A day after the Burmese military junta announced its election law on March 8, Prime Minister Thein Sein was reported to have taken some ethnic officials from the army with him on a journey to ethnic areas in Shan State North to help in garnering votes for the forthcoming elections, sources from the Sino-Burma border said.
The PM visited Namkham and Muse, on the Sino-Burma border on March 9, to inspect progress of the gas pipeline, railroad projects and to lobby for the elections.
With him in two helicopters were over 10 officials from other departments. Among them were the Burmese Army’s Northeastern Region Command Commander Maj Gen Aung Than Tut, Electric Power #2 Minister Maj-Gen Khin Maung Myint and Auditor General Maj-Gen Lun Maung. The helicopters landed in the town’s Kawng Wan Kham village.
The generals held a meeting at Namkham’s Kyaphyu (White Tiger) Hall from 10:30 to noon and continued to Muse.
Villagers were forcibly ordered by the Township Peace and Development Council to attend the meeting. There were over 200 people in the meeting, said one of those who attended.
During the meeting, the PM mainly talked about the forthcoming 2010 elections and urged people to vote for the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), after its transformation into a political party.
“Thein Sein said we should do better to vote for the USDA, because it has helped develop the country. They are also playing an important role for the country,” he said, “But he did not say when the group [USDA] will be transformed and who will be in the party.”
Later, the PM introduced two ethnic officials identified as Maj-Gen Lun Maung and another who was said to be a Palaung [name unidentified] to the participants and told that the two are from an ethnic group who have reached high ranks in the army.
Namkham Township is a homeland for ethnic nationalities such as Lisu, Shan, Palaung and Kachin as well as people of different religions especially Christians and Buddhists.
“There are malicious reports that say no person of ethnic origin gets a high rank in our Tatmadaw, that all of them are of lower ranks. It is not true,” a participant quoted the PM as saying. “Maj-Gen Lun Maung is a Shan and is holding a top position in the army. He is just one instance. Therefore you should not listen to rumours.”
Maj-Gen Lun Maung is said to be a Shan from Bhamo Township, Kachin State. But he grew up among the Burman community because his family moved to proper Burma when he was 10, according to him.
He added that every ethnic person could become not only a Major General like him but also General from now on.
