AP-Arson Fire Damages Myanmar Shrin

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Subject: AP-Arson Fire Damages Myanmar Shrine

Monday April 12 2:20 PM ET

Arson Fire Damages Myanmar Shrine

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - An arson fire damaged the ceiling of a staircase
leading to Myanmar's most revered shrine, the recently refurbished Shwedagon
Pagoda, official newspapers reported Monday.

The blaze was extinguished 15 minutes after it was spotted by security
personnel Saturday and damage was described as slight, the papers reported.
Photographs showed burned portions of the ceiling.

The newspapers, controlled by the military government, named no suspects but
said arson was suspected. The military has ruled Myanmar, also known as
Burma, since 1962.

Investigators found a broken lock on a door, the papers said. Two cigarette
butts, a box of matches, four toy pistol caps and a burned bamboo mat were
found near the burnt area.

The fire broke out on the final day of a weeklong festival celebrating
renovations to the gilded temple, which sits on a small hill in central
Yangon.

Tens of thousands of people attended the hoisting of a new gem-encrusted
umbrella atop the pagoda last week. Parts of the pagoda are still being
renovated.