Officers from government ministries in Mon State are holding mandatory meetings to encourage villagers to support junta-backed parties in the 2010 election. The political nature of the events is not being publicized and they are billed as normal check-in meetings.
The meetings began on January 21st, and are taking place in Thanbyuzayat (Thanpyuzayart) Township, though an IMNA source in the Ministry of Education (MOE) expects them to continue in other townships once all villages in Thanbyuzayat have been reached.
According to the MOE source, the government officials have been visiting village headmen first, who then organize the meetings. One person from each household is required to attend the meeting and, in at least one village, residents were not allowed to leave the village to work on their farms while the meeting was in session.
The meetings are being held based upon orders from the Southeast Command, the MOE source said. They are involving officers from the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Immigration, Ministry of Finance and Revenue, Ministry of Forestry and the government-backed civilian group the Union Solidarity and Development Association.
Meetings between government ministries and villagers are not uncommon, and typically include basic messages and commands or instructions to prepare for visits from important officials. The recent meetings are not being billed any different.
“They talked about normal things, to check in on the village, but their main point was to encourage the people to vote for the government,” said a resident of Anin who attended the meeting. The Ministry of Agriculture and Immigration officer told the group to grow vegetables between rows of trees on each rubber plantation, the villager added, suggesting that it might earn them extra money.
A resident of Kyonekaroat village reported a similar discussion of the election. “The department groups said ‘the 2010 election will make Burma a democratic country. Everyone will have the right to vote for who they want. You can vote for Karens or Mons or any organization. But if you vote for the government, it will be better,’” said the resident.
“No matter what the department groups say about democracy and the election, but we do not believe them,” he added. “What they say will happen, will not happen.”
