Country Reports on Terrorism 2008 - Burma

Bilateral relations between Burma and the United States remained strained. The government defined almost all anti-regime activities as "acts of terrorism," making little distinction between peaceful political dissent and violent attacks by insurgents or criminals. The Burmese government was quick to link dissident groups with terrorist organizations to justify scrutiny and disruption of their activities.

The Burmese government characterized a series of bomb blasts in Rangoon and other parts of Burma as subversive acts, "committed by a group of insurgent destructive elements who wanted to disturb and destroy stability of the state." However, authorities have not presented credible evidence to support these accusations. Requests by the U.S. Embassy to view either the scenes of the blasts or fragments of the explosive devices were consistently denied. There is no evidence of any terrorist groups targeting American interests in the country.