‘Defunct’ USDA in the limelight again

DVB ( 24 November 2003 )

The youth wing of Burma’s military junta, the USDA (Union Solidarity and Development Association) which is supposed to be dismantles following the notorious Dipeyin incident is on the front page of the regime’s newspaper again.

The 10th birthday of USDA was celebrated at Mawbi near Rangoon and it was attended by its patron General Than Shwe and other top leaders of the SPDC including General Khin Nyunt and General Maung Aye.

USDA was hailed as the main force of future Burma by General Than Shwe and he thanked USDA members for its ‘support’ for the regime’s road map plan and urged them to support the plan until it succeeds.

The ‘re-emergence’ of USDA coincides with the regime’s effort to revitalise the failed ‘National Convention’ by forcing ethnic national groups who signed ceasefire agreements with the regime to attend the convention.

A political observer inside Burma warned that the regime is trying to force its own will on Burma and it would be hard for the country to become peaceful.

U Htay Aung, a Burmese military expert on the Thai-Burma border said that the USDA members including civil servants would be used to bully people into attending the road map or voting for the regime in future elections even if they would not be formed into an official organisation.