Minister of Industry 1 AUNG Thaung of Burma

to have a news conference in Mandalay.

Aung Thaung is calling all the USDA members at Mandalay.

Industry Minister Aung Thaung said in the Myanmar-language Mirror newspaper that the government would retain a 51 percent stake in the factories while selling the remaining shares at one million kyat (763 dollars) each.

It is not known who else are in the committee, but the secretary of junta-sponsored Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) Aung Thaung was given the duty to spread the government?s propaganda within the country and Science and Technology minister Thaung was given the duty to spread the junta?s propaganda abroad.

Aung Thaung is a leading member of the government-backed mass organization Union Solidarity and Development Association, and Western diplomats and some former student leaders in Rangoon believe he is behind attacks by USDA thugs on pro-democracy activists, which have increased in number and ferocity since the UN Security Council vote.

Aung Thaung is well-off and well-connected, two advantages that ensure protection within Burma’s ruling echelons.

Aung Thaung is a strategic and influential player of the USDA, while Myint Swe is a favorite of the junta’s head, Snr-Gen Than Shwe,” the source said.

Aung Thaung has been accused by Burmese dissident groups of being one of the masterminds behind the 2003 ambush of a convoy carrying democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Depayin, Sagaing Division in northern Burma.

Aung Thaung is also said to be one of the richest persons in Burma.