Monday, March 27, 2006

Things get weirder in Burma

The Burmese junta staged a huge military parade in the new capital on Monday to commemorate Armed Forces Day. It was the first official event held in newly-named "Naypyidaw" (Seat of Kings), the brand new capital city recently hacked out of the jungle near Pyinmana, 375 miles north of Rangoon.

Than Shwe's speech made no mention of the new capital, and state TV showed pictures only of the troops, not the city. Still under construction? Seems so.

Big Than Shwe, practically staggering under all his gold braid and medals, did the usual, "We're paving the way for disciplined democracy" shtick during his speech. It's a wonder these guys don't burst into laughter as they repeat the same lies for the 10,000th time.

There's still been no explanation for why the junta moved north. However, BBC tells us that they've increased civil servant pay, probably in an effort to get people to leave their lives in Rangoon (no hot spot, for sure, but the closest thing to sophisticated urban living you'll find in Burma) and move into a half-built insta-city in the middle of the jungle.

Ah well, another day, another bizarre tale of oppression from the Golden Land.

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