The Burmese military junta is going all out to woo Christians in Myitkyina Township, the capital of Kachin state in northern Burma. The process of keeping church leaders on their right side began in earnest before the referendum to approve the constitution and is continuing with an eye to the general elections slated for 2010 for garnering religious votes.
All Kachin churches in Myitkyina Township, the capital of Kachin state in northern Burma received staple food and money from Brig-Gen. Thein Zaw, minister of Post, Telegraph and Communication of Burma's ruling junta yesterday morning, local church sources said.
An attendee at the meeting told the KNG today, that the junta's minister Thein Zaw and church leaders of all Christian denominations in Myitkyina met at a hall in the office of the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC) in Shanzu South quarter for 30 minutes from 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. local time.
He added that the minister Thein Zaw donated 75 sacks of rice, 10 drums of cooking oil or 100 Viss (1 Viss = 1.6 Kg) and 3,000,000 Kyat (US $2,667) during the short meeting. The minister's donations were shared by attending church representatives of different denominations.
Minister Thein Zaw's donations have been flowing in for the last four days after the new Kachin state or Northern Command Commander Maj-Gen Soe Win disbursed 86 sacks of rice and some groundnut oil to 14 churches of different denominations at St. Comlumban Roman Catholic Church in Myitkyina.
Minister Thein Zaw also promised at the meeting that he would give 1,200 high quality new made-in-Israel landline telephones to the churches which submit applications within two months, according to participants.
At the 30-minute meeting, Minister Thein talked about solidarity and thanked church leaders and residents of Myitkyina for their donations for Cyclone Nargis victims in Irrawaddy River Delta, participants added.
Among the meeting attendants were Rev. Sam Sun the general secretary of Myitkyina District Baptist Convention, Rev. La Myen of arch pastor of Myitkyina Town Baptist Church, Dr. Saga Hkyen Naw principal of Kachin Theological College, Father Naw Din of Shatapru Roman Catholic Church and other church leaders, said attendees.
The minister Thein Zaw also mentioned that the Sunday morning meeting with the church representatives was given the nod by Burma's junta supremo Senior General Than Shwe, said participants.
Minister Thien Zaw is the junta-appointed organizer of Kachin state and this was the first time he met Kachin Christian church leaders in Myitkyina since March, before the junta organized constitutional referendum in May 10, local church sources said.
In late 2007, he donated rice, cooking oil and money to Buddhist monasteries in Kachin state, local sources said.
