Forced to organize Palaung people to approve the SPDC constitution
Posted By admin on August 7, 2008
From February, 2008 after announcing that the referendum would be held, the SPDC had done public organizing works, preparation and prating for the referendum and deployment of its troops in the region. Nanseng USDA leader U Kun Pwint and militia leader U kyaw Own traveled village after village to organize the honest villagers living in hilly region to approve the constitution.
After scattered organizing activities to vote no appearing in the region in mid March, military commander often summoned the village heads and village clerks to the meetings and ordered to prohibit all anti- referendum activities and asked to approve the constitution if they wanted Palaung autonomous region.
In the first week of April, U Eit Mone and U Kun Yi of Palaung ethnic organization were asked if they wanted Palaung autonomous region, they must try to stop all anti government activities and to actively participate in the process of adoption of the constitution.
But as for Palaung grassroots, only few knew about the constitution and is was more important to eat daily than to vote for the constitution. Beside the time of the referendum coincided with the reason of their main livelihood of picking Shwe Pi tea leaves and Palaung people were only interested in their business. They were particularly worried about their livelihood to be affected by the referendum.
Nanseng Township referendum commission U Kun Pwint, Capt. Than Tun, U Kyaw Own and U Tun Myat lay sent for the in charges of polling booths and discussed about finding ways to change crossed ballots into ticked ballots and preparation for preventing people from voting no. on the 6th of May in Nanseng.
There were also threats to people to be sentenced to there year imprisonment and fined a hundred thousands kyats if they’d vote no in the referendum in Nanseng, Mantong and Namkham townships. And also incentive – giving organizing to approve the constitution for Palaung autonomous region were ubiquitous. Besides, people responsible for organizing matters and in charges of the polling booths were threatened to be punished if no ballots seen in their respective areas.
The SPDC’s authorities not only tried to organize people to approve the constitution by summoning villagers to attend the meetings, forced to ban private owned case and cycles for their organizing trips but also tried to ban vote ‘no’ activities in may ways.
Ordinary travelers and civilians were frequently annoyed for being investigated and checked by the police, soldiers and militia in Namkham Mantong and Nanseng Township.
Teachers who were appointed on Palaung regions from other parts of country were forced to do the organizing work for the referendum without being allowed to return to their natives even during summer holidays.
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