Mon Forum Journal June 2010-Generals’ Road Map to Power after the Elections

8/9/2019 Mon Forum Journal June 2010-Generals Road Map to Power after the Elections

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News

Pub l i cat i on o f The Hu m an Righ ts Foundat ion o f M on land (BURMA)

News, Report & Analysis of Human Rights Situation in Mon Terr itory and Other

Areas Southern Part of Burma

Issue No. 6/ 2010 June 30, 2010

T he M on F orumT he M on F orum

ContentsNews:

(1) SPDC fines villagers fordigging bomb-shelters for

their security inKyainnseikyi Township

(2) USDA election par ty

member ship fee causesfrustr ation amongst

member s

(3) Recent Karen-Burmesefighting tr iggers cur few

and tr avel restri ctions

Commentary:Generals Road Map to

Power after the Elections

Report:

We all mus t suffer:

Documentation of contin-

ued abuses dur ingKanbauk to Myaingkalay

pipeline r uptur es

MMSCFD-Cubic feet per day

ERI- Earth Rights Inter na-

tional

IB - Infantr y Battalion

LIB - Light Infantry Battalion

DKBA- Democratic Kar en

Buddhist Ar my

VPDC- Village Peace and

Development CouncilNMSP- New Mon State Party

SPDC- State Peace and

Development Council

TPDC- Township Peace and

Development Council

Some Acronymsin This Issue

A bo mb sh elter is seen in An an Kwin vil lage, K aren State

SPDC fines villagers for digging bomb-

shelters for their security in KyainnseikyiTownship

H UR FO M, Anan Kwin, July 1, 2010

Villagers have been digging bo mb shelters for pro tection against the in -

creasingly frequent skirmishes between the Burmese State Peace and

Develop ment Coun cil (SPDC) and the Karen National Lib eration Army

(KN LA) forces. H o wever according to the local SPDC commander the

pr esence of these shelters destabilizes the commun ity and has issued harsh

fines and threats o f for ced po rtering for families who already have bu ilt

or will built, shelters to improve their security.

Bomb ShelterSin ce the early of this May, villagers in Anan Kw in village,

Three Pagoda sub-township, Kyainn seikyi Township, Karen State, had

been bu ilding homemade bo mb shelters, or locally called cover-holes

(Kar Bar Kyin in Bur mese). H URFOMs field repo rter has found that

nearly every hou sehold at this po int has dug a bo mb-shelter. H ow ever,

according to the information from locals, un identified b attalion officers

from Tactical Command (TC) No. 2 based in Anan Kwin operating

un der Sou th E ast Command (SEC), have or dered villagers to stop bu ild


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Commentary

region unstable. Vi llagers who had already dug bomb-

shelters tagged with fines of twenty thou sand kyat per

completed bo mb-shelter. Villagers were also threat-

ened that if they con tinu ed digging bo mb-shelters,

besides a fine, they will be severely pu nished with

forced por tering.

U H tin, 60, a cultivator o f betel and cashew nu ts, was

no t pu nished with any fines because he did no t dig a

bo mb-shelter, but his son had to go to Anan Kwinmilitary base and pay the fine of twenty thou sand kyat

because of a bo mb shelter in his hou ses compo un d.

H is son is 28 years old and the father of two children:

For the perso ns who had already dug bo mb shelters,

they are fined twenty thou sand kyat per hole because

of their making the region un stable and causing the

locals to feel frightened. H eads of the households

had to come to the military base and p ay the fine. If

no t, the military officers said that the villagers wou ld

be punished in another ways. I dont know their

names. The current (military) officers are jus t within

the same age [range] o f my sons bu t they are very

rude.

Naw N aw Par, 39 , a mother of fou r children to ld

H URFO Ms field repo rter that her family had to p ay

Generals Road Map to P ower after the Elections

Althou gh the regime is allowing no n-regime spon so red po litical parties to form fo r the 201 0 elec-

tion s, the Generals already have their grip on po wer through its main p ow er base po litical party, theUnio n So lidarity and Development Party (U SDP) . All the l eaders in this n ew par ty are SPDC

generals, and is based from a well-kno wn regime co ntro lled social or ganization , the Unio n So lidarity

and Developm ent Association (U SDA), which claims it has 20 million members countrywide.

The USDP i ntends to get all po ssib le votes fro m the USD A members by all means. Fo r over 10

years the U SDA has forcibly registered all student s at high schools, un iversities and col leges, and

bo th retir ed and active government servants are also m embers. The USDA structur e per meates all

levels of gov ernment, from wards and villages, to districts to States and Divisions. Most military

leaders ar e the chairmen of a ll States and Division s level USDA p osi tion s. Therefore, the USDP is

guaranteed 100 % a majority w in in the coming election s, through the supp or t o f the USDA.

While no n-regime supp or ted po litical organization s inclu ding ethnic po litical parties are struggling

for party registration, gatherin g membership and seeking sufficient funding, the USD A has the full

supp or t fr om the current mili tary government. T hey have su fficien t fun ding for campaigning and

they have existing n etworks to get advanced votes for the USDP. C ur rently, the USDA is usin g a

dirt and t rick strategy of col lecting all advanced vo tes fro m its memb ers in or der to make su re U SDP

will win in the election s.

As a result , it is already clear that we kno w who wi ll win in this un fair and no t-free 20 1 0 election .

The USD P w ill win in majority as the regime did in the 20 08 peoples referendum for the con stitu-

tion ; They will coo rdinate with 25 % army represen tatives automatical ly guaranteed in the constitu-

tion , in b oth the Senate, the H ou se of R epresenta tives, and 33 % army representatives guaranteed ineach State or Division level parliament. They will hold abso lute po wer. N on- regime supp or ted

po litical parti es, even in the ethnic regions , cou ld no t win over 2 0 to 25 % of the seats.

There will b e a multi-party parl iamentary po litical system in Bur ma, b ut it w ill not be democratized

because the regime did no t p ro vide a space for democrats and ethn ic representatives (N ational

League for Democracy led by Daw Aun g San Suu Kyi and Uni on Natio nalities Alliance of ethnic

po litical parties) in the election . The parliaments will be qu iet with no op po sition vo ice and no

debate. Th e USDP will form a new govern ment and army representatives will ensur e there will be no

op po sition s in parliament. The Bu rmese Army wi ll stand outside of the parliament and ready to

seize po wer if there is demo cratic movement or instability on the streets. A new par liamentary

dictatorship po litical system will take p lace in B ur ma and the peop le will con tinu e to face similarsocial an d econ omic difficul ties that they do today.

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T he M on F orum(Issue No. 6/ 2010, June 30, 2010)News

the full fine amoun t even thou gh their b omb-shelter

was o nly p artially finished. As a result their family

has faced financial difficulty:

I saw the others digging bo mb-shelters, so I felt fright-

ened and did the same thin g. Only m y husband didthis work, in order to get protection if these armed

conflicts reoccur red. We have four children. We dug

the bo mb-shelter wi th the idea that it was harmless.

Now we have to be fined twenty thousand kyat even

thou gh we have no mon ey. If we cann ot afford the

fine, we have to be involved in p or tering. Thats go-

ing to be a prob lem.

U Ni Toe (fake name), 46, who relies on his home

stall for selling snacks and dinks to earn his income,

po ints o ut to H UR FOMs field reporter that the de-

mand for fun ding over the construction o f bo mb shel-ters is a telling in cident. H e sees this as a larger issu e

of being arbitrarily taxed by military for ces that shirk

all respo nsibility for the well being of local villagers:

Digging bo mb-shelters is comes fro m ou r past expe-

riences. We wo rry abo ut ou r families because the

armed con flicts sometimes occur near us. It is really

un fair to fine us for these activities. But even if we

had no t been fined for digging bo mb-shelters, we

wo uld be fin ed in ano ther ways. Since they invent a

cause and heap all the blame on us, n ow we have to

pay more. There are over 30 bo mb-shelters in the

village. They fined us twenty thousand kyat per bomb-

shelter, so they got a lot of money. One of the mili-

tary officers said, You neednt dig bo mb-shelters. We

will face death together. You are no t the only living

things [here]. That sounds so irrespon sible. In actu-

ality, they shou ld be leading us in these cases. I f we

had already had bomb-shelters, they cou ld have also

used them for security.

Anan Kwin village is considered a black area mean-

ing that SPD C forces have designated the area a free

fire zone in which they are able to seize supp lies and

land, extort arbitrary taxes, and even summarily ex-ecu te vil lagers w ith impu n ity. Accor din g to

H URFO M research, at least on e larger attack involv-

ing 30 to 50 SPDC soldiers in the area surr ou nding

Anan Kwin village occurs every month, mostly from

KNLA b rigade No .6 . Additionally An an Kwin vil-

lage will exp erience 1 to 5 smaller skirmishes between

SPDC and KNLA w ith in that same mon th. As result

villagers have experienced sever threats to their safety

livelihood with regularity.

Given Anan K wins pr ecarious po sition b etween the

battling forces of the KNLA and SPDC, the fines ex-acted here are likely to hit local residents hard. As noted

by N aw N aw Par, the loss o f 20, 00 0 kyat is signifi-

cant, especially as, accordin g to H URFO M estimates,

the average income for a family in one month might

on ly be b etween 20 ,00 0 and 30 ,000 kyat.

H URFOM wo uld like to the highlight the significance

of this situation , in which villagers have, in a large

part, taken it up on themselves to pr ovide for their own

pr otection. This agency, thou gh in this cased pu ni shed,signifies a effor t on the part of locals to retain con tro l

over their o wn securi ty, and thus lives, in a o ften vio -

lent and difficult living situatio n.

USDA election party member-ship fee causes frustrationamongst members

H U RFO M, Mon State, June 8, 2010

Township U nio n So lidarity and Developm ent Asso-

ciations (U SDA) in Mon State have begun charging

members a membership fee for raising party fun ds now

that the U SDA has reformed as a political party and

can no lon ger officially receive state fun ding.

H URFO M researchers have learned during in terviews

with USDA party members that that members fee is

relatively small, on ly 3 00 kyat, bu t has lead to conflict

and misun derstanding amongst the partys members

due to the unclear financial management o f this new

cost, and disagreement ov er the right to chage formembership fees when many members were forced to

join.

Prim e minister U Thein Sein, who has stepped down

from his military rol e as General Thein Sein, bu r re-

mains as p r ime minster, w as appoin ted chairman of

the USDA Party (U SDP) , officially annou nced in the

state run news on April 30 th. Un der the 2010 elec-

tion law released in , the new party wo uld o fficially

no t be allo wed to receive state fun ds during the cam-

paign, and instead app ears that it will be dependent

on drumming up its own financial support via mem-bership fees. While this change app ears to b e country-

wide H UR FOM is on ly able to confirm that thus far

this p ractice is b eing implemented in Mon State.

A USD A member and un iversity student resident i n

Mudon , Min Kyaw Lw in, explained his frustration that

others in the party have felt, As for me, the member-

ship fee, 300 kyat, is just the pr ice for a cup of tea.

H owever, I was no t the one who became a party mem-

ber by my own decision; I do not want to pay the

money. I t really annoys me. At this poin t I have no t

yet paid the fee.

Other members have repo rted similar cases, especially

amon gst students who became party members no t be-

cause of their intention bu t simply to function no r

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T he M on F orum(Issue No. 6/ 2010, June 30, 2010)News

mally in the schoo l system. Many students have been

party members since they were in Basic School; as on e

teacher in a Moulmein Tow nship high schoo l explained

to H URFOM, class teachers will force students to fill

ou t membership forms in class, with their success as

students often cont ingent on their decision to join theUSDA party.

The membership fee of 30 0 kyat is a on e time cost,

however, it will be charged to all current and future

members. When extrapo lated to the membership o f

24 million reported in the state run news paper the

New Light of Myanmar, the USD P will be collecting

nearly 7.2 billion kyat, or aro un d $7.3 million USD.

With on ly an estimated 50 million residents in Bur ma,

this extensive fun d w ill be derived from nearly half the

cou ntry, with members in the civil services, regular ci-

vilians and students. H aving never p reviously befor e

charged memb ership fees, the co llect ion of sm all

amou nts in to a large p oo l is already causing con cern

amon gst membership due to the lack of a clear-cut o r

accoun table system amon gst senio r members.

Now the [USDP] organizer started accounting for

membership fees in my village. Since there are many

memberships in the village, it [USDP} gets a lot of

funds, explained a young Mon USDP party member.

The problem is the organizer himself has bad back-

grou nd managing fund, [bu t] he was forced to resign

[from the] civil service because of [his] corruption.

Now he is managing [money] again [only this time]in the party fun ds, and that leads to a pr ob lem I think.

In deed, the financial in for mation shou ld be clear

enough for every member [ to understand].

Since the anno un cement for election preparatio ns resi-

dents fro m many areas in Mon State have assumed that

USDA will the backbo ne of the military cont rol led ci-

vilian representative govern ment. H aving been for med

in 199 3 and pr eviously op erated as a self declared no n-

governm ental community development or ganization

the USD A was heavily directed and fun ded by the State

Peace and Develo pment Cou ncil (SPD C). Despiteclaims of commun ity develop ment p rojects and fun d-

ing the USDA has been widely criticized as govern-

ment control led thug group used in p ro test supp res-

sion.

H owever due to in tense po lices of pressure for regular

civilians to join the party regardless of interest or de-

sire, an unconfirmed number are members to simply

make daily life easier and avoid harassment for m hard-

line USD A members or SPDC and military forces.

A 44 -year-old tuitio n teacher who also volun teers in a

community literacy course in Moulmein, Mon state,said of the U SDPs new fundin g strategy; The USD A

has existed since the time o f SPD C, a lo ng time ago.

The qu estion [n ow ] is abo ut funding. The organiza-

tion has taken the money from the public by many

methods but n o financial in form ation was shared to

the pu blic. It always bullied peop le since the or gani-

zation gets its ful l authority from the government.

Now [that] the organization [has] transformed intoa po litical party and it is impossible that party mem-

bers are willing to p ay a membership fee, I am sure

they [will] have to pay [because they are] forced, as

usual.

Recent Karen- Burmese fight-ing t riggers curfew and t ravel

restrictionsIMN A, TPP, June 18th:

The Burmese military Government has closed a po r-

tion o f road between Three Pagoda Pass (TPP) and

Thanp hyuzayart, and also o rdered a curfew for resi-

dents and travels of 5 PM. The curfew comes almost

a week after in creased attacks were carr ied out by the

Largest Karen insurgent grou p.

The cur few, bann ing all travel after 5 pm, is r eport-

edly disrup ting t ravel p lans and in creasing the risks

travelers must take on their journey.

According to a person who recently was returning

from TPP to Thanphyuzayart, They dont allow

[our] going after 5 pm. If someone else goes [later

then] the time they recognized, they [officers] already

gave the or der to shoot [that person] .

The potential for vio lence has risen, as on multip le

days this month, the Burmese army was attacked by

or fought the Karen Natio nal L iberation Army

(KNLA), a Karen insurgent for ce that has been fight-

ing the Burmese government since 1949 .

A car owner, who has made the trip multip le times,

told IMNA, After the military closed the road, trad-

ers and car ow ners have been seeing financial pro b-

lems. For [what is no rmally] a day jou rn ey, we now

have to go two o r three days. Because o f that pro b-

lem we have to sleep on the jo ur ney. Before, w e cou ld

go anywhere during the sunset time [after 5 pm] i f

we wanted to arr ive [so mewhere] earlier. [N ow] we

have to be afraid for if they fight each other again

when we sleep on the jou rney. N ow we cant t ravel

the way we want to and also it is affecting the car

ow ners econ omy.

On June 1 4th soldiers fro m Bu rmese Light Infantry

Cont inued o n page No . 14

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T he M on F orum(Issue No. 6/ 2010, June 30, 2010)Report

Introduction

The Kanbauk to Mayingkalaly gas pip eline has been in op eration for nearly 10 years and cont inu es to b e the

direct moti vating factor for hu man rights abuses com mitted by Burm ese mi litary battalions that inun date

the area. I n addition, despi te the op eration al status of the pipe line, villages and farms abu tting the pi peline

cont inu e to b e haunted by lasting effects of poor constru ction , techno logy, and a lack of interest on the part

of the current ju nta in persevering the environ ment or the lives and wellbeing of local residents.

In 20 09 H URFOMs released its yearly r eport,Laid Waste, which documents the extensive abuses committed

by local b attalion s durin g the construction p ro cess. Beyon d that r eport, the Kanbauk to Mayin gkalay gas

pipeline has received relatively little scru tiny o r attentio n fro m either international advocacy grou ps or human

rights documentation teams. This vacuu m is due in large part to the extreme security measures the militarization

of the pipe line area has created, and danger of op erating w ithin the Burmese militarys b lack areas, or free

fire zones in which the army is able steal fro m, abuse and execute locals with imp un ity. Due to this larger

absence of infor mation pertaining to the human rights situation s revolving arou nd the Kanbauk to Mayaying

Kalay gas pipeline, H URFO M will highlight the on goin g abuses committed by local battalion s and the high

rate of rup tures and explosio ns that occur along the pipeline due to po or construction.

Updating H UR FOMS documentatio n of the K-MK p ro ject, this report will document the diverse array of

human rights abuses that con tinu e to be committed by Battalions of the Bu rmese State Peace and Develop ment

Cou ncil (SPDC). These abuses predomin ately revolve aro un d maintenance of the pipeline, sustenance of the

nu mero us lo cal battalion s, and security threats, b oth r eal and perceived, thou gh which battalion s are able to

ostensib ly ju stify their pr esence.

Th e presence of K anbauk to Mayinkalay and a h istory of r uptures

In 200 0 the SPDC b ro ke groun d on what wo uld become the over 180 mi le Kanbauk to Myainkalay gas

pipeline. Branching from the Yadana gas pipeline1 at a Tot al Pipeline Center n ear Kanb uabk in nor thern

Yebyu Towns hip, The 20 inch wid e pipeline carries an average of 10 0 mill ion standard cub ic feet per day

(mmscfd) fo r 18 3 miles through no rthern Tenaaserim Division , Mon State and into so uthern Karen State.

The pipelin e then arrives at two twin cement factor ies in Myainkalay, b efor e a po rtio n of the gas is directed

tow ards a electric gas turb ine supp or ting Rangoo n.

Prio r to the con struction of the pipeline, the area had b een compo sed of various terrains and home to several

ethnic grou ps. At that time the B ur mese military on ly fielded 13 battalions along the length of the pipeline.

H owever as construction pr ogressed, 2 0 new battalio ns were introduced t o the area, bringin g the total

nu mber of battalions to be based arou nd the pipeline area to o ver 32 .

Rather then engaging insur gent grou ps or continu ing battles for dominance of the area, the pr esence of these

battalions has pr edominantly been used to maintain and secure the pipeline throu gh the use of local resources

and labo r.2,3 This has resul ted in systematized ab uses committed again st vil lagers due directly to the pr esence

of these Battalion s. Villagers have contin uo usly reported to H URFOM since the constru ction of t he pipeline

We all must suffer: Documentat ion of con tinued abuses

du ring Kanbuak to M ayingkalay pipeline ru ptures

1 The Burm ese militar y government s Yadana gas line, with t he support o f the Fre nch oil company Tota l, been f ound responsible for

signifi cant human r ights violat ions after int ense international scr utiny from Eart h R ights International (ERI) and Burma Campa ign UK.2 For mo re in depth e xploration of reasons for Militariz ation along t he pipeline see Laid Wastep 14-17.3 H UR FOM ha s copies of Burmese army document s dir ectly linking the r elationship betwee n these batt alions and their role in m aintaining

the pipe line, which can be m ade av ailable upon request

.

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T he M on F orum(Issue No. 6/ 2010, June 30, 2010)they have had to pay an average monthly sum of 3, 00 0 kyat per household as a security or maintenance

tax to local battalion s. Also highl ighted in Laid Waste are the intermittent demands for r equir ed sentry duty

and travel restrictio ns denying villagers access to their farms and plantations, though at those times n o app arent

reason has b een given by area battalio ns for filling these demands.

Since the Kanb auk to Mayaingkalay pipeline began op eration in 2 00 3, the most severe abuses committed by

battalions have revolved arou nd instances in which the pipeline ru ptured or exploded and battalion s sub sequentsecurity con cern s. Sin ce 200 3 the pipeline has been sub ject to frequent b reaches and explosi on s. These

br eaks have mo stly b een caused in part b y con struction error and th e low-tech pr ocess in which the pipeline

was cons tru cted and cur rently maintained. In that time HURFOM has learned that the length o f pipeline

from Kanb auk to Mayainkalay has experienced 13 large ru ptures, and 18 small rup tures. In 13 other instances,

the pipelin e has exploded or a gas leaking form a crack has igni ted. In 4 of the 13 cases, the bu rn ing gas

damaged acres of plantation and parts of villages.

In the cases of rup tures or explosions, residents of villages closest to the location of the disru ption often face

a gamut of abuses raging from for ced labor, pipeline s ecur ity duty, tax extor tion and repair cost s, and even

detention and to rtu re. 7 years after the completion of the pipeline, these abuses still cont inu e.

Current situation for pipeline ruptures and abuses

H UR FOM has focused this report

on the villages of Taung Pone in Ye

Township and Kwan H la village in

Mudon Township due to the high

rate o f ruptu res and explo sion s

with in t heir domains. As a result

of these pipeline disru ptions village

residents have faced an in crease in

abuses r anging from exto rtion of

repair an d security costs, to forcedlabo r, to arbitrary arrest, and travel

restrictions . In addition to abu ses

from local battalions, these

commun ities must face the impacts

escaping gas has on residentshealth

and the local environ ment.

The data collected for this report

has been gathered over a series of

months, with the exp ress pur po se

of illustrat ing the current condition s for residents l iving alo ng the pipel ine area. H UR FOM field reporters

were able to interview 17 families fro m 15 villages under con trol o f Light In fantry Battalion s ( LI B) No. 34 3and No. 10 6, fro m May 25 th to Ju ne 1 st. H owever due to the severe securit y r isks posed by commenting on

abuses commuted by SPDC forces, some personal information has been omitted and names have been altered

to protect the interviewees security.

In these cases, data was gather from r esidents and commun ity members w illing to speak abo ut their experiences.

While this repo rt focus on the two most disrupted vi llages, this repo rts data represents an on goin g and

cyclical prob lem for commun ities that have the misfor tun e to have had the pipeline bu ilt within their vicin ity.

Abuses related to gas ruptu res in Taung Pon Village and Kwan H la

village

In the last 2 months Taung Po n and Kw an H la villages have experienced an unu sually high number of

pipeline ru ptu res. The villages are bo th located less then 1 mile from the Kanb auk-Myin gkalay G as pipeline

and con tain nearly 80 0 households and 12 00 hou seholds resp ectively.

A po rtio n o f the Kanb auk to Myaing K alay natural gas p ip elin e is

seen expo sed after a ru ptu re near Lamin e Sub -township , Ye

Townsh ip , Mon State

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T he M on F orum(Issue No. 6/ 2010, June 30, 2010)In these instances of pipeline ruptu res, the impacts of these events have engendered the use of three categories

abuse by SP DC forces. Soldiers w ill arbitrary arrest villagers and commun ity leaders, simply due to their

commun ity r ole or the villages pr oximity to the blast site, which to mil itary forces makes them defacto

susp ects. Additionally, for pipeline repair pu rp oses and to guard against blasts, soldiers will pr ess locals into

forced lab or and po rtering to make repairs, and to un dertake 24 hr guard shifts withou t supp or t or

compensat ion . L astly villagers w ill someti mes be un able to access their o wn farms and plantation s, o r face

travel restrictions beyond the village, over a battalions perceived security concern.

Arbitrary arrest and detention:

In the most recent pi peline ruptu re in Taun g Pon village, the gas ignit ed and villagers described to a HU RFO M

field report er how a huge flame that shot into the sky and bur ned for 2 and a half hou rs.

As a result of the explosion, Colonel

K hin Maun g Cho fro m Light

In fantry Battalion (LI B) N o. 343based in Ar Yu Taun g village,

Northern Ye, called a meeting on

May 21 st wi th village peace and

develop ment coun cils (VPD Cs)

that are lo cated alon g the gas

pipelin e, and sp ecifically b lamed the

coun c i l s fo r the exp lo s io n .

Accor ding to a member of a VPD C

staff, the colon el issued an order

that if another explosio n occur red

in any ter ritory o f a village, all the

village headmen from the village inwhich the explosion occur red must

be jailed.4

All vill age leaders who [ have been

made to] take resp on sibility for the

gas pipeline must be sent to jail if

any explosion occurs in any village, an d must pay for the compensation, explained a villager who is close to

a headmans staff but requ ested ano nymity due to the sensitivity o f the sub ject. He [the colon el] p ressured

us. N o o ne [from the VPDC] dares to complain agains t that command in the meetin g.

Fro m ano ther account in the same village, a member o f the VPD C staff in Ye Township, who pr eferred to

remain ano nymou s, described the local comm anders reaction to the pipel ine explosion:

I u sually attend the meeting w ith chairman and secretary when the milit ary call a blamin g meeting.When an exp losi on occur red in Taung Bone vil lage on May 19 th, Colon el Khing Maung Cho from

No. 343 LI B based in Northern Ye Tow nship, called a meeting for all village headmen from Northern

and Easter n parts of Ye Tow n ship. H e blamed that many mor e crimes and violence are in creasing

while he i s on duty in this r egion . H e accused t hat som e Eastern vi llages are connected with the

KN U and [are] suppo rting to them. The military will take action on those villages very soon . Besides,

he said, m ost of village headmen are not dutiful . T he p ipeline is exp loded by bo mb attacks. Many

tow ns alon g the gas pipeline, H pa-Ann cement factory and Yango n to wn ships gets the electricity

from this gas pipeline. So it is very impo rtant to be secured. If there will be another explosion in that

pipeline in any village territo ry, all villages headmen must be in jailed. T he meeting was on ly o ne-

way commun ication since n o v illage headmen cou ld talk back to the colonel.

4 H URFOM has ma naged to collect copies of the order issued by LIB No . 343, wich can be ma de available upon r equest.5 Electio n efforts by t he SPDC h ave been det ailed in H UR FO Ms monthly reports fr om November, December an d January, a mongst

which there has bee n no previous accounts of judicial rest ra int.

A vil lager from B ay Lamin e vil lage descri bes h is exper iences

bein g used as un paid lab or by L IB No. 106 in n ort hern Ye


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T he M on F orum(Issue No. 6/ 2010, June 30, 2010)One unusual circumstance that w arrants n ote is the recent ins tance of an explos ion occurrin g near Kw an

H lar village, Mudon Township , bu t rather then the expected reaction of arresting lo cal leaders, villagers have

repo rted that n o on e has yet been arrested. Many local s su spect that this sudden reversal is related to the

SPDCs effo rt to raise the curre nt military regimes i mage in the eyes o f civilians p rior to the election .5

After the ru ptu re of the gas pipeline in Kanb auk-Myingkalay region near Kw an Hlar village, Mu don Tow nship,

the news co llectors in that regio n documented the situation .Villagers were surp rised by the fact that even

thou gh the ru ptu re o f the gas pipeline occurred, un like in pr eviou s ru ptu res, there were no accusations m adeor arrests of civilians. One Kwan H lar resident, Maun g Thant Z aw, 26 , w ho has just fin ished his schoo l, told

a HUR FOM field repor ter:

The situat ion in the previou s cases differs fro m no w. The locals were arrested and accu sed ou t of

suspicio n by sur roun ding houses at the same night . After that, all had to go to the office of the

village-in -charge [VPD C office] for the bomber to be deduced. I f there was no r esol utio n, the

villagers had to take on that risk[and] had to compensate for the damage. These pr oc esses have

always occurred after any ru ptu re of the gas pipelin e. At this t ime there has been no thing special till

today [the interview was conducted on June 3 rd].

On June 3 rd, even tho ugh the lo cal troop s, the civilian secur ity grou ps and the government author ities have

yet to resp on ded to the villagers b y giving any reaction o r pu nishment, a major from LIB N o. 62, a lo calbattalion, blamed a member of the

TPDC for no t caring abo ut the local

security and frequent ru ptu r es of gas

pip elines as a resul t of a lapse in

attention . The above you th said the

major is a member of TPD C who is

supposed to be r espon sible for village

militia. Regarding this case, he said

as the follow ing describin g how the

major blamed. A yo uth fro m the

village, who p referre d to remain

un named, recou nted the accusation heheard as the major passed the teashop

he was in, You , village authorities, did

no t report regularly what happens and

what is st range in your regi on , so it

happens this way. Not kno wing what

happ ens in you r region over time

shows you r village does n ot wor k.

Yangon has been lacking electr icity for

3 days because of this ru ptu re, s o the higher officials b lame us.

The lack of action on the part o f the local battalions in the face o f a pi pe line rup ture has raised qu estion s

amon gst lo cal grou ps. Civilians who are familiar with poli tical issues have raised qu estion s abo ut this judicialrestraint as a po litical tactic by the government organization al strategy during the pr e-election period.

H owever, mo st civilians said thi s sudden absence of accusations is a doub t ful ou tcome to the situation. A

retired Township level member of NMSP who served for 12 years p ro viding po litical analysis, explained to a

H URFOM field repo rter what he believes the un expected absence o f arrests means:

There is n o immediate reaction against the civilians after the ru ptu re, so this is st range [ considering

it is] dur ing election campaign perio d. Because [p revio usly] on ly in Kwan Hlar village, there were

6 times when the gas pipeline ru ptu red. People are arrested in every ru ptu re. The least punishment

is that civilians collected t he money and paid the fee for the damage. No reaction or pu nishment

means they don t want a tarn i shed image and hate fro m the civilians . Therefore, you asked m e if

this case was related to the comin g election , so I answer yes, it was.

A Mon man who wo rks as a po litical analyst in Mudon town and who monitors the current po litical situation

in the region said:

Padd y farmers ar e seen in th eir f ield s close to the Kanb auk to

Myainag Kalay natu ral g as pipeli ne in n ort hern Ye Townsh ip ,Mon State

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T he M on F orum(Issue No. 6/ 2010, June 30, 2010)

I dou bted this case. It is no t the same as the previo us ru ptu re. Only their [ government] technicians

and professionals from the company respo nsible for the gas pipeline are secretly repair ing the ru ptu re.

There were some arrests and accusations during the previous ruptures. Now if they give any

pu nishment to thecivilians, the civilians do no t want to favor them in the coming election . It is tooearly to say because the gas pi peline is still being repaired. After that no o ne can guess what wi ll

happen. I f the curved tail of a dog comes str aight, it lasts ju st a moment. We n eed time.

The above documen t is an or der fro m SPDC LIB No. 343 wh ich d emand s that resi dents attend ameetin g whi ch with the vil lages head man after a recen t pip elin e explo sio n in Yougalay vil lage, Ye

Townshi p

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T he M on F orum(Issue No. 6/ 2010, June 30, 2010)A retired member of the SPDC go vernmental staff who analyzed the situation, stated to H UR FO M that the

situation m akes little sense when comparing the cur ren t situation w ith the ru ptu re of the gas pipeline in

Northern Ye on May 19 th:

If the gov ernment w ants to make their activities on the civilians go od and po pu lar durin g the pre-

election p eriod, why did they no t stop their abu ses at the ru ptu re in Taung Pon village? It is

meanin gless that they are campaign ing in a selected area. I think we at least have to com p ensate for

the damage as usual. After the repairing of the gas pipeline, like the previous ru ptures, unfair fin ancialdemands 20 00 0 to 3000 0 [kyat] per hou sehold will occur. Anyhow, blockin g the ro ads and no t

allow [villagers ] to go to their farms is now happ enin g. And then paying 3,00 0 [kyat] per month

to military [ LI B] N o. 31 8 as security fee is still on e of the abu ses put on us. These abuses are directly

related to this gas pipeline.

Forced labor, guard duty and extortion

Villagers, regardless of their relation to o r innocence in an explosion, inevitably face abu ses by soldiers throu gh

forced po rtering and labo r, guard duty and extortion o f fees.Lo cal battalions often issue orders to communitiesrequ irin g locals to stand gu ard fo r 24 hr ro tat ing shifts for sections of the p ipeline. After a breach residents

are forced to pay a repair cost ostensib ly to cover sup plies and labo r for the wo rk. H owever these costs are

often arbi trary amou nts and villagers

forced to actually make the repairs

never receive payment or

com pen sation s for their labor.

Villagers that cann ot p ay their way

ou t of the work duty for the battalion

must co nsum e their own meager

resour ces and time making repairs to

the pipel ine and carryin g materials

and supp l ie s . Th i s abuse i sdevastating to commun ities lower

income families that make up the

large major ity of residents , and who

wo uld otherwise be using their time

trying to earn a daily income.

On May 25 th the colon el who had

threaten ed headmen in Taun g Pon

village, ordered villagers to guard the

pipeline in continuous 24 hou r shifts,

col lected taxes from vill agers and

hired peop l e for pipeline secur i ty, said a staff memb er who had attended the meeting w ith his chairman onMay 18 th .The or der fo r ro tating forced labor affects villagers discriminately based on their abili ty to avo id

the or der through connections to local government administration or by hiring peop le to take their p lace. As

a result families that are already living o n a subsistence income must leave their jobs and wo rk, to fill their

guard ro le withou t payment or compensation.

Mi Khin San Myint , 38 , from Bae LaMu village, no rthern Ye Township, Mon State, has Three Children (the

youn gest on e is only eight mont hs old) and is dependent on her husbands work at a rubb er p lantation for

income. She explain ed how difficult it has been to feed her family after the local battalion issued orders to her

village to make p ipeline repairs:

It is n ow o nly my husband who feeds us my children and me. We already expected that

there wo uld b e a tax or r ou tine pipeline guard after we heard pipeline explosio n because we

have experi enced these same circumstances b efor e. N ow t he milit ary or dered [ the] village

headmen to again take action for p ipeline secur ity. Every hou sehold has to pay 5 ,000 kyats

to the vill age headmen on ce a mon th if the hou sehold cann ot gu ard the pipeli ne. We have

to pay for village security and village guard supp or t [i.e. meals]. Sometimes when the [LI B

A securit y guard sh ack is seen in a villag ers field near th e gas

pip elin e, under the comman d of LIB N o. 588 whi ch is b ased near

Taung Pon vi ll age, nor thern Ye, Mon State

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T he M on F orum(Issue No. 6/ 2010, June 30, 2010)No.] 34 3 co mes to the

village they take

chickens and ducks

We, the villagers, have

to pay for that fee. It is

arou n d mor e than

4,00 0 kyat a mon th.Last mon th we had to

pay fo r 6 Patetar of

po rk (Burmese weight,

1 patetar = 1.5 Kg), as

demanded b y Sergeant

Maun g Pyone [know n

by locals as Saya Gyi].

Every household has to

pay bi te by bi te

gradually, but i t is

aroun d 4,000 to 5,000

kyat a mon th. T hisamou nt is not included

fo r p ipelin e securi ty

costs of 5,000 kyat a month As a result, the bu dget for our food is r educed because of

those fees. N ow, I cann ot wo rk, but on ly depend on my husbands income. H is in come

does not cover [costs] fo r the whole family. I am so sad when I hear my chil dren crying

for food they cann ot eat daily. Bu t I can do no thing for them. What a terr ib le life it is

livin g here. No m atter the gas pip eline is ruptured or spilled out, no thing is good for us.

We, the vi llagers, always have to pay for the securi ty fees or guard the pipeline. Besides,

we fear for the authorities who u sually to r ture the villagers w ithou t evidence regarding

the pipelin e exp losion . No on e can argue or complain about the situation. We all must

suffer fro m these terr ible tre atments and p ay mon ey to them as we liv e in here.

Pho Kyin , 42 , who lives in H ni n Sone village, no rt hern Ye Tow nship, Mo n State, has no cho ice bu t to

wo rk for his income as a day labo r often being hired to stand in o ther peoples stead, guarding the pipeline

or carrying ou t manual labo r:

I w or k ever y job. I ow n no thing bu t wo rk as a hired wo rker. My daily incom e is ju st

enough for my daily food. I always got h ired to gu ard pipeline, railway and m otor way

by the military, LI B 343. My job s are always with full of risks, but I have to wo rk for my

children. T here are 90 to 1 00 ho useholds in my village. Our headman is a Karean guy

named Saw K aPaw, aged 51. H e said our village has to guard the pipeline as well even

thou gh the pipeline was no t exp loded near our village because the colon el commended

us to do so. Each hou sehold has to guard two days, six people per village to take pipeline

securi ty. I u sually get hired to guard the pip eline. Peop le have to pay the village headman

5,00 0 kyat to pass their duty if they do no t want to gu ard the pipeline. But I o nly get

3,00 0 kyat per night when the headman hires me. But my duty is n ot so easy as it lo oks.

When the army found out I am sleeping or away for a while in duty time, they will insult

me for sure. B esides, I have to serve them like setting fire, bo iling water, bu ying foo d and

so o n while they monito r me on duty. I did that when the captain Lay Myint from LIB

34 3 came to my guard hun t. I canno t choose my wo rk. I have to do the job I get. On e

thing Im afraid of is when the author ities search for criminals; they use to catch inno cent

peo ple. I always have to be careful and try no t to b e involved. A villager from my village,

Saw Kyaw Pho , w ho was arrested and tor tured by the military, is now mad. I t is really

un nerving. I no t on ly have to wo rry abou t foo d bu t also for those abuses. But I have no

choice b ecaus e I l ive near the gas pi peline area.

A member of t he VPD C staff in Ye Township , who preferred to remain ano nymous, also told HU RFOM

his experience at the meeting in Taung Pon village:

These trenches were d ug b y local resid ents th ro ug h their farml and,

who forced to wor k by L IB No . 343 near Ayu-Taung vi ll age, Ye


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T he M on F orum(Issue No. 6/ 2010, June 30, 2010)Besides, he o rdered that village headmen have to take t ax from the villagers and pay for

the pipeline damage. And also the residents have to guard alon g eastern roadside, bridges,

and railway. Six to eight m ember s per v illage and 24 hour s a day have to take

respon sibility for security. I f there is no t a guard hunt, the village has to arrange for it by

itself. We started guarding since after that meeting, bu t we don t kno w when it w ill be

ended. If t he family canno t gu ard, it has to pay the mon ey to hire ano ther person . And

the colon el o rdered if the monitoring military find ou t a guard team who is absent from

duty, all the villagers wi ll be pun ished. Actually, the meeting I attended was just pressure

and orders, bu t no discussion .

Travel restrictions

Villagers also face travel restrictions due to suspected collabo ration with insur gents or due to pro ximity

to the pipeline b reach. In these cases residents who make their daily incom e fro m farming and cultivation

can face a drastic loss o f in come from langu ishing crops and fields.

Accor ding to Maun g Thant Zaw, after the pipeline ru ptu re in Kwan H lar, some villagers were denied

access to t heir p addy fields du e to their pro ximity to the gas pipeline. The restriction comes as famersno rmally wo uld begin fertilizing their fields dur ing rainy season:

Over 40 acr es of p addy fields n ear the ru ptu red part of the gas pipelin e was defined as a restricted zon e

and a grou p o f military technicians s tarted repairin g the damage. The o wn ers of these paddy fields are

Nai Pan Tu n, Mi Ma May and Nai Chit Thein. They are no t allowed to go to their farms. Limitin g

movement i s not go od even thou gh there is no accus ations o r arrests. Now we have to start farming.

We have to pr epare the field land b y mixing it with cow feces. The local farmers and residen ts cant go

to their wo rks because of the mo vement restrictions that have been or dered. In my opin ion, I mean as

an op inio n on the goo d aspects, limiting movement and defin ing a restrict ed zone is better than arrests

and accusa tion s of civilians and u nfairly collecting mon ey for the damage. [H o wever] in the past, we

havent b een able to stay this way.

H ealth and Environmental impacts from gas ruptures in Taung Ponand Kwan H lar villages

Besides the human rights abuses committed by local battalions, the physical impacts of leaking gas on

bo th the health of residents and the local environ ment shou ld be serious ly considered as kno ck on abuses

generated b y the presence of the pip eline.

As no ted above, ruptu res and

explo s ion s are o f ten large

volu mes of gas that will vent

from pipelines, so metimes for

months on end without anyeffort to make repairs. V illagers

have little to no op tion to avoid

no xiou s fum es, as they mu st

con t inue to wor k for thei r

survival and live in the presence

of the fumes. As most incomes

are derived fro m farming and day

labo r, vil lagers w o r k is

in exor ably conn ected to the

stabil i ty of the local

environ ment.

In the instance of on e rupture of

the gas pipeline n ear Taun g Pon

village, and gas leakin g from

pipeline near Kw an H la village,

in May, H U RFOM interviewed t wo heath wor kers w ho described the i mpacts they encoun tered when

treating villagers after exposure to gas fro m pi peline br eaches.

Some vil lagers are seen weari ng masks to avoid breathin g gas

after the last natural gas pip elin e ru ptu re i n Lamine Sub -

townsh ip , Mon State

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T he M on F orum(Issue No. 6/ 2010, June 30, 2010)Accor ding to data gathered by health w or kers in past rup tures, residents and villagers from neighbo ring

villages that inhaled the gas, experienced a range of s ide effects dependin g on the length o f time they were

exposed, an d the volume of gas was that they were br eathing. In May health wo rkers recorded the effects

on civilians from two rup tures that occur red civilians in Taun g Pon village and its surro undin gs. R epo rtedly

villagers inhaled the no xiou s o dors emitted from the gas pipeline rup tu re for several hour s. A health

wo rker from Sa Khan Gyi village, TanPhyuzayat Tow nship who treats the patients in mos t villages explained

his experien ce on how the gas caused side effects amon gst the victims:

When I was attending the medical collage, I studied the possible impacts on people

who inhale this sor t of gases in large amou nt Gas leaks rarely occurred in our region

(most cases were ru ptu res). I have encou ntered [in stances where] the leaking gas caught

fire and caused rup tures three times includ ing this on e.For people who are sensitive to

even gas fr om a lighter, the smel l released from nu mero us- cub ic- feet-pressu re pipeline

for at least two to five hou rs is t errib le. No o ne can live within 1,0 00 feet [of the

venting gas]. Dur ing past ru ptu res in La Mine village, it so un ded Ta shel shel and you

could taste the smell and hear t he soun d over a half-mile distant. At that time, old

wo men and asthmatic person s suffered from as thma, so I had to t reat them fo r difficulty

br eathing. They said that they in haled the gas from the air which is released during the

ru ptu re, fo r a long time, and I realized the sympto m s were due to that cause. Otherpo ssible symptoms regarding gas inhalation are dro wsiness, b ro nchitis, perip heral edema

(swelling o f hands and legs), etc. T hese victims are those peop le who are s ensitive to

smells and have an un derlining diseases. It is no t simil ar to allergy, for ins tance, where

peop le who are sensitive to smel l of bed bu gs and stro ng smellin g pesticides such as

endrin . So me people suffer fro m sneezing and ton sillit is due to po llens released from

seasonal flowers. Accord ing to my experience of the ru ptu re in La Mine, the smell still

remained in neighbo ring villages within on e mile for 3 to 4 days after the ru ptu re. This

is due to r epair delays from the government.

A former health worker, 34, fro m the NMSP, who has 8 years of service in medical care, also describe to

H URFOM how methan e expo sure can impact residents with respirator y illnesses as well as people who

experience longer t erm expo sure:

The natural gas in cludes large amoun t of m ethane. It can spread through the air fro m 3

days to on e week after the ru ptu re depending on the strength o f the ru ptu re. When I

was in Kw an H la village, I exper ienced the smell. The smell has direct affects on the

respiratory system. Persons with weak lun gs and un derlin ing [tendency towards] asthma

are suscept ible to this smell. B abies and the old p eople whose resistance i s weak feel

drowsin ess. Everyone can smell n othing else. I fou nd that, in Kw an H las rup ture,

peop le went away for a couple of days when they tasted the smell.

Methane, wh ich is chemically heavier then o xygen, wi ll sin k to the lowest levels o f an enclo sed space or

ro om. In such situations where there is lit tle venti lation o r in a closed of space like a ro o m, there is

po tential for people who sleep or l ie on the grou nd to actually suffocate due to an over abun dance ofmethane in the air.

Extensive environ mental r esearch has been carr ied o ut on similar gas projects such as Yadana and Yetagun

south of K anbuak, and the Shwae fields in Arkan st ate. In Earth Right s In ternation als (ER I) 2 00 9

groundbr eaking repo rt Totally Denial, findings in dicate that the failur e to adequately respo nd to

environ mental assessments con ducted along the Yadana con stru ctio n site have long t erm damaging effects

on local ecosystems. While its app arent that such fin dings are cou ld likely be extrapo lated to the similar

Kanb auk to Mayin gkalay pipeline , there is a no table lack of research do ne o n the enviro nmen tal impact

of leakin g gas in the ecos ystems of southern Burma6.

A 31 year-old Mon man who lives in La Mine town and has know ledge of the lo cal envir on ment, explained

his experi ence regarding negative environ mental impacts after ever y ruptu re:

6 Methane, o ne of the pr edomin ant compo nent s of natural gas, is n oted for is significant abi lity to trap heat

and con sidered a significant greenhou se gas, i s a leading factor in globa

l warming.

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T he M on F orum(Issue No. 6/ 2010, June 30, 2010)If the gas leaks (fro m the pipeline) , it is expected sixty p ercent to ruptu re. In bo th ruptu res

near ou r village, first, it leaked (from the pipe) and created bu bb les in the water and smelled

bad, and then i t ruptu red three days after. Leaking is a s low pr ocess fro m on e crack due to

high p ressu r e, so pip es cant stan d [that p ressu re] even if they are made o f i ro n. In the

second ru ptu re, the gas caught fire and nearb y ru bb er plantation s were set on fire. Not just

gas but also whatever begins to bu rn pr oduces carbo n dioxide. This makes more greenhouse

gases in atmosphere. Moreover, gas b ur ning is no t like other fuels.

It creates a huge flame that bu rn s po werfully, so it is terr ible to be near. If there is a ruptu re

near your quarter o r village, you cant really use a lighter or st art a fire. We have to w arn

(the civil ians) a lo t. Every where can catch fire because the sour ce of fire, the gas, is already

in the air. When the rubb er p lantations were on fire, the fires qui ckly sp read from on e place

to ano ther as the gas is in the su r roun ding air. When I was w orking abroad ( Singapore),

the factor y also used (n atur al) gas. What I learned about the gas used there is that methane

contained [in the gas] is in largest amou nt. Methane doesnt stay in p ipeline qu ietly, and it

always tries to come ou t. Therefore, frequent ru ptu res of gas pipeline are due to the pressure

of that methane gas and pipelinespoo r welding. Th is is just my o wn o pi nion . They

(people in Singapore) wo rk hard to maintain gas pipeli ne not to allow methane come ou t

or leak. As I kn ew, they detect methane gas leaks using remote sensing devices. I think

these (techno logies) are no t u sed here.

Conclusion

For 10 years human rights abu ses practiced by nu mero us battalio ns of the Burmese SPDC have gon e

un checked. Abuses that H UR FO M in itially documented durin g the const ruction of the pipeline have shifted

tow ards lon ger term broad b ased op eration al abuses th at are part of a daily rou tine throughout the regio n

surro un ding the pipeline. As breaches and explosio ns have occurred alon g the pi peline, villagers and community

leaders have paid the price for circumstances b eyon d their con trol . Often facing t hreats, abuse, and arrest,

village headman are threatened o r arrested despite an y legitimate in volvement in the pipeline disrup tio n.

Villagers p ay the price through forced labo r, requ ired century duty, and arbit rary repair and up keep costs,

destroyin g the po ssible liveliho ods of those who already struggle most wit h daily survival. And for peoplewho live close to the pipeline will suffer bo th heal th and environ mental impacts due to exp o sure to gas

fumes, as we ll as travel restriction s and access to their ow n farms.

In the climate of the 20 10 p re election period it is increasingly impo rtant to recognize the significant n eed for

change or respon sibility in these regions that are often over looked. In particular the un abated abuses arou nd

areas where the current and futu re governm ents will st and to receive significant pr ofit, must b e addressed,

otherwise regardless o f the success o r failu re o f the democratic process, the new government wi ll be equally

culpab le for abuses as its pr edecesso rs.

Battalion ( LIB) No . 28 4 were inju red when, be-

tween Thaun g Sorn and Koung Kan villages, sol-

diers from the KNLA who had seen the Burmese

un it coming, threw a pressur e-triggered claymore

and began shooting. On June 7th. L IB No. 28 4

forces had been previously attacked by KN LA

forces between TPP and Thanp hyuzayart.

The attack most widely covered by recent news

media was on June 10th when a Burmese truck

w as attacked n ear Jap an To un g vill age,

Thanp hyuzayart Township, killing 11 soldiers andinju ring 20 . The same day 1 LIB No. 28 4 soldier

was killed and 2 more injured when the KNLA

fou ght the un it near Myinetharyar village close to

TPP.

These attacks, which have occur red along the ro ads,have also included a supp ly raid. Also on Jun e 10 th,

KN LA Battalion 20 1 stripped Burmese provision s

from two Burmese supply trucks in Kaw-ka-reik

Township , said a KN U spoke person, Saw Thair Nay.

The result has been distinct rise in tension over

KN LA presence in the area. In Myawaddy, a large

bo rder and trade tow n abu tting Thailands town of

Mae Sot, people are afraid to leave their homes in

the evenings out.

One Myawaddy resident exp lains, They [B ur mesesoldiers] parole the tow n, with their u niforms on.

Its been happening [for] about a week, we never

saw like that before.

N ews from page N o.4

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Information on HURFOM and

Invitation for Fee dbacks from Rea ders

Dear Readers,

The Hum an Rig hts Foundatio n of Monland (HURFOM) was found ed in 1995 b y a gr oup of you ng Monpeople . Th e m ain o bjecti ves of HURFOM are :

- m onitor ing the hum an righ ts situ ati ons in Mon ter rit or y and other areas Sout hern Bur ma,

- pr otecting and pr omo ting inter nationally recogn ized hum an r ights in Bur ma

In or der to imp lemen t th ese objectiv es, HURFOM pro duces th e month ly Mon Forum new sletter.

If publicati on is de layed it is be cause w e ar e waiti ng t o c onfir m infor m ati on, and it com es with our

heart felt apo logi es.

We encourage you to wr ite to us if you hav e f eedback or if you know som eone who you think

w ould like to r eceive t he newslet ter . Ple ase email or m ail a name and addre ss to:

HURFOM, P. O. Box 2237, Gener al Post Offi ce

Bangko k 10501, THAILAND

E-m ail : hur fomc ontact @yaho o.com

Website: htt p://ww w.re hmonnya.or g

Wit h regard s,

DirectorHuman Righ ts Foundat ion of Mo nland

H UR FO M, Kawkareik, June 25, 2010

Passengers an d merchants traveling alon g the Zami

River have to ld H URFOMs field report er that sol-

diers from B ur mese army Light In fant ry Battalio n

(LI B) No. 403 , are arbitrarily increasing travel taxes

at their checkpo int alo ng the eastern bank o f the Zami

river at Phaya Ngote Toe village, Three Pagoda Pass

(TPP). Tr avelers report the additional tax is damag-

ing financial bu rden, as travel alon g the river requ ires

70 % of the travel cost to be spend on checkpo int tax-

es.

LIB N o. 40 3 op erates under Militar y Operations

Man agement C omman d (MO MC) or SaKaK ha

No.8 , as a supp ort battalion away fro m the State Peace

and Developm ent Cou ncils (SPD C) fro nt l ine con -

flicts. Its checkpoint at Phaya Gnote Toe can be

reached directly by riverboat from TP P, which con-

tinu es on to Kyarinn seikyi Township , Karen State.

Beginnin g in early Jun e LIB No. 40 3 opened for the

rainy seaso n, when bo ats are able to travel the Zami

River, wi th a Region Pass tax higher then pr eviou s

years, accordin g to locals who use the rou te, merchants

from other r egions, and passengers m oving up and

down the river.

In pr eviou s years the agreed on amou nt to charge

riverboats was a maximum of 1 ,0 00 kyat p er passen-

ger at the other riverside checkpo int s bel on ging to

other Bur mese battalions and those of the New Mon

State Party ( NMSP), the Karen Nationa l Liberation

Army (KN LA), the Karen Peace Fo rce (KPF) , and

Democratic Karen Bu ddhist Army (D KBA). R egard-

ing this arbitrary increase in LI B No. 40 3s travel tax,

Ma Khin Myo (fake name),4 0, who tr avels to

Kyarinnseikyi Township for business using this ro ute,

told H UR FOMs field reporter:

In pr evious years, they did no t levy as much [o f a

tax] as this year. Each bo at own er was paid a to-tal of 30 00 0 [kyat] to 31,00 0 [ kyat] [to cover]

the combin atio n of the boats fee an d the check-

po int taxes. But , now, B ur mese check-poin t does

no t accept the money fro m the bo at and car own -

ers. They cou nt the nu mber of passengers and levy

tax of 200 0 to 3 00 0 kyat per head. I have to go

to Three Pago das Pass at least two ti mes per year

because of p ersonal bu siness. In the past, taxa-

tion pr ob lems were reso lved by the bo ats crews

or cars drivers. Bu t this time, it is q uite

un fair. The Z ami voyage will be wi dely used in

coming rain y seaso n. I dont know how b ad itwill be at that time.

Accor ding to Nai Kon Aung (fake name) , 45 , a cur-

rent NMSP member who works a regio nal military

Tax incr ease at SPD C checkpoint on Zami R iver, finan -

cial burden for tr avelers and merchants

15


16/16

T he M on F orum

Printed MatterAddress Corr ectio n Requ ired

HURFOMP. O. Box 2237General Post Office

Bangkok 10501, THAILANDE-m ail : hur fomco ntact @yaho o.comhttp://www.rehmonnya.org

T he M on F orum(Issue No. 6/ 2010, June 30, 2010)

activities ob server:

The Burmese army has a

hab it that they do as they

please when they are on dutyin the areas like this the

areas near the bo rder and the

areas totally controlled by

them. I dont mean all bat-

talion s [act like this]. Some

army [units] have reached

here [b ut]they did no t to

cause any pr o blems livin g

here. So they had no bad

image [of themselves]

When a commander with

bad image (or bad history)

reached here, i t was very un-

stable. Now persons from

LIB No. 40 3 levy high rates

of taxation . Not only mer-

chants but a lso passengers have to p ay mor e than

the fixed rate of taxation 1 ,000 kyat. Merchants

will b e po or because they are charged depending

on their co mmodities. On June 18 , a merchant

grumbled [to me] that he could not hope for pr of-

it [at] that time and he co uldnt even cover his trav-

eling fee. If they are still continuing unfair taxa-

tion , other grou ps cant stand.

Nai Kon Aun g highlighted to H URFOMs researcher

that in this bl ack area there is no real pr otection b y tax

laws, fixed tax rates, trade laws or other laws, an d that

when passengers r each LI B No. 40 3 check-poin t, they

end up having to fo llow the checkpo in ts o wn stan-

dards or laws.

The Zami river r ou te is us ed widely by merchants and

locals to im por t coo king oil con tainers from Thailand

(in large iron cans) o r in bags (o il in plastic bags),

ready made fo ods such as cann ed foods , jui ces, and

different brands o f dried no odles.

Apart fro m affecting the cap acity of travelers abi lity

to reach their destin ations, it is highly likely that even

at this o ne checkpo int the arbitrary increases in tax-

ation will affect rainy season impo rts alon g the river.

As noted by Nai Kon Aung, there are no legally bind-ing tax l aws, other then t he pr eviou sly agreed up on

amou nt of 10 00 kyat per checkpoint. If arbitrary

tax increases such as at the Phaya N gote To e check-

po int , there is po tential for other battalion s to also

increase their taxation , underminin g the agreed on

the pr eviou sly un iform tax of 1000 kyat and placing

even more financial pr essu re on passengers and mer-

chan ts.

News

A SPDC Navy checkpo in t is seen on the Zemi ri ver, Kyain nsekiyi

Townsh ip , Karen State

16

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