Mizzima
The public turnout for Myanmar Thingyan celebrations put on by the military junta in cities in Myanmar 13-15 April was low.
The annual water festival, known as Thingyan in Myanmar, typically sees people gathering to celebrate by splashing water and throwing powder at each other as a symbol of cleansing and washing away the sins from the past year. The festival marks the start of the traditional New Year and is similarly celebrated in countries such as Thailand, Laos and Cambodia.
While Thailand saw millions of people on the streets in the cities and countryside throwing water, Myanmar had a dampened celebration, with junta supporters turning up at “pandals” or stages in the major cities including Yangon, Naypyidaw and Mandalay.
Festivities in Mandalay were disrupted at approximately 10:30 am on 14 April near the Mayor’s Pavilion, when two bombs exploded, resulting in injuries to at least 10 individuals, according to a local resident. The explosions occurred in the car and bike parking area adjacent to the Mayor’s Pavilion in the middle of the city. Revelers left the area, but some returned in the evening.
Yangon was largely quiet. Local resident said, “There are very few cars on the streets and neighborhoods. It was almost impossible to see a car or group that came out to play in the water. Walking street and the People’s Square and Park, I saw people.”
The resident added that for those who did attend festivities there were strict security checks.
The opening ceremonies of the 2024 Thingyan Festival were not attended by the top leaders of the military junta, such as General Min Aung Hlaing and General Soe Win. The opening ceremony of the Naypyidaw Mayor’s Thingyan Pavilion and Walking Thingyan Pavilion was led by the Secretary of the Military Junta Gen Aung Lin Dwe and the opening ceremony of the Water Sports Pavilion of the Defense Headquarters (Army, Air, and Air) families was attended by the Commander-in-Chief General Maung Maung Aye, according to Kyemon newspaper.
Meanwhile, on Sunday evening, the tranquility Pyin Oo Lwin was broken by a resistance rocket attack that reportedly killed four people and wounded 12, including cadets from the military’s elite officer academy, Myanmar’s equivalent of West Point or Britain’s Sandhurst. Residents reported on social media that they heard loud explosions, the result of rockets hitting the area.
