Born with the blessings of the Burmese military junta, the new ethnic Kachin political party, the Kachin State Unity and Democracy Party (KSUDP) registered with the Union Election Commission (UEC) today in Naypyitaw.
KSUDP leaders including chairman Duwa Hkyet Hting Nan, Vice Chairman Hpaula Gam Hpang, adviser Mading Zung Ting, lawyer Doi Bu and lawyer Lamya Gam went to Naypyitaw on Monday for the registration, party sources said.
KSUDP was floated by former members of the junta backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) on the advice of the two general secretaries of the USDP Brig-Gen Thein Zaw, Minister for Post, Communication and Telegraphs, and U Aung Thaung, Minister for Industry- 1 last week, said the party member.
All the Kachin ethnic USDP members in the KSUDP and Chairman Duwa Hkyet Hting Nan were former election organizers of the USDP in Kachin State.
Meanwhile, the UEC is still sitting over the approval of three Kachin political parties including the Kachin State Progressive Party (KSPP) to contest the 2010 general election.
A KSPP member said encouraging them to float another party for the Kachin people is a wrong idea, especially as there is no official announcement eliminating the other parties.
“If they announce that the KSPP is not approved and encourage others to form a political party that is fine but the UEC has asked us to wait and at the same time the regime has told Kachin USDP members to float a party, which is not fair,” said a KSPP member.
Businessman Hkyet Hting is an executive committee member of Myitkyina based Kachin Cultural Office and was chief for Manhkring quarter in Myitkyina for 10 years.
Other leaders of the KSUDP, Hpaula Gam Hpang and Mading Zung Ting are also Kachin Cultural Office executive committee members and lawyer Doi Bu has attended the junta’s National Convention as representative from Myitkyina.
Top lawyer Lamya Gam lives in Rangoon the former capital of Burma and now will work for KSUDP in Kachin State.
The UEC is yet to approve KSPP led by Dr. Manam Tu Ja, former Vice Chairman No. 2 of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO). Other Kachin parties formed by former New Democratic Army-Kachin (NDA-K) general secretary Layawk Ze Lum and Northern Shan State Progressive Party (NSPP) are also in awaiting approval of the UEC.
KSPP is being toyed with by the junta because the regime feels it has tenuous links with the KIO, which declined transforming to the junta’s proposed Border Guard Force (BGF), said local people.
The UEC has approved 38 parties for contesting the 2010 general elections out of 42 parties, which have applied.
The USDP general secretaries first advised two former Kachin armed group leaders Zahkung Ting Ying, former Chairman of Pangwah based NDA-K and Col Lasang Awng Wa, leader of Lawayang based Lasang Awng Wa Peace Group in Myitkyina on June 19 to form a Kachin political party. However because Ting Ying refused and Lasang Awng Wa took time in reacting, the two USDP leaders asked their Kachin party members to float a new Kachin party.
KSUDP is the fourth Kachin party to register with the UEC to form a political party in Kachin State to contest the election.
