Junta Warns Soldiers against Demonstrations

By MIN LWIN

Burmese military command in Rangoon has alerted all members of the armed forces and warned them and their families not to become involved in any future anti-government demonstrations.

In a memorandum issued on August 28—a copy of which was passed secretly to The Irrawaddy—soldiers were warned that pro-democracy activists, such as monks and students, might try to entice or motivate them to participate in demonstrations in Rangoon.

The memorandum also said that military headquarters in Naypyidaw had authorized all battalion commanders to strictly observe and control the activities of armed personnel and their families.

Family members were to be prohibited from leaving military compounds; only armed soldiers who were on duty had permission to leave the grounds, the memorandum said.

Military command also told soldiers that, in the event of protests, the army was prohibited from interfering. Instead, the police and the General Administrative Department under the Ministry of Home Affairs would assume responsibility for any action. The armed forces should concentrate on collecting intelligence, the memo said.

Battalion commanders have been ordered to withhold the identity cards of family members and no trips or visits outside the military compounds have been permitted since early August.

“I can’t go to visit my grandparents because my ID card has been kept by the battalion captain,” said a family member of a soldier from a Light Infantry Battalion based in Naypyidaw.

“It seems that Snr-Gen Than Shwe is worried his soldiers and their families are going to rebel against him,” said a military source in Rangoon. “He doesn’t seem to trust anyone.”