Deputy Home Minister Arrives in Maungdaw for Election Campaign

Maungdaw Burma's Deputy Minister for Home Affairs Brigadier General Phone Swe arrived in Maungdaw on Wednesday along with ten top Muslim businessmen from Rangoon to tackle the election campaign in the Muslim dominated area of Burma, said a retired official from Maungdaw.

Clock Tower in Maungdow

He said, "It is sure his visit to Maungdaw is for the 2010 election because he met many Muslim leaders and some USDA leaders in Maungdaw soon after he arrived at our town from Sittwe. In the meeting he discussed the election."

Phone Swe arranged the meeting at Aung Rit Tha hall situated at Riot Police Station, a few kilometers outside of Maungdaw, where ten Muslim businessmen and other government officials also attended.

"I know two of the Muslim businessmen - Aung Naing and Aung Zaw Win - but not the others. They will reportedly run in the 2010 election in Maungdaw Township, but details about the election plan for our township that is being adopted by the military government have not been revealed to the public," he said.

Word is now spreading among the public in Maungdaw Township that Aung Naing and Aung Zaw Win will run in the election in Maungdaw Township. The two businessmen are natives of Maungdaw - Aung Naing is from Nga Khu Ra Village while Aung Zaw Win is from Ale Than Kyaw. Both are now living in Rangoon.

"Aung Naing and Aung Zaw Win are close associates of junta authorities. They have invested in many business sectors in Burma along with some army generals from the junta government," the official said.

Muslim communities in northern Arakan State will be able to vote in the election even though the authority has issued them the white ID cards used for foreign nationals.

A former member of the Arakan League for Democracy in Maungdaw who wished to remain anonymous said that Muslim communities in Maungdaw and Buthidaung will vote for their Muslim leaders and not junta associates, because they dislike the current military government due to the oppression and discrimination Muslims face in Burma.

Because of this, the military authority is now trying to organize Muslim communities to support pro-military government candidates in the upcoming election.

Source :http://www.narinjara.com/details.asp?id=2524