Contents: News: (1) Authorities in Ye Township seize land ostensibly for community development; development remains absent... Commentary: Minority Rights in Ethnic States of Burma... Report: ?Sitting on the fire?: forced labor demands during Kanbauk to Myaing Kalay Pipelien expansion:- Introduction; History of forced labor; Ongoing forced labor on the pipeline; Economic impacts; Conclusion ["Since 2000 the use of forced labor in the construction of the Kanbauk to Myaing Kalay gas pipeline has been a key catalyst in the commission of crimes against humanity by Burmese soldiers along the pipeline. Now, as construction has begun again in January 2011, residents around the pipeline, already battered by years of abuse and economic hardship, face continued forced labor demands by Burmese soldiers. Working without compensation or support, villagers must not only cover the cost of food, construction materials and tools, but also spend the day working in grueling labor conditions, along a notoriously dangerous pipeline, or in guarding pipes or pipeline that, if attacked or damaged, can lead to the torture, imprisonment or execution of the laborer by the supervising battalion. Denied the preferred opportunity to avoid labor demands by paying a fee, communities? attempts to negotiate their own economic instability are slashed. Such changes in informal policy represent a step back for communities who build their local financial stability around improvised methods to best improve their financial stability. The use of forced labor in both southern and northern areas of the Kanbuak to Myaing Kalay pipeline reveals a continued ignorance or intentional disregard for the conventions of the ILO working to ban the use of forced labor by Burmese military forces. Though reporting on abuses like those documented here remains dangerous for residents and victims of labor ordered by military forces, the recent renewal of the ILO convention for the 2011 to 2012 year promises an opportunity in which the ILO may be able to assist communities in addressing these abuses. HURFOM hopes that communities and Burmese government forces are able to work effectively with the ILO this year to curtail the potential use of forced labor in projects in resource extraction, industrial development, and construction already in their nascent stages in southern Burma"]