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FBR REPORT:Evidence of Burma Army extortion demands on villagers facing food crisis in southern Chin State
Chin State, Burma24 July, 2009
Chidren in southern Chin state. The children in this village have no school.
An FBR team operating in north west Burma has evidence of the demands made upon villagers inPaletwa Township by the Burma Army. (Paletwa Township is considered as part of Chin State but is anarea populated by Arakan, Chin and other ethnic groups. Some Arakan consider it as part of Arakan or Rakhine State).Five letters collected and photographed by the team show the nature of the Burma Army's control over the people living in that district.One letter from a Burma Army sergeant to a village chairman reads: "when you get this letter,immediately three porters must to come to Upper Armchawn village, the column is located there."Another order from the Burma Army states: "5 members of the village militia and the village Chairmanmust come to meet the Battalion commander at 7:00 clock on 3 April, 2009." Another states that twomonks are to be ordained in Laymorkethi village, so "your village must give a donation of fivehundred kyat and one kg of rice from each house."
 
 Letter from Burma Army to village chairman
 
 Letter from Burma Army to village chairman
The FBR teams are operating in Chin State and Buthidaung and Maungdaw Townships in MaungdawDistrict, Arakan State on the border with India and Bangladesh. It is an ethnically diverse area with peoples from the Mro, Khumi, Thar, Daingnet, Bru, Rakhine and Rohingya groups living there.All have been badly affected by the flowering of the bamboo which attracts rats which then devour ricecrops and other food supplies.The State Peace and Development Council military regime, far from helping these people who aresuffering a food security crisis, demands forced labor without pay and extorts food and money fromthem.The Burma Army is supervising construction of a 240km long fence along Burma's border withBangladesh and India. The FBR team reports no compensation is anticipated for those who aredisplaced by this project.Villagers are made to carry army rations and equipment, relay information and letters from soldiers, prepare army camps and other works.
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