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Burma Says Bomb Mailed by Group in



Subject: Burma Says Bomb Mailed by Group in Japan

Tuesday April 8 5:21 PM EDT 

Burma Says Bomb Mailed by Group in Japan

RANGOON, Burma (Reuter) - A parcel bomb that exploded at the home of one of
Burma's top generals,
killing his daughter, was sent by a Japan-based anti-government group, the
military government said
Tuesday. 

"Initial investigation revealed that the terrorist bomb that exploded at
Lieutenant-General Tin Oo's
residence on the evening of 6 April 1997 was airmailed from Japan," said a
statement received by Reuters
late Tuesday. 

"There are reasons to believe that the bomb plot was masterminded by some
anti-Myanmar (Burma)
government groups within Japan which have resorted to acts of terrorism." 

It gave no further details. 

There are several groups of exiles living in Japan, as well as in other
Asian countries like Thailand and
India. 

Rangoon residents reacted with shock and fear Tuesday to news that the bomb
had exploded at Tin Oo's
house, killing his 34-year-old daughter, Cho Lei Oo. 

The funeral for Cho Lei Oo, a mother of two and Tin Oo's eldest daughter,
was held Tuesday afternoon. 

"I never imagined that our country would be so unsafe," said one old man
after hearing about the attack. 

Others said they were worried about their own safety. 

The attack comes on the heels of nationwide religious unrest and 3 1/2
months after another deadly
explosion at a Buddhist shrine in the outskirts of Rangoon on December 25. 

The military government blamed the Karen National Union (KNU) ethnic
guerrilla group for that attack, in
which two bombs exploded, killing five people and wounding 17. 

Tin Oo, one of the four most powerful members of the ruling State Law and
Order Restoration Council
(SLORC), was the last senior official to visit the sacred Tooth Relic Pagoda
before the explosion on
Christmas Day. 

He is one of the hardliners in the SLORC, and often gives speeches urging
troops and citizens to
"annihilate" anyone who tries to disturb the stability of the state. 

Some diplomats said Tin Oo, who is army chief of staff and whose government
title is Secretary Two of
the SLORC, might have been injured in the Sunday night attack. Others said
they had heard he was not
hurt. 

But many residents noticed he did not appear on television Monday night at
ceremonies he usually
attended.