Since the current military regime in Rangoon, under the name of Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) seized the political power in 1988, it has systematically planned to grip in power. In 1990, after the National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi won landslide seats in the parliament over the regime supported political party - National Unity Party (NUP)¹ - the regime have understood that the people in the country do not really support the military or even the organizations supported by the regime..

However, as it is afraid of punishment or trials by the people of Burma for their abuses especially killing in the cities' streets against the demonstrators during 1988 pro-democracy uprising, the regime or Burmese Army or tatmadaw decided to stay on in power after 1990 elections².

Since then it has formed many of its supporting organizations in order to get information from the opposition groups or to close watch and response the activities of the publics.

USDA which stands for Union Solidarity and Development Association was formed by SLORC in 1992 under the patronage of the Chairman of SLORC (later it changed to SPDC - State Peace and Development Council), Senior Gen. Than Shwe, and it has been receiving full supports - financial supports, technical supports and leadership supports - by the regime.

The regime also formed this USDA Executive Committees in every State/Division, Towship/ Town Ward, Village Tract/ Village level. Their structure is Top-Down organizing system, and the decision making process is always Top-Down. Therefore, the USDA Central Executive Committee (CEC) which made up of the generals and veteran military commanders, instructed to State/Division USDA CEC and then instructions flow to Township/ Town Ward USDA and then Village Tract/ Village levels.

Since the formation of USDA, it has openly supported the regime political agenda and especially in opposing the NLD and other oppositions' political agenda and activities. The people can also identify that USDA is equal to military regime.

By taking opportunity upon the silence of the people due to fear, the regime SPDC has intensively extent the number of USDA. The expected target number of USDA for the regime is up to 10 millions among the 46 millions of people in the country³. It aggressively extend the number of USDA members since 1988 after the NLD and ethnic nationalities political parties that won 1990 general elections declared to convene the People's Parliament with Members of Parliament from elections.

SPDC instructed all levels of USDA organizations to against the plan of NLD and the ethnic political parties, and they also arranged the people's rally against the Convening of People's Parliament by forcing the civilians to gather in grounds of villages, towns, State/Division and accused the 1990 elections' MPs as betrayers to the State. Many NLD and ethnic nationalities' MPs were also arrested in this incident and imprisoned by the regime.

In May 2003, during the Depeyin Massacre - killing and torturing of NLD members near a city in upper Burma - the USDA members actively involve in abuses against unarmed NLD members and supporters including NLD leaders: Chairman U Tin Oo and General Secretary Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. This killing incident was also well-known to the international community the SPDC has not conducted any investigation on this case.

After that incident, SPDC trained USDA members how to use arms to against foreign aggressors and demonstrators on the streets. Later, they also formed USDA members as military unit and let them perform the duties of paramilitary and informers in the community.

For the people in Burma, although they do not like LTSDA members and their activities just favouring to the regime, but they are afraid to complain as they can be arrested and imprisoned. Sometimes, SPDC also give political and economic favour to the USDA members and their life is better than other ordinary people in the community. But this way, they have tried to organize more members to participate in USDA.

Similarly to the whole country, the Mon State USDA has also extent its members in village, village tract, town ward and township. Sometimes, it also forced the local villagers to be their members.

Accordingly the information HURFOM from the local people and internal sources of USDA, it also plan to upgrade itself as a 'political party' in order to participate in the coming elections arranged by SPDC in order to implement one point of its road-map. By taking the lesson from the 1990 elections, the SPDC will not allow any opposition party to win, and it could be USDA will win a landslide victory in the future sham

In Burma, there are various types of human rights violations committed by the authorities and members of Burmese Army. As it is very well-known that the authorities and troops of Burmese Army have used thousands of local villagers or citizens in the cities to contribute their labour in the constructions of road, dam, railway, and military barracks. Whenever there is a conscription of forced labour happened in Burma, the members of USDA are free to contribute their unpaid labour when sometimes they have to order the villagers and village headmen to involve in contributing of forced labour⁴.

In a village or in a town, the villagers are always asked by the authorities or Burmese Army to pay various types of fees such as porters fee, village security fee, development fee, fee to be free from labour contribution, religious fee and many others which are not described as official tax in laws by the government. However, the families of each household has to pay these types of fees and they have to levy from 1000-5000 Kyat each month, while a man could seek only 800-1000 Kyat per day from day-labour works⁵ USDA members or the families that have many USDA members are free to pay these types of tax or fee.

A very similar situation, while Burmese Army is forcing thousands of villagers in the rural to be porters to carry ammunitions and food supplies for them during the military offensives against the rebel groups in eastern part of Thailand-Burma border area, USDA members in towns, villages in Mon State, Karen State and Tenasserim Division are free to be involved in forced porters⁶. Even they never have to pay for porter fee for the troops of Burmese Army.

Additionally, USDA CEC members also have a good opportunity to register for a passport to go foreign countries like - Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and Japan - with visa of work-permit⁷. They are allowed to directly contact to Minister of Foreign Affairs in order to apply for issue of passport and visa in a foreign countries, while many ordinary citizens could not have this opportunity. Thus, they also became agents for those who plan to foreign countries to seek works and take fees from them. This is a very good business for top leaders of SPDC in villages and Towns.

By taking this opportunity, the local village/ Township USDA CEC also organized the young people in villages/ towns to join USDA to be members. It is so useful when the USDA tried to extend the members of its organization.

"They (Village USDA CEC members) openly told the villagers that if they joined to USDA,
they can be free from the conscription of forced labour, free from many types of taxes. Many of
our villagers do not support them, but as you know there are some opportunists in every community
and those opportunists joined their organization. Yes, they are free from every thing, and
sometimes, show the power to the villagers. Sometimes, the village headmen also have to afraid
them. As you know, they can directly send the letter to Sr. Gen. Than Shwe. If they don't like
someone, they can directly report to Township or State authorities.

"The government also allows them for fund-raising and they can raise find as they liked. Recently,
they made passport for young men in the village and applied for visa in foreign countries for
works. They got a lot of money from this. But we don't know how they share money."

As a main supporting organization to the regime, the Township/ State authorities are aware of the survival and development of USDA. Therefore, the regime authorities have supported USDA with fund, technical assistance and money.

III. USDA's Political Agendas - A Future Winner In Elections

From the recent reports by HURJOM sources and meeting decisions in USDA, it is preparing to transform itself into a political party in order to participate in the upcoming general election, which is lying as a point of road-map.

Some of USDA CEC meeting and their decisions, which HURFOM sources received from one township (we do not want to mention the name of that Township for the safety of a USDA CEC who provide information to HURFOM), they have tirelessly tried to organize to stand on their sides and to vote them in the upcoming elections.
Some of decisions from their meeting in 2004 are:
As the Association has long-term plan for national interest, we need to increase stronger membership to build our effective network within our membership in the whole township level.

From the above-mentioned meeting records, even SPDC high-rank authorities have been coordinating with USDA CEC members and adopted agendas to transform it as a political party to participate in the elections. The SPDC leaders also sometimes praised the USDA for the activities and history for help strengthening the life of the regime.

SPDC also formed the USDA in the structure of a political party after 3 years of 1990 General Elections. SPDC also expects there will be an election in the future since they did not recognize 1990 election results. Once there is elections in Burma, SPDC will bring the USDA in the elections and can win the elections as they have some millions members in the whole country.

USDA also poses as the oppositions to NLD and currently when most of NLD and ethnic political parties' key leaders are in prisons, the USDA has also conducted many campaigns in the rural areas to work for the development to the community. General Maung Bo from Ministry of Defense also clearly praises to USDA in his speech as "When the government has faced enormous crisis in the country, we have solved it with the strength of USDA. Therefore, you must work hard for winning to other parties in the political march."

Before the participating in the elections, the SPDC and USDA leaders planned to ensure they must win in the elections. Therefore, they have provided an assessment form and tried to collect the number of the people who would be the potential supporters to them.

Probably, in this upcoming elections, the USDA will become as a main political party and will allow some small political party in the elections in order to show to the international community that it is multi-party democratically elections. SPDC authorities must arrange the elections or SPDC must appoint their puppet election commissions. After elections, the USDA will win and then SPDC will transfer power to it.

However, it is not sure that how many military commanders will participate in USDA as the political figures in order to protect the armed force or tatmadaw. And, it is still not sure whether the genuine democratic political parties like NLD and ethnic nationalities' parties are allowed to compete against USDA in the elections.

Under the rule of the military governments since 1962, the successive governments have not allowed for the teaching of Mon language in government schools, and they have assimilated the ethnic Mon children by forcing them to learn Burmese language only. However, the Mon community in the rural areas have tried to learn Mon language in monasteries and founded Mon Literature and Buddhist Culture Associations in various Mon villages and conducted a campaign of Mon literacy training⁸. SPDC and USDA have not really like this movement and think this is against the government policy.

In February 2005, Mon State USDA said that the teaching of Mon language will not support national development and reconciliation.

"Teaching the Mon language is a barrier to national development and solidarity. The SPDC will not achieve its objective of rural development in the area because of the Mon language teaching," a USDA senior official of Kyaikmayaw Township said at the meeting February 2005. At that time, the Mon communities in Kyaikmayaw Township also began to register the Mon children who want to learn Mon language after the government schools' close for 'summer holiday.'

SPDC's schools closed in March for long holiday. As soon as school close, the Mon Buddhist monks and the community people arranged for Mon literacy training. Even it is not affecting the government school times, but the SPDC authorities and USDA still do not like the activities of Mon communities.

The source from the Mon community in the township said the USD A (Union Solidarity and Development Association) responded negatively after the BBC News (Burmese language program) broadcasted that the government banned the Mon national school in Ye township. It is a concern in the community; with most wondering why the government's USDA quoted that teaching the Mon language acts as a barrier for rural development. Meanwhile the USDA members in Thanbyuzayat are taking a survey of Mon State's economic situation to persuade people with business opportunities.

In July 2004, SPDC's CEC Gen. Maung Bo went to Mon State and instructed to the local authorities to close down all Mon National Schools in Ye Township and built up the government. In the implementation, the SPDC leaders also used USDA members from Ye Township to disturb the Mon teachers and existing of Mon schools.

"We heard a news that if the Mon teachers went to Ye Town for any purpose, we have to be careful to USDA members. They are in the coffee shops, in the bus stations, in railway stations, in the entrance of towns. If they know you are a Mon teacher, they will inform to the police or military officers in town immediately and they must arrest you. We have to be careful during they are trying to close our schools."

In the basic idea of USDA, they thought that any existing organizations in the communities are their competing organizations and tried to abolish those organizations.

Therefore, as the followers of SPDC, the USDA actively acts as opposition to the civil society organizations and do not allow them to exist.

After the former Chief of Military Intelligence (MI), Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt and all of his officers were dismissed in October 2004, the SPDC has seriously tried to replace Intelligence apparatus in the community.

Normally, the SPDC top leaders also used USDA to watch and give information to Rangoon even about their men. In order to implement this work, SPDC high-rank authorities have met some USDA CEC members and recruited their trusted members and trained them to be Intelligence officers. Then, they also formed Intelligence Team in each Township and gave duties to them.

The Intelligence Team from Chaung-zone Township of Mon State adopted their duties in the meeting together with secret service of SPDC leaders. The following are the responsibilities of Intelligence Team members:

This spy program is launched in the whole country level and is led by Brigadier-Gen Myint Swe, who replaced Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt for spy operations. As the SPDC's most trusted organization, it has recruited some key members of USDA in order to use them as members of new Intelligence Team in order to get information to strengthen its rule.

V. USDA: As Paramilitary Force

After the Depeyin Massacre, the SPDC has alerted to all USDA members in Township, villages to be ready to face the countrywide demonstration or foreign invasion. Then the SPDC has recruited the USDA members to attend the military training schools in order to know how to use rifle guns and other equipments. Later SPDC also extent its military recruitment and formed USDA members in paramilitary force.

An instance what is happening in Mon State is as below:

The Mon State PDC ordered Chaungzone Township's Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) to form a USDA battalion in the township, according to a USDA meeting's a main decision.

Mon State PDC General Secretary Lt. Col. Soe Myint Aung ordered it was needed to form quickly during the USDA meeting for September that was held on October 3, 2004. He also give the instruction how to form paramilitary armed force. According to his instruction, the USDA battalion is to be formed with:

6. Every USDA soldier and the commander has to fill out a form including 22 points about the USDA soldier's biography.

The Mon State PDC's General Secretary also ordered Chaungzone Township USDA to organize more than 140,000 USDA members in Chanugzone Township alone.

From the information above, the SPDC tried to organize nearly the people in the whole country as USDA members in order to support them. In Chaung-zone township of Mon State, USDA and Burmese authorities has coordinated very well in the oppressing of the opposition party, NLD. At the end, nearly all members of NLD were pressured to leave the organization, and the NLD became with empty of members.

Because of the international pressure, although SPDC leaders allowed NLD leaders including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to operate their party's activities, but SPDC authorities and military commanders do not like the activities of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. In the speech of Maj. Gen. Ohn Myint gave a speech in the regular meeting of USDA in July 2002 in Kyaikmayaw Township in Mon State, he said "on July 21, 2002, Daw Suu came to Kyaikmayaw (town). She traveled with 10 vehicles and 10 motorcycles, and they acted as traffic police. Actually, it cannot come like this. She held a public gathering in front of the pagoda with over (400) people. The law only allowed less than (50) people for gathering".
SPDC totally opposes the activities of NLD and they have a concern that more and more people would support NLD. Because of the past experience and the speech delivered by the Burmese Army's commanders, the May 30 incident of "Depayin Massacre" was anyhow related to USDA activities to block the NLD activities.

Moreover, as a preparation for the crackdown of the possible political unrest, the regime also provides basic military or arm-equipping training to the members of USDA, town and village administration authorities countrywide. They also explain them how to oppress the possible demonstration and strike.

As an instance,

Starting on June 4,2003, Township authorities in Moulmein, the capital of Mon State, provided basic military training including small arm-equipping technique to their supporters including USDA members, town ward SPDC authorities, firemen from fire brigades and village leaders. The duration of the training is for two weeks and the trainers from southeast command (bases near Moulmein) provided training to them.

20 to 50 members from each town ward were instructed to attend the training. There are about 20 town wards in Moulmein city and a few hundreds of people attended training. According to a trainee, he said that the aim of training was to break up the protectors if there was a protest or demonstration in the city. He added, accordingly to the instruction by commanders from Southeast Command, if there is a demonstration, those trainees and police force in city needed to break the protesters first and if they could not, then the army will come and break the people up.

In the first and second week of June, the authorities from every Township of Mon State provided this type of training to all USDA members, Township and Village PDC authorities and firemen.

After training, the authorities formed various groups such as Anti-foreign Invasion Force', 'State Defense Force', 'People Vigorous Association', and others. The SPDC authorities also blamed to NLD and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi for creating instability in the country to get the international attention. Accordingly to the propaganda among the authorities, American and other foreign force could occupy Burma and therefore, they said that the people have main duty to protect these invasions.

After two weeks of training to their supporters, then the authorities organized the civilians and villagers in towns and villages to attend the similar training for another two weeks. As mentioned-above, accordingly to the propaganda of SPDC, all people especially men in the country need to know how to defense the country.

VI. USDA's Involvement In Human Rights Violations

In some villages and Townships, the Chairman of the community is appointed by USDA and therefore, those village chairman, town ward chairman are also Chairman of that community. Therefore, the Chairman of USDA also have two duties and they are more powerful than the ordinary village chairman, and no one can report about his activities. In this case, the USDA village/ town ward chairman involve more abuses against the local villagers.

As an instance,

The Chairman of USDA Kroke-pi (Kroke-poi in Mon) village, Thanphyuzayat Township demands 10,000 Kyat per villager who return back from Thailand as migrant workers, according to the people who have to pay.

"The Chairman, Nai Catoon is collecting 10, 000 Kyat per person. He claims that the police will locked-up them if they refuse to pay the demanded money. That's why every villager who return back from Thailand has to pay the money .He will get 100, 000 if ten people arrived the village within one day," a villager told.
Many villagers returned back and visited to their parents to Kroke-pi Village, because it is in easy travel in summer season, said a villager who had to pay 10, 000 Kyat on 19th February. This village was recognized as 'Union of Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) Village' by SPDC in January 2005 after the village chairman can bribe more to the high authorities and he is good to listen the order from the top.

The SPDC authorities also instructed the USDA organizations to compete each other and praise one organization which they like in order other organizations to follow the same suits. Normally, village USDA that the most village like, it is the most the villagers hate.

In most villages, the village headmen and CEC members of village USDA always collected money from the villagers for expenses when the senior SPDC officials came into village or for the development fund. In most cases, both USDA and the village headmen do not have any accountability for any expenses of their villagers' money.

In many cases, the USDA members also involved pressuring the villagers or farmers in order to cooperate with SPDC administrative officials.

SPDC also instructed to USDA members in Kyaikmayaw Township (in Mon State) in February 2003 meeting to force the local farmers in Township to sell the set amount of paddy at low price to complete the regime's yearly crop tax.

Kyaikmayaw Township's farmers lost a lot of their paddy in 2002 rainy season flood. As a result, most farmers did not complete their duty of selling the set amount of paddy, 10-12 baskets per acre. However the authorities in Township demanded the full amount of paddy from and at the end they pressured the farmers to find paddy and sell to them. The SPDC authorities also used the SPDC in town wards and village levels to pressure the farmers in their own communities to sell their remaining set paddy as quick as possible.

Therefore, the people in Mon State believes that the USDA is equal to SPDC and they are the supporting organizations for strengthening the power of the military rule. In other word, when the regime adopted a plan of 'divide and rule' among the people, USDA sides on the brutal regime. Like the people hate the SPDC authorities, they also hate the USDA. But the USDA members are in their own communities and so that the communities are clearly divided between USDA and non-USDA.

Conclusions/ Recommendations

1. Some international organizations and UN agencies in Burma are also thinking about working with USDA in the field of community development and other projects. USDA is clearly standing as 'SPDC-Organized Non Governmental Organization and it is not an independent civil society organizations, like Mon literature and culture committees, Christian religious organizations, and others. It is not so appropriate for international organizations or UN Agency to work with USDA. It will destroy the credit of international organizations.

2. Secondly, the international human rights organizations, labour organizations and women and children protection organizations must need not only to focus on human rights violations committed by SPDC authorities but also the members of USDA in various parts of Burma.

3. During 'Depeyin Massacre', hundreds of USD A members involved in beating and killing of NLD members. Therefore, the international judicial body must consider USDA as criminals. However, the SPDC has just hid that the USDA was involving in the massacre.

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1NUP is formed with former members of Burmese Socialist Programme Party (BSPP), which was led by coup leader Gen. Ne Win and ruled Burma for 26 years under the dictatorship until 1988.

2Even the regime promised to transfer power after elections, it failed to transfer and continued its own process of National Convention, which is not completed yet.

3The population is just estimation. Burma does not conduct consensus for many years, in this population, some number of ethnic nationalities population in the frontier areas will never be calculated.

4International Labour Organization (ILO) is still trying and coordinating with the regime in order to eradicate the use of forced labour in Burma. But the regime has very little political will in the implementation of eradication of forced labour.

5The daily income of the Burmese people is less than 1 US Dollar and so that Burma became a poorest country in the country, even it has rich natural resources.

6Conscription of unpaid porters is one-type of the most worst and serious 'forced labour' described by ILO and international human rights organizations.

7Hundreds of thousands of Burmese people have left to foreign to seek income as Burma has no proper economic development and massive unemployment under the rule of the regime.

8Over 60, 000 students learned Mon language in this 2005 Dry Season Mon Literacy Training,