the wife of a senior commerce ministry official.

“We can’t follow him yet as my children are in school, and my husband does not know when he can come back for his belongings.”