Myanmar Military Proxy Party Close to Ultranationalists, Admits USDP Naypyitaw Chief

As Myanmar’s military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) steps up campaigning for the December-January election, its ties to the country’s hardline nationalists are becoming more evident than ever.

Ma Ba Tha has strong prospects [in the coming poll], said Hla Swe, chair of the party’s Naypyitaw chapter.

“Ma Ba Tha means the USDP, which is close to the nationalists,” he wrote in his Bullet Journal late last month.