Cablegate: Burma: Small Explosion at Traders Hotel On October
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 RANGOON 001204
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
DEPT FOR S/ES, DS, OBO, INR, EAP, S/CT, CA/OCS/ACS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ASEC PTER CASC PGOV PREL BM
SUBJECT: BURMA: SMALL EXPLOSION AT TRADERS HOTEL ON OCTOBER
21, 2005
REF: A. LARSON/DS OPS TELCON
B. CT03-1005-150-1748
C. IIR 6 812 0006 06
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED, PROTECT ACCORDINGLY. NOT FOR
INTERNET.
1. SUMMARY: On Friday, October 21, at around 1838 hours
(local time), a small explosion occurred near Traders Hotel,
which is located less than a mile from the Chancery. (Note:
Embassy TDYers and long-term Overseas Building Operations
(OBO)/New Embassy Compound (NEC) personnel reside at this
location.) No one was injured and only minimal damage
reported. All official Americans (to include TDYers, OBO and
Bill Harbert company employees) were contacted and accounted
for and American mission security personnel were placed on
alert. At this time, no one has claimed responsibility and no
one is in custody. Regional Security Office (RSO) personnel
met with local police and Traders Hotel security on Friday
night and Monday morning and offered assistance. More
information will be provided once known. Following FSNI's
eyewitness report the explosion was small, contained and
isolated, and there were no injuries, Charge, RSO and Conoff
discussed the advisibility of activating the warden system
and concluded the situation did not merit this action. Should
this situation change, the subject would be revisited. END
SUMMARY.
2. A small, but loud, explosion occurred in front of Traders
Hotel at around 1838 hours on Friday, October 21, 2005. The
explosion was heard and reported by OBO security staff who
reside at the hotel; the explosion was also heard by the
Marine on Post One (the Chancery is a kilometer away), and at
the Grand Meeyahta (an apartment complex housing official
Americans, located two blocks from the hotel) and at the
Sakura Apartments (where a number of official Americans
reside, about three-four kilometers away). No one was injured.
3. The location of the explosion was at the northeast corner
of the hotel, at the intersection of Bogyoke Aung San Road
and Sule Pagoda Road. The hotel has a large sign at the
corner and the device was placed between the sign and the
street in an area covered by a lot of foliage. The Government
of Burma (GOB) police and military immediately closed down
the adjacent roads and began a clean-up effort and started
the investigation. The explosion appears to have mainly been
intended as a "noise-maker," causing large holes in the
ground and scattering dirt and pebbles over the area.
Side-view mirrors on a few nearby vehicles broke, but neither
the hotel windows nor building itself shook or suffered
damage.
4. Post's Foreign Service National Investigator (FSNI)
responded at once to the scene, where police informed him
that the device was placed in a black, plastic type satchel
and traces of TNT were found (verified at the police meeting
on October 24). (Note: Traders security staff reported
observing a bright light and smoke emanating from the site,
just after the noise of the explosion.) No initial
information as to who placed the device, and no more
information on the device is known at this time. GOB has
augmented hotel security with Armed Battalion and uniformed
police.
5. This area has heavy foot traffic, as the hotel is located
near the main market, one of the main bus stops and the
central train station. The fact that the explosion occurred
when no one was in the immediate vicinity is likely not a
coincidence. Eyewitnesses place a few young girls, who were
selling postcards, at that location just beforehand. Once
they walked away, the device detonated (the girls were not
involved). Police surmise someone either walked by and threw
the satchel in the bushes and remotely detonated the device
or threw it from a passing car (the former seems more likely
given angles and location). The sheer volume of foot and
vehicle traffic in that location at that time of day makes it
probable that the device was remote detonated and not set on
a timing device, since no one was standing next to the bomb
when it detonated and the traffic light was red from the side
where there would have been heavy traffic flow.
6. RSO staff and Defense Attache met with GOB Special Branch
officials on Monday, October 24. RSO and DATT offered
forensic and investigative assistance. GOB officials
appreciated the offer and said they would "raise it up the
ladder." (Note: The GOB often agrees to pass our offers up
their chain of command, but normally never takes us up on
offers of support.) GOB ordered Traders staff to cover up the
holes that same night of the blast, so no one could see the
site the next morning, another sign they want this event to
disappear quickly. Special Branch Colonel Win Naing Tun said
the GOB was still interviewing eyewitnesses, but had no
suspects in mind and no suspects in custody. He also said the
explosives used were not the same type of explosives used on
the May 7 attacks, nor were there any apparent links to those
events, stating, "this event was to destabilize and sow fear."
7. Separately, in a press conference the GOB held on October
23, GOB officials alluded they had received "intelligence"
that two students from the All Burma Students Democratic
Front (ABSDF, which operates out of Thailand and is outlawed
in Burma) had infiltrated Burmese borders to conduct
"disruptive acts against key locations." No more specifics
were provided and police told us no known suspects were in
mind at the October 24 meeting.
8. RSO staff, DATT, and OBO Site Security Manager (SSM) staff
met with Traders Hotel Security and Management personnel just
after the police meeting on the 24th. RSO saw Armed Battalion
in front of the hotel, but no damage remained visible and the
scene had returned to "business as normal." Traders security
provided RSO with rough photographs of the site (police
wouldn't allow Traders staff close to the scene) and some
CCTV (closed circuit television cameras) photos that captured
still images about the same time as the blast. However, CCTV
coverage stopped a few feet shy of capturing the actual area
of detonation. No evidence of significant shrapnel/fragment
damage was found. It appears this device was designed to make
a lot of noise vice creating bodily harm.
9. The current security posture at Traders appears to be
adequate. As a result of the May 7 bombings in Rangoon,
visitors (but not hotel guests) are screened and searched;
these searches tend to be no more than a quick, cursory
search of personal items. As a result of the October 21
explosion, additional police assets have been deployed to the
hotel, including an Explosive Ordinance Detection (EOD)-type
team that conducts daily sweeps of the compound, two
plain-clothed officers and additional uniformed police.
Traders has nine uniformed security officers both inside and
outside of the hotel, they conduct vehicle screening of
already parked cars in the hotel parking area, and security
coverage is augmented by CCTV. Traders security mentioned
exploring the addition of Mylar to their ground floor
windows. RSO and SSM recommended a number of additional
options to consider for security operations and will continue
to work with Traders and other hotels and apartment complexes
in this same regard.
10. Traders is also the planned location of the Marine Corps
Ball on November 19. Security arrangements were again
reviewed with the police and Traders security. Post will
continue to review its security posture and will make any
changes as needed, right up until the day of the Ball.
11. OBO and TDY personnel residing at Traders did not want to
leave the hotel and felt comfortable remaining there after
the explosion. The Local Guard Force and Surveillance
Detection personnel were notified and instructed to increase
their patrols, coverage of perimeters, and to report any
suspicious incidents or packages immediately.
12. Separately, police informed our FSNI that on the morning
of October 21, a large gasoline fire occurred at the Hmawbi
military petrol depot and that police suspect arson. Also on
October 21, police allegedly discovered a cache of arms,
ammo, bombs and other explosives (no further information
known) at the Takone train station, which is close to
Mandalay (hundreds of kilometers north of Rangoon).
13. Comment: The government raised fuel and transportation
costs between 600-900 percent this past week (septel); in
some cases, this means the average Burmese will have to pay
about half of his or her daily salary in transportation costs
now. This explosion could have been political in nature,
since the government does not allow public protests or
demonstrations. Post will continue to follow events and
report via septel.
STOLTZ