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Burma shifting administrative capital to Pyinmana | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The military rulers are moving the seat of government to a secret compound outside Pyinmana, a city about 200 miles north of the current capital Rangoon. The service personnel from nine ministries including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were told on Friday 4 November to pack their things to move on Sunday. A family member of a staff who was ordered to move said, "People are saying that those who refused to go will be sacked and arrested. Therefore, the staff dared not say no to the order." Other ministries will follow the move eventually, the Minister for Information Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan told media persons at a brief presser on Monday. He gave the reason for the move as a necessity to place the seat of government to a "command and control centre" based in a strategic location for all-round development of the country. But he did not say clearly whether Pyinmana will become the new capital of Burma.
Some analysts have told the BBC that the move was prompted by fears of an invasion by the United States, one of the junta's fierce critics. But some disputed the fact saying that the US does not seem to have any immediate interest in another military operation when it is still mired in the Iraqi war. A businessman who was involved in the construction projects in the new site said there are two sections in the new place, one for civilians and the other for the military. Bunkers have been dug and tunnels were built inside the rock mountains in the section for military personnel. Some Rangoon residents believe the move was based on the generals’ superstition and they might have believed that Rangoon does not auger well for their continued hold on to power. But some Burma watchers believe the relocation of the administrative capital was also part of the military's broader plan to have complete control on the country even after the completion of the new constitution and a future government is in power. Read the BBC story | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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"People are saying that those who refused to go will be sacked and arrested. Therefore, the staff dared not say no to the order."
Burma's confusing capital move 
