By BA KAUNG / THE IRRAWADDY Burmese President Thein Sein, center, addresses the Parliament as Vice-Presidents Tin Aung Myint Oo, left, and Sai Mauk Kham, right, listen, in Naypyidaw on Aug 22, 2011. (Photo: Getty Images) For decades in Burma, the headmen of villages and wards used to work as government informers and were usually on the payroll of those close to the military junta. Directly appointed by local authorities, these village heads have long played a key role in the state apparatus and in oppressing any form of political dissent.