Local Burmese junta authorities have force clerks from all government departments and school teachers from Matupi town in Chin state, Burma to attend a training programme on the constitutional referendum held in the first week of April.
"In the training programme the trainees were told that they must cast the “yes vote� in the referendum. They were threatened with dismissal from their jobs if they did not comply,� a teacher from Matupi said.
Moreover, the local authorities were said to have warned the people in Matupi town that those who cast the ‘No’ vote would be arrested, a teacher from Matupi said.
The authorities recently also restricted government employees travelling from one place to another and asked them to submit a report to the TPDC office once a month.
"The training was actually organized by the TPDC authorities but the participants paid for their own travel expenses and food,� said a participant from Chin state.
The military junta Deputy Minister for Religious Affairs Brigadier Thura Aung Ko recently arrived in Matupi to launch the campaign for the referendum in Chin state.
Meanwhile, the local authorities have prohibited any opposition groups from campaigning for boycotting the referendum to approve the draft constitution.
