The interim National Unity Government (NUG) has announced that it will sell government bonds to citizens inside Burma to finance its revolutionary efforts to overthrow the regime that seized power ten months ago during a coup.
Dr Tu Hkawng, NUG’s minister for natural resources and environmental conservation, said they will sell the bonds through the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO). To make this project a reality, NUG’s working closely with the Kachin Political Interim Coordination Team, he said.
Tu Hkawng told KNG that those who do not have the starting price of $100 for a bond can always buy it as a group. Denominations of $500, $1000 and $5000 are also for sale, all without interest.
“The bond sale is not only for the NUG, but for all revolutionary men across the country, including the KIO. We will distribute it to all groups. It will become a historic movement and people can tell the next generation how they participated in the revolution.”
He allayed the fears of locals living on the Chinese border of being arrested by the regime if they participate in the interim’s government scheme. Tu Hkawng said the KIO has experience in sending taxpayers’ money to its headquarters in Laiza without being caught by the military. It sent a hundred million kyat ($57K) from Hpakant to its headquarters in a day, he told KNG.
“The Burma Army has been trying to find out how the KIO/KIA (Kachin Independence Army) sends money to its headquarters. When we held the (Victorious Spring) lottery, they closed many private bank accounts and put pressure on the banks to monitor other accounts, so we are thinking about alternatives. Whatever it is, the revolution must continue,” he says.
During the lottery, NUG sold all 50,000 tickets within an hour of going online.
