The Burmese military junta in Shan State North is imparting military training to local militia men to help safeguard polling stations during the ensuing elections, local sources said.

One such training was said to have been conducted at Nam Yao railway station, northwest of Lashio, capital of northern Shan State. The training began on 25 September with over 200 trainees, according to a local villager from Nam Yao.

“All members of local militia units including village headmen in the northern part have to attend. Each village was assigned to provide at least 30 men,” he said.

Shan State North alone has about 400 different militia groups.

According to sources close to the junta, security for each polling station will reportedly be three tiered: the first by the Elections Commission and Township Peace and Development Council (TPDC), the second by the police, Red Cross and fire brigades and the last by militia units and the Burmese Army.

The Burmese Army has been intensively and constantly giving military training to members of the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), fire service, police and militia units as well as civilians in several townships in Shan State and other ethnic states like Mon and Arakan since early this year. On the other hand, villagers are being forced to set up militia units and provide service to the army.

Villagers living around First Brigade of Shan State Army (SSA) ‘North’s’ main base were also ordered to provide security in their villages and on motor roads in order to prevent anti-election groups, according to a source from Mongyai, west of Tangyan.

On 1 October, the Mongyai based Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) #325 instructed villagers to build a fence around its new camp within three days in order to prevent the SSA fighters’ carrying out retribution for their earlier attacks. Three clashes had taken place between the Burmese Army soldiers from Mongyai Township and fighters from First Brigade of SSA ‘North’ last month.

Mongyai is located in the north of the First Brigade main bases, Tangyan in the northeast, Monghsu in the southeast and Kehsi in the South.

“In addition, villagers were also told to safeguard all the roads that the SSA fighters are usually active on,” another villager said. “The new camp is located west of the SSA’s First Brigade main base.”

The First Brigade was warned by the Burmese Army not to cross north of the Mongyai-Tangyan motor road after it refused to accept Napyitaw’s border guard force program in April.

“Everyone was ordered to inform the Burmese soldiers if SSA fighters were crossing areas reserved for them,” a villager said. “They [soldiers] will shoot whenever and wherever they see SSA fighters.”

A border analyst from the Sino-Burma border said it can also be another game of the junta to cheat votes for its Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).

“If the region is not secure, people will be afraid to vote and get involved in elections. If the region is stable, people then will cast votes for an ethnic party rather than the USDP.”