CHRO

Christian Chin from western Burma are denied religious freedom and face coercion to convert to Buddhism as a result of state policy, according to a new report

The Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) released Threats to Our Existence: Persecution of Ethnic Chin Christians in Burma on Wednesday which exposes a decades-long pattern of religious freedom violations and human rights abuses including forced labor and torture which has led thousands of Chin to flee their homeland.

“President Thein Sein’s government claims that religious freedom is protected by law but in reality Buddhism is treated as the de-facto state religion,” said CHRO Program Director Salai Ling. “The discriminatory state institutions and ministries of previous military regimes continue to operate in the same way today. Few reforms have reached Chin State.”

Drawn from more than 100 interviews conducted over the past two years, the report reveals violations of the right to freedom of religious assembly, coercion to convert to Buddhism and the destruction of Christian crosses in Chin State.

According to CHRO research, there are 29 Na Ta La (Border Areas National Races Youth Development Training) schools across Burma, primarily targeting ethnic and religious minorities. The schools function outside the mainstream chronically underfunded education system and practice targeted recruitment of impoverished Chin who lack the means to pay for alternative schooling.

Ethnic Chin make up one-third of students at Na Ta La schools where they are prevented from practicing Christianity and instead coerced to convert to Buddhism, primarily via the threat of military conscription. Students are often forced to shave their heads and wear robes of monks or nuns, the CHRO said.

“We were often threatened. The headmaster Aung Myint Tun and the others used to say, ‘If you don’t want to be Buddhist, we can arrest you, we can put you in prison, we can do anything we want to you. You are just like a toy in our hands.’” a 17-year-old who fled a Na Ta La school in Matupi Township told the CHRO. “We were all really insulted by that, and I was scared I would be put in prison. So in fear of that, I ran away from Na Ta La.”

Union Border Affairs Minister Lt-Gen Thein Htay has said, “Subjects on Union spirit is mainly lectured at the training schools … By inculcating Union spirit into them, youth forces equipped with strong Union spirit that could safeguard Our Three Main National Causes at the risk of their lives…”

Burma’s three national causes are “non-disintegration of the Union, non-disintegration of national solidarity and perpetuation of sovereignty.”

The 2012 US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) report includes Burma on its list of “countries of particular concern” (CPCs).

“It’s no coincidence that many of the nations we recommend to be designated as CPCs are among the most dangerous and destabilizing places on earth,” said USCIRF Chairman Leonard Leo. “Nations that trample upon basic rights, including freedom of religion, provide fertile ground for poverty and insecurity, war and terror, and violent, radical movements and activities.”

The other nations included on USCIRF list of CPCs were China, Egypt, Eritrea, Iraq, Iran, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.

“The government must end the policies and practices which amount to persecution of Chin Christians,” added Salai Ling. “Thein Sein’s government must then radically overhaul state institutions to protect ethnic and religious minority rights.”

Source: http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/13339

2012-09-05

Burma’s government is violating the religious rights of the ethnic group, according to a new report.

RFA

Some 90 percent of ethnic Chin consider themselves Christians.

Christians among the Chin ethnic group in western Burma are facing religious persecution as they are coerced into converting to Buddhism as part of a government drive to “Burmanize” the population, an exiled Chin rights group said Wednesday.

Ethnic Chin are facing forced labor, torture, and “other cruel and inhuman treatment” which have forced thousands to flee their homeland, the Thailand-based Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) said in a report which drew on more than 100 interviews over the past two years.

“President Thein Sein’s government claims that religious freedom is protected by law but in reality Buddhism is treated as the de-facto state religion,” said CHRO Program Director Salai Ling.

“The discriminatory state institutions and ministries of previous military regimes continue to operate in the same way today. Few reforms have reached Chin state.”

Around 500,000 ethnic Chin live in the northwestern area of Chin state in Burma and approximately 90 percent of the ethnic group’s members are Christian.

But the Chin have long faced restrictions on freedom of religion as part of what the CHRO referred to as an “unwritten forced assimilation policy known as ‘Burmanization,’” which seeks to ethnically, culturally, linguistically, and religiously homogenize the ethnic minority areas of the country.

And despite Thein Sein’s recent efforts to form alliances with the ethnic groups that inhabit the remote border regions of Burma—a reversal in policy from the former military regime which largely sought to subdue the country’s minorities—he has allowed the violations of religious freedom to continue, CHRO said.

It charged that “violations” of the right to freedom of religious assembly, “coercion to convert” the Chin to Buddhism—the religion of the majority ethnic Burman population—and the destruction of Christian crosses in the Chin state continue to occur under the new nominally civilian government, which came to power in March last year.

“Burma’s Ministry of Religious Affairs imposes discriminatory regulations on constructing and renovating Christian infrastructure, making it difficult for Chin Christians to exercise freedom of religion,” the report said, adding that since Thein Sein came to power, authorities had destroyed four large crosses in Chin state.

Training schools

CHRO said that 29 residential “Border Areas National Races Youth Development Training Schools” exist around the country which primarily target ethnic and religious minorities like the Chin. It said some one-third of the schools’ trainees are ethnic Chin.

“Chin students are prevented from practicing Christianity while at the schools and have been coerced to convert to Buddhism, primarily via the threat of military conscription,” the report said.

“Students are often forced to shave their heads and wear monks’ or nuns’ robes.”

CHRO said that economic barriers to mainstream education leave impoverished Chin vulnerable to “targeted recruitment” to the training schools, which are usually free and offer the incentive of a guaranteed government position upon graduation.

The rights group called the schools “a front for a State-sanctioned indoctrination program,” noting that Union Border Affairs Minister Thein Htay had praised the system for creating “youth forces equipped with strong Union Spirit.”

The report cited a 20-year-old Chin woman who fled one of the schools in May last year because she felt that the education was inappropriate, given her Christian belief system.

She said that monks affiliated with the school had traveled to her village accompanied by soldiers and threatened her with forced military conscription if she did not return.

CHRO Advocacy Director Rachel Fleming said that the training schools “facilitate a forced assimilation policy under the guise of development,” appearing to offer a way out of poverty at a high price for Chin students.

“They are given a stark choice between abandoning their identity and converting to Buddhism, or joining the military to comply with the authorities’ vision of a ‘patriotic citizen,’” she said.

End to persecution

In the report, CHRO urged the Burmese government to abolish the Ministry of Religious Affairs and the military-controlled Education and Training Department, which oversees the training schools under the Ministry for Border Affairs.

It also called on the government to reallocate those resources to education and to include ethnic minority languages in the national curriculum.
“The government must end the policies and practices which amount to persecution of Chin Christians,” said CHRO’s Ling.

“Thein Sein’s government must then radically overhaul State institutions, to protect ethnic and religious minority rights.”

The people of Chin State, located in an isolated and mountainous region, lack road infrastructure and access to basic health care, and are considered highly food-insecure and vulnerable to famine, according to reports.

They said that rapid militarization since 1988 has resulted in widespread human rights violations in the region, with an estimated 75,000 Chin displaced to neighboring India and another 50,000 to Malaysia.

Reported by Joshua Lipes.

Copyright © 1998-2011 Radio Free Asia. All rights reserved.
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/burma/chin-09052012132942.html

Burmese Army Oppresses Chin Christians, Study Says
Report shows widespread abuses, including murder, rape and forced labor.

DUBLIN, January 19 (CDN) — Burmese soldiers are systematically using forced labor, torture and rape to persecute majority-Christian residents of Chin state in western Burma, according to a report released today.

Entitled, “Life Under the Junta: Evidence of Crimes Against Humanity in Burma’s Chin State,” the report by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) documented “extraordinary levels of state violence” against the Chin ethnic population in Burma, also called Myanmar.

Due to the influence of U.S. missionaries last century, the Chin are estimated to be 90 percent Christian, and the study indicates that it is therefore difficult to separate religious attacks from ethnic and other human rights abuses. Persecution of Christians is reportedly part of a wider campaign by the Burmese junta to create a uniform society in which the only accepted religion is Buddhism, according a 2007 government memo circulated in Karen state giving instructions on how to drive Christians out of the state.

Respondents who were specifically targeted for their Christian faith and ethnicity said soldiers had threatened them with the destruction of their homes or villages and threatened to harm or kill family members. A total of 71 households from 13 of 90 villages and towns surveyed also said government authorities had destroyed their local church buildings.

The most brutal attacks included the forced conscription, abduction or murder of children under the age of 15, and the rape of men, women and children. Burmese soldiers, locally known as the Tatmadaw, also confiscated food, livestock and other property and forced families to grow the cash crop jatropha, used to produce biofuel, instead of food crops required for basic survival. The study states that this caused many Chin to flee across land borders to India or Bangladesh.

Burmese soldiers were responsible for 94.2 percent of all specifically ethnic and religious incidents in the survey, supporting claims by advocacy organizations such as Christian Solidarity Worldwide that the military government is systematically working to “cleanse” Burma of ethnic and religious minorities.

Government agents also placed votes for Chin residents during national elections last November, warning them that soldiers in a nearby camp were ready to arrest them if they complained, and ordered a church to close after the pastor refused to wear a campaign T-shirt. (See “Burmese Officials Order Closure of Chin Church,” Nov. 18, 2010.)

When asked why the Burmese army acted as it did, 15 percent of respondents answered, “Because we are Christians.” Another 23 percent replied, “To persecute us,” and a further 23 percent said, “Because we are Chin.”

The report confirms evidence submitted to the United Nations for Burma’s Universal Periodic Review, to take place in Geneva from Jan. 24 through Feb. 4, that holds the ruling military junta responsible for widespread abuse of its citizens.

‘Crimes Against Humanity’

PHR and five partner organizations, including the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO), used scientific methods to carry out the survey in the early months of 2010, training 23 local surveyors to question a random sample of 621 households across all nine townships in Chin state. PHR identified the households only by survey number to protect their identity.

Those interviewed reported a total of 2,951 incidents in the previous 12 months, of which 95 percent were carried out by the Tatmadaw, local government officials, Burmese police or border security forces.

The report made a clear distinction between internationally recognized “crimes against humanity” and general human rights violations. Of the crimes against humanity, the most prevalent was forced labor for 91.9 percent of those surveyed, followed by ethnic-religious persecution at 14 percent. After these crimes came arbitrary arrest, detention or imprisonment at 5.9 percent, abduction at 4.8 percent, torture at 3.8 percent, rape or other sexual violations at 2.8 percent, murder at 1 percent and miscellaneous abuses at 0.2 percent.

As for lesser human rights violations, 52.5 percent of households surveyed reported livestock killed, 50.6 percent were forced to give food, 42.8 percent forced to give money, 12.8 percent had property attacked or destroyed, 11.2 percent had family members beaten and 9.1 percent had family members wounded from gunshots, explosions or deadly weapons.

In many cases, people suffered from the full range of human rights violations.

Six households, or 1 percent of those surveyed, reported family members killed by the Tatmadaw in 2009, with two households reporting multiple family members killed, and two of the victims being under the age of 15. Three of the six households believed they were specifically targeted because of their ethnicity and Christian faith.

An elderly grandfather who spoke to PHR in March 2010 said he felt depressed and helpless after a year when the Tatmadaw killed an 18-year-old family member and forced others in the family to build roads, porter supplies and carry weapons, threatening to kill them if they refused. The military also stole livestock, demanded food supplies, and forced the family to grow a single crop rather than food crops needed for basic survival.

“We dare not refuse the Tatmadaw, as even mothers with little children are beaten,” one respondent said.

Burmese soldiers tortured more than one person in the family of a 46-year-old man, while local government authorities forced them to relinquish livestock, food and money. Seventeen percent of torture victims and 29 percent of rape victims were under the age of 15.

A 36-year-old father of five in Paletwa township said Burmese soldiers had raped more than one member of his family at knifepoint within the past year, arbitrarily detained another member of the household at gunpoint, conscripted a family member into the army and burned down the church that once stood in his village.

In a foreward to PHR’s report, Richard Goldstone, a PHR board member and former U.N. chief prosecutor, and the Rev. Desmond Tutu of Chairman of The Elders, an independent group of prominent global leaders, urged that a U.N. commission of inquiry be established to investigate reports of human rights violations in Burma.

“It is unconscionable that suffering as dire as that of the Chin people under Burma’s dictatorship should be allowed to persist in silence,” they wrote.

They also urged Burma’s immediate neighbors and trade partners to use the occasion of Burma’s Universal Periodic Review to discuss the violations committed in Chin state and elsewhere in Burma, and work towards an alternative ‘roadmap’ to democracy for the Burmese people.

END

http://www.compassdirect.org/english/country/burma/31621/

Editor
http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2010/11/11/intimidation-and-arrests-ethnic-areas-during-burma%E2%80%99s-elections
11 November 2010

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has received reports of harassment, intimidation, violence and arrests in several of Burma’s ethnic states, during and immediately following the sham elections three days ago.

In Maungdaw, northern Arakan State, at least 38 Rohingyas were reportedly arrested on Election Day, and other arrests were reported in other towns.

Supporters of a Rohingya party, the National Democratic Party for Development (NDPD), were arrested and tortured last week in Maungdaw by soldiers of the border security force known as ‘Na Sa Ka’. Seven NPDP supporters were beaten up by Na Sa Ka soldiers in front of a polling station on election day.

According to Rohingya sources, it is believed the NPDP won a landslide victory in Buthidaung Township, northern Arakan State, but the election commission has forced NPDP to sign a document accepting that the regime’s party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), had won. NPDP candidates refused to sign and are facing the possibility of arrest. One source told CSW that their refusal to sign the document has put their lives in danger. CSW understands that the military has arrested approximately 100 villagers in Buthidaung who voted for the NPDP, to subject them to forced labor.

In Chin State, according to the Chin Human Rights Organisation, some polling stations were guarded by USDP agents. USDP campaigners asked voters if they would be voting for USDP, and those who said no were refused entry to the polling station. In Tedim town, some voters found that ballots had already been cast on their behalf, and were warned that soldiers from the Burma Army Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 269 would arrest them if they tried to vote.

Although the official result has not yet been announced, the USDP has unofficially claimed to have won over 80 per cent of the nationwide vote.

CSW’s East Asia Team Leader Benedict Rogers said, “We believe these reports from Arakan and Chin states are just the tip of the iceberg. This election was rigged before polling day, and there has clearly been a campaign of intimidation, harassment and violence, designed to ensure that the regime gets the result it wants. The international community must not give this process any recognition, legitimacy or credibility whatsoever. Instead, the international community, led by the UN, must intensify its efforts to convince the regime to enter into a meaningful dialogue with the democracy movement led by Aung San Suu Kyi and the ethnic nationalities. It is essential that genuine representatives of the ethnic nationalities are fully involved and included in that process.”

Achara Ashayagachat and AFP
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/205148/junta-faces-threat-claims
7 November 2010

Burma’s military regime and its political proxies faced growing accusations yesterday of threats and intimidation on the eve of the country’s controversial first election in two decades.

Up to 29 million eligible Burmese voters will go to the polling stations today, less than a week before opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is expected to be released from house arrest. Her National League for Democracy (NLD) has boycotted the poll.

Her youngest son, Kim Aris, who lives in Britain, planned to apply for a visa to Burma at the Burmese embassy in Bangkok tomorrow to visit Mrs Suu Kyi after the release, according to the BBC’s Burmese language service. He is staying at a Chao Phraya riverside hotel.

The Burmese embassy said yesterday it was not aware of the visa application.

The junta’s detention of Mrs Suu Kyi expires on Saturday. Burmese Foreign Minister Nyan Win said in the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Hanoi on Oct 28 that the Burmese regime will free her after the election. Mrs Suu Kyi swept her party to power in 1990 but the results were never recognised by the ruling generals.

This time, two parties aligned to the military _ the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and the National Unity Party (NUP) _ are together fielding about two-thirds of the total candidates.

The Democratic Party (Burma) and National Democratic Force, a splinter party of the NLD, which is contesting the election, accused the USDP on Friday of illegally collecting advance ballots by coercion and intimidation.

Signs of voter intimidation were also reported by the Chin Human Rights Organisation, which said that in a ward in Chin State, in western Burma, one of the polling stations was at an army checkpoint. ”How can people feel free to vote for the party of their choice if soldiers are watching them?” said programme director Salai Za Uk Ling.

According to exile news website The Irrawaddy, two major ethnic minority parties have threatened to contest the result if concerns over alleged USDP abuses are not addressed.

The All Mon Region Democracy Party, based in Mon State in the southeast, and the Rakhine National Development Party (RNDP), in Rakhine State in the west, have also raised complaints.

”If the USDP wins due to the influence and resources of the government, ethnic and other pro-democracy parties will boycott the election results,” RNDP chairman Aye Maung was quoted as saying.

Local authorities have allegedly helped the USDP, formed by ministers who left the military in April, to force people to vote early and for the junta party.

”We have learned that the USDP, together with ward authorities, is trying to get advance votes by cheating, bribing or threatening people,” said a letter from the Democratic Party to the Union Election Commission in the capital Naypyidaw.

The ruling regime’s proxy party enjoys huge advantages in the polls: a quarter of seats in the new legislature are reserved for the army, while opposition parties have suffered major obstacles.

Many people in Burma, a country where almost one-third of the population lives below the poverty line, prioritise basic needs over politics, while a lack of choice has fuelled disillusionment in the election.

In many constituencies the poll is a two-horse race between the USDP and the NUP, the successor to late dictator Ne Win’s party.

Foreign election observers and international media have been barred from entering the country for the election.

European diplomats have also snubbed official polling station visits, declining an invitation to join what British ambassador Andrew Heyn has already dismissed as a ”choreographed tour”.

In a speech reproduced in state newspaper The New Light of Myanmar on the election eve, Burmese Prime Minister Thein Sein urged citizens to vote, and not to ”tarnish the image of the state”.

Al Jazeera and agencies

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2010/11/20101169237967672.html

6 November 2010

Myanmar is set for its first general elections in 20 years, but opposition parties still in the fray are already questioning the fairness of the vote.

In the run-up to Sunday’s vote, the All Mon Region Democracy Party and the Rakhine National Development Party (RNDP) have accused the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) of “cheating” and “threatening” voters.

They have threatened to contest the result of the elections unless their complaints are dealt with.

The USDP, formed by ministers who retired from the military in April, has allegedly been helped by local authorities to force people to vote early and for the military-backed party.

Some 29 million people are registered to vote in the elections that many foreign governments consider to be a “sham” to keep the military junta in power.

Elections are to be held for 440 seats in the lower house of parliament, 110 of which have been reserved for the army. Simultaneous elections are to be held for the upper house of parliament and 14 regional assemblies.

Other political parties have also raised concerns over the poll.

‘Deeply concerned’

Thu Wai, the Democratic Party chairman, said on Friday that his party was “deeply concerned” about stories of voter intimidation across the country and has filed an official complaint.

“We have learnt that the USDP together with ward authorities are trying to get advance votes by cheating, bribing or threatening people,” said a letter from the party to the Union Election Commission in the capital, Naypyidaw.

“If the USDP wins the polls due to the influence and resources of the government, then ethnic and other pro-democracy parties will boycott the election results,” Aye Maung, the RNDP chairman, was quoted as saying to exile news website Irrawaddy.

Two parties aligned to the military are together fielding about two-thirds of the total candidates and the weakened opposition has a slim chance of success with Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s democracy icon, under house arrest.

Aung Saan Suu Kyi’s now-disbanded National League for Democracy (NLD) is boycotting the process.

She swept her party to power in 1990 but the results were never recognised by the ruling generals.

Signs of voter intimidation were also reported by the Chin Human Rights Organisation, which said that in a ward in Chin state, in western Myanmar, one of the polling stations was at an army checkpoint.

“How can people feel free to vote for the party of their choice if soldiers are watching them?” Salai Za Uk Ling, the programme director, said.

The military-leadership was feared to be intentionally blocking access to information, with the Internet down across Yangon, the country’s largest city, on Friday.

The ruling regime’s proxy party enjoys huge advantages in the polls, while opposition parties have suffered major obstacles.

Many people in Myanmar, a country where almost one-third of the population lives below the poverty line, prioritise basic needs over politics, while a lack of choice has generated political disillusionment.

Image of state

In a speech reproduced in the state mouthpiece, the New Light of Myanmar, on the eve of the election, Thein Sein, the Myanmar prime minister, urged citizens to vote and not to “tarnish the images of the state”.

However, Al Jazeera’s special correspondent, reporting from Yangon, said there is still very little sign that there are elections coming up.

“Travelling around the city of Yangon, there is the odd election poster around the city. But that is about the only sign that elections are upon us,” the correspondent said.

“And we certainly did not see any increased security inside the city, which was something that we did expect to see.”

Few outsiders will be there to bear witness because foreign election observers and international media have been barred from entering the country for the election.

European diplomats have also snubbed official polling-station visits, declining an invitation to join what Andrew Heyn, the British ambassador, has already dismissed as a “choreographed tour”.

Speaking to Al Jazeera on Saturday Heyn said there was cause for concern in the upcoming elections.

“It is hard to say too much positive things about these elections. The atmosphere on the ground is incredibly flat. What we are seeing here is that these elections are a major missed opportunity.

“We have had some ethnic parties excluded, elections laws which are very restricted, and Aung San Suu Kyi and over 2,100 other political prisoners unable to participate in this elections.

“So it is little wonder the public is cynical.”

Al Jazeera and agencies
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2010/11/20101169237967672.html
6 November 2010

Myanmar is set for its first general elections in 20 years, but opposition parties still in the fray are already questioning the fairness of the vote.

In the run-up to Sunday’s vote, the All Mon Region Democracy Party and the Rakhine National Development Party (RNDP) have accused the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) of “cheating” and “threatening” voters.

They have threatened to contest the result of the elections unless their complaints are dealt with.

The USDP, formed by ministers who retired from the military in April, has allegedly been helped by local authorities to force people to vote early and for the military-backed party.

Some 29 million people are registered to vote in the elections that many foreign governments consider to be a “sham” to keep the military junta in power.

Elections are to be held for 440 seats in the lower house of parliament, 110 of which have been reserved for the army. Simultaneous elections are to be held for the upper house of parliament and 14 regional assemblies.

Other political parties have also raised concerns over the poll.

‘Deeply concerned’

Thu Wai, the Democratic Party chairman, said on Friday that his party was “deeply concerned” about stories of voter intimidation across the country and has filed an official complaint.

“We have learnt that the USDP together with ward authorities are trying to get advance votes by cheating, bribing or threatening people,” said a letter from the party to the Union Election Commission in the capital, Naypyidaw.

“If the USDP wins the polls due to the influence and resources of the government, then ethnic and other pro-democracy parties will boycott the election results,” Aye Maung, the RNDP chairman, was quoted as saying to exile news website Irrawaddy.

Two parties aligned to the military are together fielding about two-thirds of the total candidates and the weakened opposition has a slim chance of success with Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s democracy icon, under house arrest.

Aung Saan Suu Kyi’s now-disbanded National League for Democracy (NLD) is boycotting the process.

She swept her party to power in 1990 but the results were never recognised by the ruling generals.

Signs of voter intimidation were also reported by the Chin Human Rights Organisation, which said that in a ward in Chin state, in western Myanmar, one of the polling stations was at an army checkpoint.

“How can people feel free to vote for the party of their choice if soldiers are watching them?” Salai Za Uk Ling, the programme director, said.

The military-leadership was feared to be intentionally blocking access to information, with the Internet down across Yangon, the country’s largest city, on Friday.

The ruling regime’s proxy party enjoys huge advantages in the polls, while opposition parties have suffered major obstacles.

Many people in Myanmar, a country where almost one-third of the population lives below the poverty line, prioritise basic needs over politics, while a lack of choice has generated political disillusionment.

Image of state

In a speech reproduced in the state mouthpiece, the New Light of Myanmar, on the eve of the election, Thein Sein, the Myanmar prime minister, urged citizens to vote and not to “tarnish the images of the state”.

However, Al Jazeera’s special correspondent, reporting from Yangon, said there is still very little sign that there are elections coming up.

“Travelling around the city of Yangon, there is the odd election poster around the city. But that is about the only sign that elections are upon us,” the correspondent said.

“And we certainly did not see any increased security inside the city, which was something that we did expect to see.”

Few outsiders will be there to bear witness because foreign election observers and international media have been barred from entering the country for the election.

European diplomats have also snubbed official polling-station visits, declining an invitation to join what Andrew Heyn, the British ambassador, has already dismissed as a “choreographed tour”.

Speaking to Al Jazeera on Saturday Heyn said there was cause for concern in the upcoming elections.

“It is hard to say too much positive things about these elections. The atmosphere on the ground is incredibly flat. What we are seeing here is that these elections are a major missed opportunity.

“We have had some ethnic parties excluded, elections laws which are very restricted, and Aung San Suu Kyi and over 2,100 other political prisoners unable to participate in this elections.

“So it is little wonder the public is cynical.”