Myanmar junta leader rumoured ousted in coup

BANGKOK - Rumours swirled in army-ruled Myanmar and neighbouring Thailand last night that junta strongman Senior General Than Shwe has been removed by the powerful army commander.

Reports suggested Than Shwe, head of a military junta which has ruled the former Burma in various forms since 1962, had been ousted by number two General Maung Aye although Yangon was calm and people said there was no extra security on the streets.

A Thai intelligence official told Reuters his organisation was trying to determine the truth of the rumours in the absence of official comment from the Yangon government.

"We've heard Maung Aye has seized power from Than Shwe, citing allegations of corruption and his involvement in illegal trade of weapons," he said.

He said Thura Shwe Man, the number three general in the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), was rumoured to have been assigned to investigate Than Shwe's alleged crimes.

However, Thai Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon told reporters: "So far, everything is just a rumour. I am still sticking to my plan to visit Myanmar late this month."

Soe Myint, editor of the pro-democracy Mizzima News website mizzima.com, which is based in New Delhi, said there had been tension among the generals for some time.

"From what I have heard, a five-member group of generals led by General Maung Aye staged the coup during a weekly cabinet meeting on Monday," he told Reuters in the Indian capital.

"The group accused Than Shwe of nepotism and said he was incapable of running the country. Ever since, there has been a total blackout and there has been no news from the cabinet meeting," Soe Myint said.

Than Shwe has not been seen on state television since August 20 when he met UN envoy and former Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas, but official newspapers on Wednesday reported his message of congratulations to Ukraine on its independence day .

Diplomats in Yangon said they believed he was on a provincial tour.

"We understand he is out of town and this rumour did not start in Yangon, but outside the country," a Southeast Asian diplomat said.

The opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) also played down the rumours.

"So far as we can confirm, this rumour is more likely not to be true. The situation across the city is quite normal," NLD spokesman Nyan Win told Reuters.

But the Thai language newspaper Phuchatkan reported on its website at manager.co.th that Maung Aye, the army commander-in-chief had ordered Than Shwe detained at a Yangon hospital on Tuesday. "General Maung Aye has taken over power since midnight on August 23," the newspaper said, citing Thai intelligence sources.

The former Burma has been ruled by the military in various guises since a coup in 1962 and is reviled in the West for its alleged human rights abuses and confinement of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi since May 2003.

Yangon says it is moving towards democracy along a seven-stage roadmap it unveiled in August 2003.

However, few take its rulers seriously, especially with Suu Kyi languishing under house arrest and her party effectively excluded from talks to draw up a new constitution, which are set to resume in December.

Than Shwe, 73 and an expert in pyschological warfare, seized the junta leadership in 1992 with the help of General Khin Nyunt, who was ousted as prime minister and military intelligence chief last October.

The Norway-based Democratic Voice of Burma reported on its website, dvb.no, on Monday that Than Shwe's son-in-law, Teza, was being investigated for corruption.

- REUTERS