Sittwe: Major General Thaung Aye, Commander of the Burmese Army in Arakan State, has directed local officers at the district and township level administrations and the police forces across the state to raise funds and undertake security preparations for the forthcoming election, said an official from Arakan State's Peace and Development Council.
The orders came from the commander during a two-day meeting with officers from December 7 to December 8, 2009, in Arakan's PDC office hall in the capital, Sittwe.
The official said that the commander called the meeting to implement decisions taken during the quarterly meeting of the junta's top brass held in the last week of November in Naypyidaw.
"I heard that senior officers of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) government specially focussed on holding the 2010 elections peacefully at their recent meeting in Naypyidaw. One of the decisions at the meeting was that every state and division has to use its own budget for holding the election. That is probably why the commander has ordered his local officers to raise funds for the election in Arakan State," he told Narinjara on condition of anonymity.
He added that district and township level authorities from the DPDC or MPDC may collect funds for the election by doubling taxes on private business ventures and municipality related services such as markets, bridges, jetty and ferry launches, which they control in Arakan State.
The source, however, refused to elaborate further on the proposed 2010 election, the date for which is yet to be announced by the junta.
The police forces are also being ordered to be fully prepared to thwart any form of public unrest or protests, and to induct new recruits to strengthen their force if necessary, a police source said.
An Arakanese dissident said, "Though the Burmese military regime is preparing on all sectors for holding the election in 2010, local Arakanese political parties that have been agitating for restoration of democracy in the country are still being sidelined and suppressed by being labeled illegal organizations."
