Independent Mon News Agency (IMNA)
Illegal lumbering tax to Burmese Army
The
local Mon farmers and gardeners in Ye Township,
Small
logging businesses are operating in eastern part of Ye Township and the traders
have to provide 33% of their lumbers (of the total amount) to the local
military battalions (of the Burmese Army) when they passed the army
check-point. Although this is a huge amount of tax, the traders could not
refuse. Later, the battalion commanders of Burmese Army also set this
lumbering tax (illegal) regulation to the local farmers and gardeners for
levying 33% of their lumbers even they take them from their gardens or
plantations or farms.
The
farmers or the gardeners, unlikely to traders, cut their trees in their
plantations or gardens just for only their home-use. Although they did not involve in business, but they are forced to
levy 33% of lumbering tax.
In
this Township, the farmers are growing their own trees to use for housing and
other uses in their farms. Most of them do not cut woods from
forests and main their trees at their farms or plantations to use in long-term
period.
Two
main Burmese Army’s battalions, Light Infantry Battalion No. 591 and No. 583 takes this type of lumbering tax from the local
farmers. These two battalions base on Ye riverbank and they collected tax
from all traders and farmers who bring lumbers along this river.
In
many places, SPDC’s forestry department collects tax
at rate: Kyat 30, 000 for one ton of all types of lumber, but these two
battalions take only lumbers from traders and farmers, which is over-amount of
set tax. The local people do not know why the army takes lumbers, whether
to use for their barrack building or to re-sell them again.
The price of hard woods in Mon State Kyat 300, 000 per ton.
Most traders try to trade lumbers from Ye Township because the price in the
area is cheap, Kyat 180,000 per ton for hard wood.