Burmese Army to transport 100,000 Burman voters to Kachin State

Yuzana Company's Thai-styled factory is under construction beside Stilwell Road, or Ledo Road between Namti-Danai, Kachin State. Photo: Kachin News Group.

In a two pronged strategy the Burmese military junta plans to transport 100,000 Burman voters to Kachin State to win the elections and then settle them to control the resource rich state. That the first step could tantamount to rigging the polls seems to be nobody’s concern.

The junta will leave no stones unturned to win the elections. For starters the Burmese Army has promised to ferry 100,000 Burman voters to Kachin State from Burma Proper during the country’s yet undated countrywide elections late this year, military sources said. Then the new comers will be settled.

The Danai-based Regional Operation Command (ROC or da-ka-sa) has promised to systematically transport Burman people from Burma Proper and the 2008 Cyclone Nargis-hit areas in Irrawaddy River basin to Hukawng Valley in western Kachin State, said the sources.

In a twin strategy, the move envisages immediate domination of the Kachin population in the polls with the help of the newly transported Burman population so that the junta-back political party wins the forthcoming elections, and later to control the entire valley, added the sources.

This promise was made early this year to Burmese military leaders in Naypyitaw, the capital of the country and to Maj-Gen Soe Win, commander of Northern Regional Command by the commander of ROC-Danai.

Secret missions on this score, have been undertaken by the ROC-Danai and Chinese-Burman U Htay Myint, chairing the Yuzana Company since late 2006, said natives of the valley.

The same year, the company was allotted over 200,000 acres of land in the Hukawng Valley for cassava and sugar cane plantation by the junta. It extended the land grab to over 400,000 acres, added locals.

An appeal was made by native Kachin people to the Burmese junta supremo Snr-Than Shwe to stop the mass land grab in Hukawng Valley. The plea went unheeded.

On the pretext of hiring company workers and in other ways, tens of thousands of Burmans have already been brought to the valley over the last four years, according to sources close to the company.

Local sources said, the Yuzana Company is into both crop plantation and importing people by using the state-budget granted by the junta. The Htoo Company owned by Tay Za, or Teza, son-in-law of Snr-Gen Than Shwe is also indirectly involved in the current mission in the valley under the name of the Yuzana Company.

Kachin history says, the Hukawng Valley was ruled by 12 Kachin Duwas, the ancient Kachin rulers before a separate Kachin land and Burmans in Burma Proper received independence together from the British in 1948.

Soon after independence, the Kachin land was gradually controlled by the majority Burman and systematic resettlement of Burmans in Kachin land was implemented by successive Burman-led governments.

Source:http://kachinnews.com/News/Burmese-Army-to-transport-100000-Burman-voters-to-Kachin-State.html