State of Emergency Decreed in Burma

State of Emergency Decreed in Burma 

DIN, S.H.A.N.'s northern Shan State source, reported the whole country is under a state of emergency as decreed by Rangoon authorities since the raid of the Burmese embassy in Bangkok by five armed students. 

For the second time during the year, Burma has undergone a state of emergency that began on 2 October, the day after five students fighters put the Burmese embassy in Thailand under siege, said DIN. "There was only a day interval between the first and the second. The first time, it started in August in anticipation of the Four Nines disturbances against the regime and lasted for two months until the end of September". 

On 10 October, each township peace and development committee met to listen to the junta's version of the Bangkok siege and to plan for preparations against possible attack by Thailand and 'minions' (a term for exiled activists). 

Members of the Red Cross Society, fire brigades and Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) in each township were directed to keep an eye on "suspicious characters and behaviors" and report to the authorities on any hourly basis.