Independent Mon News Agency – Following the ongoing conflict in Kachin State and several bomb blasts last week in major cities of upper Burma, including in the capital city Naypyidaw, the Southeast Region Command has strengthened the security force in Mon State and set up checkpoints in many of the main cities and towns in Mon State.
The checkpoints have been set up at the entrances of Thanbyuzayat and Mudon, as well as in Moulmein (Mawlamyaing), the capital of Mon State. These checkpoints were dismantled after the elections in 2010, but now the local villagers report that the Burmese Army is setting them up again.
“I think this is just impact from the conflict in Kachin State and the series of bomb blasts in different areas of the country. This is just their (USDP government’s) preparation. They are trying to prevent the war from spreading out to the entire country,” said Nai Tun Ya, the General Secretary of Moulmein District of New Mon State Party.
During the time after the November 2010 elections up to the formation of the new government in March 2011, all of these checkpoints were withdrawn as the USDP government hoped to show the local people that the country in was at peace.
Last month, a Mon armed group exploded a telecommunications tower in Mudon Town, and the security forces have been more alert. However, the checkpoints were not reestablished in May.
According to a Military Intelligence source, the government received information of potential bomb attacks in Mon State, and therefore announced the heightened security alerts in the area. The local military battalions, police stations, and even village militia troops received ‘security alerts’ from Southeast Command. They all have the responsibility to increase security, especially to notice strangers who are possibly attempting to bring bombs or explosives into towns or villages.
The local residents have also noticed that recently there are patrols by police officers both day and night in towns and cities to check the potential movements of attackers. Hence, the local residents and stop owners in cities are also afraid of instability.
A parent of schoolchildren in Moulmein told IMNA, “We are worrying about our children in schools. After we saw the security forces patrolling around, we knew that the situation is not normal. If something happens, I cannot get my children in time. We don’t know where to go or where to run”.
The people in Mon State have received news of the bomb blasts and fighting in Kachin State through foreign radio, DVB, VOA, RFA, and BBC, as well as other sources in coffee shops in many cities and towns.
A political analyst, who does not want to identify himself, explained that the government and the Burmese Army has concerns that civil war will break out throughout the entire country. The civil war could spread from Kachin State to other ethnic regions. He mentioned that the new government is keeping very silent on the new war in Kachin State, and that they have lost their reputation of being able to bring peace to the country.
Fighting between the Burmese Army and former ceasefire groups broke out in Shan State in May. The fighting began in Kachin State in early June. Although there have been no official announcements, many of the 15-year-old ceasefires between the central government and ethnic armed opposition groups were ended after the new USDP government was formed.
