The elections set to take place on Sunday in Burma - the first to be held in 20 years - have been called "a farce" by the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP). "Before the polling stations even opened there were so many attacks on minorities and so many irregularities reported that the elections in Burma simply cannot be termed "free and fair," stated Ulrich Delius of the STP's Asia section on Thursday in Göttingen. The military junta, which had hoped to legitimize itself as a democracy with this election, excluded undesirable candidates from the election by closing polling stations "for security reasons," while accepting the criminal behavior of candidates in the favored Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), thus exercising considerable influence on the outcome of the elections, reports Delius.

More than a dozen independent parties representing ethnic minorities were denied registration for elections by the state election commission. At least 2.5 million Shan, Karen and Mon were unable to take part, as the junta canceled elections in 3,400 villages "for safety reasons." Members of these ethnic minorities reported threats and intimidation by USDP candidates, as well as illegal buying of votes. Muslim Rohingya from the city of Gwa (in the state of Arakhan) say USDP members promised to give them loans if they voted for the governing party. In Rangoon, the former capital of this Southeast Asian country, voters were promised 10 US dollars each to vote for the USDP. Moreover the Rohingya, who have been denied civil rights for many years and thus are among the hundreds of thousands who fled to neighboring countries, report being suddenly offered residence permits – at no charge – for supporting the USDP.

In rural regions the inhabitants in numerous villages were assembled and threatened as follows: "Vote for the people we tell you to vote for. You know what will happen if you do not obey – and we will find out who you vote for." In the village of Shveza, USDP members threatened villagers with hefty fines and a year in prison if they did not vote for the junta party.

Undesirable candidates such as Buddhist monks and former political prisoners have been officially declared unelectable by the military government. In the Shan nation, on the other hand, the four USDP candidates are warlords who control most of the drug trade in northern Burma. The warlords, U Myint Lwin, U Ti Khun Myat, Panhsay Kyaw Myint and U Kengmai, each have their own militia with up to 600 fighters. Opium poppies are cultivated in 45 of the 46 districts of the Shan nation. "Burma's military and the militias allied with it profit from the drug trade and from taxing the drugs," stated Delius. In spite of their own involvement in the drug trade, the junta continues to affirm vis-à-vis the international community their intention of putting a stop to the cultivation and sale of drugs.

Translated by Elizabeth Crawford