The Burmese military junta desperate to maintain its stranglehold on power and perpetuate its rule wants to see its draft constitution approved by the people at the ensuing referendum in May this year at any cost. For this end it is not leaving any stone unturned. It is too early to use force, so it is resorting to wiles.
As of now it has decided to woo different sections of people. The junta has set in motion its machinery, rather well oiled in the form of the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA). Soon after the regime's announcement on February 9, that it intends hold a referendum to approve the draft constitution produced after 14-years of ostensible toil or deliberate dilatory tactics, to be followed by general elections in 2010, the junta got down to business.
In Kachin State for instance USDA went to work in the capital Myitkyina on the organizational front. Apart from helping the local authorities it helped facilitate the visit of Kachin State USDA Chief and Minister of Post and Telegraph, Brig-Gen Thein Zaw. He came to Myitkyina and met Christian clergy and priests from Du Kahtawng Ward and in a grand announcement said they would be granted GSM telephone lines and business permits.
The wooing of the Christian community in Kachin State is rather blatant, for the junta over years of military rule, where it has used repression as a weapon has never cared for either embarrassment or criticism.
Brig-Gen Thein Zaw promised more GSM mobile phones to two Kachin churches in Myitkyina Township. Baptist and Roman Catholic churches in Du Mare (Du Kahtawng) Quarter in Myitkyina were promised GSM mobiles during his meeting with churches leaders at the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) office in Du Mare. The GSM mobile phones were promised to all pastors, churches teachers and people working in churches both Baptist and Catholic, all within three months.
While GSM mobile phones are an expensive proposition with a ready to use one costing about 3,500,000 Kyat (approximately US $ 2,862) in Myitkyina, the Brigadier is seeing to users paying only 1,500,000 Kyat (approximately US $ 1,226) for each mobile phone to the regime for network authorization.
The ploy seems to have worked for during the meeting between Kachin State-born Brig-Gen Thein Zaw and leaders of the Baptist and Catholic churches the latter promised that Du Mare residents would support the ensuing referendum.
Wooing church leaders helps because there are many civilians followers with them. The junta is trying to garner public support through pastors and priests.
Wooing a section of the Christian community has been on for quite some time. Last year, Brig-Gen Thein Zaw and Kachin State's commander Maj-Gen Ohn Myint had offered several GSM mobile phones, rice and funds to Kachin Christian community in Myitkyina such as, Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC), KBC (fundamental), Anglican Church, and Assembly of God (AG) among others.
The General also put the USDA to work and Myitkyina is agog with rumours the junta's puppet organization is gearing up to award business permits for construction, cottage industries and furniture establishments among a host of other business enterprises in lieu of joining the USDA.
Joining the junta sponsored organization ensures a better form of life under the tyrannical Burmese regime. Its opens up avenues to make money, allows members to wield power over the common man and willy-nilly gives the member the status of an elite in a downtrodden society. Come referendum and election time a swelling of the ranks ensures that the junta would win people's approval that much more easily. Incidentally of a population of 55 million people in Burma, 24 million are USDA members.
Thus the incentive based recruitment drive into the USDA fold with an eye to the referendum is on. Promise of incentives go hand in hand with the registration forms handed over to households to become members of the USDA. On the top of the forms being distributed to the households is printed the words 'List of people supporting the constitution.' And on each page there is space for 13 names.
Inexplicably, the incentives offered vary from ward to ward and quarter to quarter. The wooing strategy takes into its fold lucrative proposals, like land line phones and business permits. Interestingly even widows and the poor are at the receiving end of the windfall. Students above 18 years of age are being offered a different sop. They will pass their examinations without sweating over it.
It is ironic that the same Burmese junta has been over the years persecuting the Christian community by not allowing it to build churches and dismantling the cross put up outside churches. Now that the referendum is around the corner, it needs the same Christian community to mobilize public opinion in favour of the referendum on the constitution.
(The author is a veteran journalist from India and has been in major newspapers as a Reporter, Deputy Chief of Bureau, News Coordinator, Op-ed and Edit writer.)
