Police officers patroling outside the X20 water pavilion last April after three bombs exploded in the vicinity killing 23 people.
When Burma’s President Thein Sein talked last week about decentralization under his leadership, many at home and aboard were hopeful for positive developments in the country.
However, the regime remains dominated by generals—despite being disguised by civilian clothing—and the handling of the new government's first New Year festival seems to demonstrate it still practises centralized authoritarian rule.
On Saturday, the Ministry of Culture—under ex-Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan, who heads the Ministry of Information—issued warnings which banned the water festival’s tradition of Than Gyat. These satirical stage shows always formed a popular part of the celebrations along with traditional dances, but the junta believes these performances could “affect other people.”
However, the ministry's statement did not clarify how these performances were supposed to affect people or who these sensitive souls are.
Since Than Gyat is famous for poking fun at political figures—and exposing the people’s suffering throughout the Burmese Socialist Programme Party period from 1962 to 1988—it is clearly understood among Burmese people that any satire would be aimed at the ruling elite rather than the downtrodden masses.
Burmese people witnessed the last Than Gyat performances in 1989, just a few months after the September 1988 military coup. Then the main opposition National League for Democracy party (NLD), led by pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, set up a Than Gyat competition in front of their headquarters on University Avenue in Rangoon.
Following the Thingyan festival in 1989, many activists and artists who got involved in Than Gyat performances at the NLD stage were jailed. Since then Burmese authorities have banned these popular forms of dramatic expression.
“I saw last Than Gyat performances at the NLD in 1989. Even now authorities still forbid these traditional performances at the festival. It means our Thingyan is still the same as two decades ago,” said May Win, 40s, a clerk with a company in Rangoon.
Additionally, the regime’s controlling of civil rights during the festival has stretched to limiting the number of public water-throwing pavilions in Burma's biggest city of Rangoon.
Authorities in the former capital permitted barely 30 big pavilions for more than five million residents, citing ground security in the wake of last year's triple bomb blast which killed 23 people as the cause. And under new regulations, anyone who wants to run a water pavilion has to set up CCTV cameras and host bomb squad equipment.
Burmese singers and bands have also complained that the reduced scale of this year's Thingyan festival has hit their pocket, since fewer pavilions means less sponsorship for musicians. The performers earned thousands of US dollars from the festival alone in previous years.
“Actually in the past artists were more free in performing at the Thingyan festival. Before we singers could go wherever we wanted,” said Zaw Win Htut, a famous male musician.
“This is Thingyan festival. Lots of people move along roads and so it will always be difficult to control,” he added.
