ABSDF NEWS AGENCY (r)

[caroline@xxxxxxxxxx]

Bayint Naung Palace Project makes the local people homeless
	"Kanbawza Thadi", or Bayint Naung Palace Project, one of the 
Slorc's promoting "Visit Myanmar Year 1996" projects in Taungoo township, 
is forcing the 
local people in region to relocate from their home to new place and also 
forcibly work 
in the discovery and renovation of ancient Bayint Naung Palace Project.
	Local people from Taungoo township are forced to work in exploring
the old ancient place of Burmese King "Bayint Naung" in Taungoo and
renovating the ancient style mote, fortress, castle and palace to attract
the tourists. Slorc has initiated to explore and renovate the ancient
"Oaktha" City in Pegu township,, "Hanthawaddy"  ancient city in
Hanthawaddy and "Bayint Naung" ancient palace in Taungoo since mid- 1989,
in a preparing for the 1996 Visit Myanmar Year. Since the beginning of the
Bayint Naung palace project, many residence near the project have been
relocated and local people have been forced to work in the project.
	Many houses of the local resident were relocated without
compensation and every household were forced to contribute their labor and
taxation.  According to the local resident from Taungoo, in last year,
every household in Taungoo were asked to give 150-600 kyats for the
"Bayint Naung Palace project", depending on the size of family. The only
exception people are VIP residents from Min Kyi Nyo ward in Taungoo who
are the Slorc township level committee members and committee members of
USDA. 

Human right abuses in Thantaung township
	A military column from Slorc's LIB No.539, under the command of
western military command raided the Chin Maung Taung Ywama village, 15
mile northeastern of Thantaung, Karen State and burnt down the several
houses including one Anglican Church on March 23, 1996.
	The majority of the local villagers in the village are Gayba Karen
and Slorc has accused the villagers for supporting and having contacts
with the KNU and ABSDF troops. The Slorc column invaded into the village
at 8:00am on that day and blasted the several houses at random. Among
them, one Anglican church and some paddy storage of the villager were
included. Total 15 million kyats worth of village's property were damaged
due to the destructive attack by the Slorc troops.
	On March 21, the same Slorc's column arrested over fifty villagers
from Bawdi Gone village, in Thami Tike village group, Thantaung township.
Village headmaster of Bawdi Gone village was later killed with accusation
of the hard-core of the KNU and the ABSDF, it is reported. 

 ABSDF News Agency
ABSDF (DAWN GWIN)