USDA appealing to Muslim voters in Kachin State
Posted on January 25, 2010
Filed Under Burma news | 1 Comment
Kachin State location map
The Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), the civil organisation controlled by Burma’s ruling military junta, is campaigning among Kachin State’s Muslim population, ahead of elections scheduled for later this year.
The Mizzima News Agency reports a USDA delegation has been visiting mosques in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State. The delegation is led by Khin Maung Latt, brother of Burma’s Postal and Telecommunication Minister, Brig. Gen. Thein Zaw, a candidate in the elections in Kachin State.
According to an attendee at one of the mosques, quoted by Mizzima, he told the Muslim community that peace and religious equality has been achieved during military rule so they should vote for Brig. Gen. Thein Zaw representing the USDA and nominated by the junta.
Although the majority of Kachins are Christian, there are seven officially permitted mosques in seven wards of Myitkyina. The USDA delegation visited three of the mosques, representing over 700 devotees in total.
The planned elections are part of the junta’s roadmap to Democracy, which critics say is intended to solidify the military’s grip on power in the country.
The junta has promised to hold the elections this year, but has yet to announce a date. It is also still to announce details of the electoral law under which the elections will be conducted.
However, some political parties and organizations including the USDA have been allowed to start campaign.
The Kachin State Progressive Party is also planning to contest the elections and have already begun campaigning in 18 townships in Kachin State.
Earlier this month, the USDA organized a two-day free eye treatment camp in Kachin State. According to the Kachin News Group, over 1,000 people visited the camp, with many receiving free spectacles.
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