Myanmar migrants split over prospect of change in Sunday's election
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MIGRANT workers in Thailand set to return to Myanmar for the general election this Sunday have expressed hope for change in their country, as well as uncertainty about the outcome.
Some 30 million people are eligible to vote in the historic poll.
Myanmar workers in Mae Sot were seen yesterday preparing their stuff for a trip across the river for the election in constituencies in Myawaddy, the province opposite the Thai border district.
Many of them said they hoped to vote, as relatives at home informed them that their names were listed as eligible voters. However, many also said they would not go back for the ballot.
The election is the first in 25 years that will have the two major rivals – the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) – in the same race.
For refugees living in camps just across the border in Thailand, a landmark election in their homeland triggers mixed emotions – hope that a hated government will be defeated, and fear that the uncertain future could also bring further upheaval.
Ko Chit, 45, who lives in Mae La refugee camp, the largest of the nine camps that are home to around 110,000 people, is typical of those who spoke to Reuters. He wants opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD to win Sunday’s election, the country’s first free and fair election in a generation, but worries that could result in being sent back to Myanmar when it remains unsafe.
“The situation is not yet stable and we cannot go back because of fighting and persecution,” Ko Chit said. “If there is no non-governmental organisation to support us there, it would be better to stay in the camp.”
The government signed a ceasefire agreement with eight armed ethnic groups last month but military clashes continued in many areas, and will bar many people from casting a vote on the election day.
About 60 skirmishes have been reported in Wanhai, headquarters of the Shan State Army North (SSAN), and nearby villages, shattering some local politicians’ hope, according to Eleven Myanmar.
Conflict had intensified since the Union Election Commission announced on October 27 that it would not hold an election in Wanhai. Fighting had escalated in southern areas of Mongact village in Mong Hsu Township, said Colonel Sai La from the Shan State Progressive Party (SSPP). The party is headquartered in Wanhai.
Around 6,000 villagers have fled. Witnesses said fighting had spread to Mong Nawng and the forests around Wanhai. Monasteries in Mong Hsu have been turned to refugee shelters.
Ethno-religious conflict is another worrying element as anti-Muslim feeling in Myanmar has grown among the predominantly Buddhist population. Of 6,000 candidates, only a dozen are Muslim. Major political parties including the USDP and NLD have no clear policy to counter the problem and easing such tension will be a big challenge for the government after the election.
