Chiang Mai – A meeting cloaked in secrecy by the secretive Burmese military junta is to be held in the capital Nay Pyi Taw on Wednesday.
The regional command commanders left for the new capital on Monday to attend what is being described as an important policy meeting, analysts and sources close to the military establishment said.
The secret meeting is likely to be held on Wednesday and will be attended by commanders from all 13 military regions and the top brass of the military hierarchy.
Though details of the meeting's agenda are not available, analysts speculated that the meet will focus on the referendum to be held in May this year.
"I think it will be the usual quarterly meeting and it is likely that civilian officers might be appointed to take charge of the Eastern Command region temporarily during the referendum. This way, they can resort to camouflage that the regime and its administration are being run by civilians and not by military personnel," Aung Kyaw Zaw, a military analyst based on the Sino-Burma border, said.
"It is likely that the regional Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) or retired and ousted army personnel will hold the posts temporarily," he added.
"Their plans in May are yet be coordinated and discussed officially. Most of the time things are done by four or five people in the junta and nobody is really aware of the plans. So it is necessary for them to meet," he added, referring to the forthcoming referendum.
The junta replaced most of the Secretaries of the Division and District level 'Peace and Development Councils' with civilians in 2007, and it is likely that the replacement will continue in the remaining divisions and districts this year.
However, Win Min, another analyst on Civil-Military Relations based in Thailand, viewed this meeting as a forum for probable deliberations on Mr. Gambari's visit to Burma, the referendum in May and the Armed Forces Day which falls on March 27.
The United Nations on Monday announced that Ibrahim Gambari, special envoy on Burma, who has visited the Southeast Asian nation twice since the ruling junta brutally cracked down on protesters in September, is scheduled to arrive in Burma on March 6.
Aung Naing Oo, another Thailand based Burmese analyst, said this meeting cannot be the usual quarterly meeting but will focus on the spadework for the ensuing referendum.
"I heard that this meeting is not the usual quarterly meet. I think it is regarding the referendum. They will be briefed and given instructions on security issues for the forthcoming referendum. Army officers were surprised with the announcements about the referendum and fresh elections. So in this situation, the higher authorities will brief their subordinates on their new plan," Aung Naing Oo said.
It is unlikely that the current regional commanders will be replaced with new civilians as the regime believes that security issues can only be tackled by military personnel and there is no need to do so urgently as there is a provision in the new constitution regarding this. There is no need to revise the current governance until the new government is installed, Aung Naing Oo added.
These plenary meetings are usually held regularly in January, May and September and attended by regional command commanders, Light Infantry Division commanders and strategic command commanders. But sometimes these meetings are held late. There has been no such meeting for this year till now.
These quarterly meetings are crucial and important policy decisions have been taken after the current regime seized power by staging a coup from one party dictatorship rule in 1988. The reshuffle in the cabinet and military hierarchy usually takes place after these meetings.
