Myanmar Coup Rumors Boost Price of Gold


Myanmar Coup Rumors Boost Price of Gold


By AYE AYE WIN : Associated Press Writer
Aug 24, 2005 : 11:03 am ET

YANGON, Myanmar -- Rumors of a coup in Myanmar's ruling military junta
weakened the Southeast Asian nation's currency and boosted the price of
gold in local trading Wednesday, business officials said, but there was
no confirmation of any changes in the government.

Myanmar's government did not officially deny the rumor, but an official
close to a high-ranking military leader insisted Senior Gen. Than Shwe
had not been removed. The official agreed to discuss the matter only if
not quoted by name.

Because information is tightly restricted, rumors are frequent in
Myanmar. The country's news-starved citizens rely on foreign radio
stations for information.

The rumors that Than Shwe was deposed by his deputy and a group of
military leaders spread after a report Tuesday night on the British
Broadcasting Corp.'s Burmese-language program, quoting a resident on
the Myanmar-China border.

The person told the BBC that Than Shwe had been forced to retire by his
deputy, Gen. Maung Aye, who is also the army commander in chief,
because of "nepotism and corruption."

The foreign minister of neighboring Thailand, Kantathi Suphamongkhon,
played down the report. "This rumor is still a rumor," he told
reporters in Bangkok, adding that he planned to visit Myanmar as
scheduled Aug. 31-Sept. 1.

The rumor pushed up the U.S. dollar to 1,170 kyat on the black market
Wednesday from 1,150 kyat a day earlier, a money changer said, speaking
on condition of anonymity since such trading is illegal although
generally tolerated by the government.

A gold-shop owner said a tical of 24-carat gold, or .525 troy ounce,
rose to $236 from $232.

Myanmar's junta came to power in 1988 after crushing a pro-democracy
uprising. It refused to hand over power to Nobel peace laureate Aung
San Suu Kyi's party after its landslide election victory in 1990.

Than Shwe became the junta's leader in April 1992, when Gen. Saw Maung
was removed as chairman for "health reasons."

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