Myanmar’s regime is planning to hold a pilot census in October in Monywa Township, the capital of the resistance stronghold of Sagaing Region, according to the junta’s regional chief minister Myat Kyaw.
The pilot in two Monywa town wards and eight villages is to test procedures and prepare for a nationwide census in October next year, said Myat Kyaw.
Ko Khant Wai Phyo of an anti-regime protest committee in Monywa Township said any census is likely to fail in Sagaing but the regime might use large numbers of troops to conduct the pilot scheme in a small area.
“Numerous villagers have been displaced by the regime. If it wants to do it for show, it will only conduct it in some places in the town. There is no chance that a study can be conducted across Sagaing. Most of the region is controlled by revolutionary forces,” he said.
Sagaing Region sees daily clashes, including in Monywa. The region has been battered by junta ground raids, air and artillery strikes and arson attacks.
Resistance groups in Monywa say they will disrupt any attempt to conduct a census.
A member of the Monywa-based resistance group Golden Eagle Force said: “They are trying to hold a poll to establish their administration. They are doing their job and we will do ours.”
The group led an attack on a junta checkpoint on the Union Highway in Monywa town on August 20. The group posted a video, claiming that four junta soldiers were killed and a gun was seized.
Resistance forces have used landmines to attack junta convoys and have frequently raided regime offices and security checkpoints, disrupting the regime’s administration.
Junta-appointed administrators in the Naga Self-Administered Zone and Kale, Katha, Sagaing, Ye-U, Shwebo and Homalin townships only attended Monday’s meeting online on the pilot census.
The regime plans to conduct the pilot census in 100 neighborhoods in 20 townships across the country.
Junta boss Min Aung Hlaing has promised a general election after a nationwide census in October 2024.
