Authorities Conduct a Census of Adults in Rangoon

The Burmese authorities have been taking a census of adults in Rangoon Division, reportedly in preparation for the 2010 general election, sources in Rangoon said.

An anonymous official who works at Yangon Division Peace and Development Council told The Irrawaddy that senior officials recently instructed township authorities to conduct censuses of adults for family lists in Thingangyun, North and South Okkalapa, Thaketa, Kyauktada and Ahlone Townships.

However, he refused to say why the censuses were being made.

A resident in Thingangyun Township said, “[The Authorities] are going from house to house, but they are giving no reason for it.

“They are registering everyone who is 18-years-old or more, but they are threatening to remove anyone who is absent working abroad from the family lists,” he said.

Citizens who are removed from their family list cease to exist legally, making obtaining identification papers and passports very difficult without paying large sums to be reinstated.

Local authorities in Arakan and Mon states also ordered village headmen to conduct censuses during August.

Aue Mon, a member of Human Rights Foundation of Monland said that the authorities in Ye Township, in southern Mon State, ordered village headmen to conduct the census.

“They ordered every village headman to make proper family lists,” he said.

In Sittwe, capital of Arakan State, the authorities have ordered the census data to be submitted to the township administration and immigration departments during September.

The sources believe that the authorities are updating the family lists for the 2010 general election.

Meanwhile, the Burmese military junta has been conducting a pre-election campaign in many parts of the country, launching road-building programs and development projects in local communities such as libraries to gain local support.

Speaking to journalists in Rangoon, Brig-Gen Aung Thein Linn, the chairman of the Rangoon City Development Committee, said the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) members are setting up development programs in local communities to build trust among people in advance of the election.

The USDA is preparing to transform itself into a political party for the 2010 general election, according to sources in Rangoon.

A Dala resident said that the USDA recently provided soft loans to poor people in Dala Township, telling those who received the money to vote for them,” he said.

The junta will hold elections in 2010, though the election law has yet to be made public.

Meanwhile people in Rangoon are saying the recent attack on the Kokang militia in Shan State might be used as a pretext to delay the national election.