SPDC shows off its ethnic diversity

Posted on March 12, 2010
Filed Under Burma news | Comments Off

Maj-Gen Lun Maung source: SHAN

Burma’s ruling military junta is trying to win support in Shan State in northern Burma by showcasing officers from ethnic minorities that hold senior ranks in the army reports the Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN).
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Thein Sein, visited Namkham and Muse on the Sino-Burmese border in Shan State to inspect progress on several construction projects.
Over ten officials from different departments accompanied him. Among them were Auditor General Maj-Gen Lun Maung, a Shan and another, who was not identified, who was said to be a Palaung.
Local residents were forced to attend a meeting organised by the Township Peace and Development Council, at which the two ethnic officers were presented by the Prime minister as two from ethnic groups who have achieved high ranks in the army.
There have been numerous reports of officers from ethnic minorities not being promoted above junior ranks, and also of non-Buddhists being forced to convert to Buddhism in order to ensure promotion.
However, SHAN quotes one participant at the meeting as saying the Prime Minister said, “There are malicious reports that say no person of ethnic origin gets a high rank in our Tamataw [Burma’s armed forces], that all of them are of lower ranks. It is not true.”
“Maj-Gen Lun Maung is a Shan and is holding a top position in the army. He is just one evidence. Therefore you should not listen to the rumours,” he said.
SHAN said Maj-Gen Lun Maung is a Shan but he grew up among the Burman community because his family moved to proper Burma when he was ten.
He told the villagers that every ethnic person could become not only a Major General like him but also General from now on.
Earlier, this week the SPDC released its election laws, which pave the way for elections to be held later this year.
The elections are to be held under the country’s new junta drafted constitution. Most Burma watchers agree that rather than opening up the country to democracy, the constitution and elections are designed to strengthen the military’s grip on power.
During the meeting, Thein Sein talked mainly about the upcoming elections and urged people to vote for the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Association, which is being transformed into a political party. He told villagers, they should vote for the USDA, because it has helped developed the country.

Sphere: Related Content

Ethnic leader assassinated The general secretary of the National Democratic Alliance Army- Eastern...
International Community needs to focus on Burma’s ethnic conflicts Refugees International (RI) says countries looking to engage with Burma’s...
New parallel government to include armed ethnic groups Burma’s government in exile could soon be merging with several...
Ethnic Kokang flee to China Members of the Kokang ethnic group in Northern Shan State...
Ethnic armies preparing for chemical attack Two armed ceasefire groups in Burma’s northern Shan State are...