Report:
I.
Farmers in Southern Part
of
V. The
plight of farmers
News
(February 2003, Pa-an Townshi, Karen State)
On February 17’s night when the Mon community in
En-du village of Pa-an Township hold the Mon National
Day celebration, two SPDC’s drunk police officers
tried to stab the members of celebrating committee.
The Mon people who live
in various parts of
En-du
village community celebrated the MND ceremony in the evening and then continued
with tradition Mon dancing. At that
time, two police officers from a station 2 miles far from the village, Soe Min Aung and Yan Naing Soe, who are Burman, came to the village and started arguing with
members of MND celebrating committee.
They said, ‘they do not
understand what the meaning of Mon songs’ and try to stop the traditional Mon
dancing. After 10 minutes argument, the
police officers tried to stab two committee members with knives. Two men, Nai Gon and Nai Min Naung, were stabbed by knives and the first man got serious
injuries in his stomach while the second man get
serious injuries in his head. Then the
police officers also threatened to throw a grenade into a big crowd. The two men were brought to hospitals for
treatments.
Because of the
disturbance created by SPDC’s police officers, the
people who came to MND fled and separate away.
Accordingly to a member
of MND celebrating committee, “we know the policemen came to destroy our MND,
and they are not sincere’.
Village MND committee
also requested
(February 2003,
Since February 12,
Burmese Army’s IB No. 62 based in
The battalion commander
ordered 100 villagers from various villagers to clear bushes along pipeline
route. They ordered the villagers to
clear about 15 kilometers distance of pipeline route within 2 days. The route is between Htinn-yuu
and Sakan-gyi villages and the soldiers forced them
to complete clearing all bushes alongside of the route within 2 days.
Then, they also ordered
the villagers to fence the route where the pipeline was on ground. The villagers have to find bamboo and other
materials to fence the route. There were
10 places in 15 kilometers distance, where the villagers were forced to fence
the pipeline.
Accordingly to a
village, there were many women over 50 years and under 18 years working along
the route.
On February 8, there was
a gas pipeline explosion near Lamine village in Ye
Township and therefore, the soldiers ordered to the villagers to clear bushes
where the rebel could hide and to fence on ground pipeline route to prevent
from the attacks.
The
authorities and Burmese Army also ordered the villagers that if the pipeline is
demolished near their farms or villagers, they must face punishment. The Burmese Army always suspected that the
villagers have cooperated with rebel soldiers in exploding the gas pipeline.
Report:
I. Farmers in Southern Part of
In the southern part of
Geographically, the
lowest lands of the southern part of Burma (along Mon State and Tanesserim Division) are close to the sea and the farmers
who live in that areas were likely growing paddy and other crops in their
low-land area. And in the mountainous
areas along the border with
Since BSPP era, the governments had bought paddy from the farmers at
low price to stock the supplies for their servants and for export to foreign
countries. After SLORC/SPDC seized a
bloody coup from the pro-democracy demonstrators in 1988, the regime have kept
the same policy and have monopolized on the products of the agriculture
according to their monopoly policy in markets and crop export to foreign
countries. So, the regime started to
buy the agricultural products such as paddy, sesame, beans and rubber at the
lowest possible prices from the farmers in the whole
Under the SLORC/ SPDC’s monopoly policy, the
native farmers were forced to sell one-third or nearly half of their crops to
state regime’s “Agricultural Products Trade Department” crop buying centers
after harvest seasons. In every years, the regime
usually manages to buy all sorts of crops from the native farmers and always
set at the lowest price which were less than three or four times in the current
market’s price.
Therefore, the native
farmers of the southern part of
In every year, accordingly to the state regime’s orders, Agricultural
Products Trade Department (APTD) have opened many paddy- buying centers in all
10 townships and forced the farmers to sell their paddy at low price that is
8-10 times less than the current market price in 2002-2003 paddy-buying period, which takes from November 2002 to March 2003. During 2001-2002 paddy-buying period the price of paddy was only 3 times than the price
paid by authorities, but the paddy price rocketed up in this year because less
amount of paddy produced in
In the buying paddy from
farmers, the local authorities have used various ways including threatening to
confiscate lands or detaining them or confiscated their properties if the
farmers are unable to sell their paddy.
In order to manage buying the amount of paddy from the farmers, the
local authorities also paid advance payment to every farmer about one-third of
total payments during the farmers are planting their plants (in August or
September). It means that the farmers
must agree to sell their paddy to the buying centers and if the farmers could
not afford to sell their paddy, the manager or the head of the buying centers
could call the police to arrest those farmers. Or they could confiscate the
lands owned by farmers.
Normally, the local
farmers always refuse to receive the advance payments provided by the
authorities, because they do not want to sell the set amount of paddy to
authorities. However they are forced to
take money and sign the contract that promising they would sell their paddy
after harvest season.
In
The authorities from
APTD have set the amount of paddy that needs by farmers to sell to their
paddy-buying centers. Depending on the land
and soil quality in each Township, the set amount of paddy to
be sold to the authorities have also varied. While the authorities set to the farmers in
The following accounts
are the process of APTD authorities, Township authorities and village leaders
in forcibly buying paddy from the local farmers in some Townships in
In
Since the early of
October 2002, the local authorities prepared to pay the advance payments for
paddy buying project to the farmers in this township and forced the farmers to
sign the contract that they promised to sell 15 baskets of paddy to the
government set paddy-buying centers.
Because of flood in many paddy lands in the mid of rainy season (in
August and September), many farmers of
As an instance,
In the October 8, 2002,
the Secretary of Mudon Township peace and development
council, U Chit Yee, who are responsibility in buying paddy crops in coming
harvest, entered many Mon villages in Mudon Township
and forced the farmers to receive the advance payments. He forced the farmers through village
headmen to promise they must sell the set amount of the paddy to the
authorities in paddy buying centers.
According to the orders
of the Secretary of Mudon Township, all farmers had
to sell 12 to 15 baskets per acre of land with 350 kyat per basket to the
paddy-buying centers. At that time, the
rice price in the market was 2,000 kyat per basket.
So, the farmers were too
disappointed with the order because the farmers in the
According to the source
of a farmer, 70% of farmers in this Township were not yet received the advance
paddy payments in late October 2002, but the Township Authorities forced them
to sign a contract in order to sell the set amount of paddy to the government buying
centers.
According to a farmer
from Yaung-daung village,
“Although they (the
authorities) know about our problems, they just continuously asked the amount
of paddy as they like. If we could not
afford to provide, we would be detained and arrested by the authorities.”
Forcing, arresting and detaining the local farmers have regularly
occurred every year in this year.
Differently to the previous years, the authorities also threatened the
farmers that if they could not sell the set amount of paddy, they would
confiscate the farmers’ farmlands.
In this Township, the authorities planned to buy about 1.2 million
baskets of paddy from the local farmers at low price.
Comparing with other townships in
As an instance,
In an order issued on
The authorities planned
to buy about 4490 baskets from those 63 farmers in Ward and already ordered
them in November before their harvest.
According to instruction, the farmers are required to sell their paddy
to the regime set paddy-buying centers first soon after their harvest. ‘Selling the complete requested amount of
paddy’ by farmers is meant that that farmer complete the (State) duty
accordingly to the authorities.
In
the order, the authorities allowed 13 days to farmers to complete their
duty. It described ‘the farmers in Shwe Myaing Thiri
must complete selling their paddy without failure.’ It also means if they failed to sell they
must be taken into courts.
The authorities
requested farmers to sell about 15 baskets of paddy from one acre of their lands. This amount is nearly a half or over 30% of
their produced amount of paddy from one acre.
In reality, no farmer wishes to sell their paddy like this low price,
350 Kyat per basket while the market price for one basket of paddy was about
3000 Kyat.
SPDC’s ‘Agriculture Products
Trading Department’ has mainly taken responsibility in buying rice. ‘The purposes of buying rice at low price
are: to distribute with low price to government servants and soldiers; and to
export to foreign countries for profit,’ said by a government servant in
During the last rainy
season of July and August of 2002, in many parts of northern Ye Township were
under the big water flood and many farmers lost their paddy plants. Because of
flood, the paddy plants in over 500 acres of paddy lands are destroyed in the
whole Ye Township.
Flood lasted for nearly
3 months and farmers have no chance to re-grow their plants again. So, Some farmers from Kwan-duu and Sankale villages also informed about their crop situations
to the village headman and the local authorities and requested to reduce the
set amount of paddy that they needed to sell. But the local authorities replied
that flooding was not their purpuses and the farmers
must sell the full amount of paddy to the buying centers.
Since the beginning of
rainy season, Ye Township paddy-buying authorities already paid the advance
payments to buy the paddy from all the farmers after harvest. They set the
price as 300 kyat per basket and every farmer need to sell 10 baskets per acre
of land.
A farmer from Ye
Township said, “the paddy cultivation lands in Ye
Township is not good like Mudon or other
Townships. The farmers could produce
only 40 baskets per acre in maximum rate, but we have to sell to the
authorities 10 baskets per baskets.”
One farmer form the San-kalae village complained that his paddy lands are totally
destroyed during long period flood and he had no ways to sell his paddy to the
authorities buying center. So, he needs to earn money by selling his own
properties and buy paddy from markets at high price and then sell to the buying
center at low price.
In Ye Township, even
though the authorities set every farmers to sell 8-10 baskets per acre, because
of the long period flood of the last rainy season, the paddy price are high and
the farmer who have to buy paddy in the market would face a lot of
difficulties, according to the a farmer from Ye Township.
When the authorities
could not get the set amount of paddy from the farmers, they always the farmers
are organizing to against the order issued by them. In that case, the authorities also informed
soldiers and then the soldiers themselves involved in forcing the farmers to
give them some amounts of paddy from the village.
In Ye Township, many Mon
civilian families involved in growing rubber and fruit trees in the eastern
part of Township area and some paddy cultivated farmers grow paddy in the
western part of Township area. Many
lands in eastern part if Township were confiscated by the Burmese Army’s MOMC No. 19 and its 10 battalions. Currently, the farmers, who grow rice in the
western part of Township are threatened that if they could not sell the set
amount of paddy to the paddy-buying centers.
Similarly to the Ye
Township,
As an instance,
On November 18, 2002, the manager of Yinn-nyein (of Paung Township,
Mon State) Agricultural Products Trading Department, U Shwe
Ko ordered to the farmers from six villages in
northern Paung Township area to sign the contract to
sell their paddy to designated paddy-buying centers.
In that order, Township authorities
also made a restriction against the farmers that if they failed to complete
their duties of selling the amount of paddy, the township authorities will not
issue their paddy husking permission to them. So that farmers
could not husk their paddy even their own. (In many Townships in
For this year buying
season, the authorities planned to buy about the same amount as last year. The farmers from near Yinn-nyein
Buying center, from villages Phyu-ka village, Ywatanshe village, Yinn-nyein
south and north, Kyauk-yetwin, Ka-thight
village, have been constantly forced since December 2002 to sell the set amount
of paddy. Those villages were in the
northern part of Township and farmers were ordered to sell 16 baskets of paddy
per acre.
The same situation as
another township in
According to last year
paddy buying season, the local authorities have bought about 800,000 baskets of
paddy in
If compared with other
Township areas, the rate that the authorities set amount of per acre was too
much for
Some farmers in this
Township who could not afford to sell their paddy or who have no paddy to sell
to the authorities also have to buy the paddy at markets at high price and then
sell to the paddy-buying centers at low price.
Similarly to
Even in the end of rainy
season, many farmers in this Township could not complete selling their paddy
and so that the authorities still came and forced the farmers to sell their
paddy. Reduction for the set amount of
paddy is considered only in some paddy-buying centers, but the farmers still
have to sell the full amount of paddy.
If
compared with the another areas of Mon State, Kyaikmayaw
Township has low quality of lands because it situates far from the seacoast and
most of the paddy lands are locating in the flooding areas. So, normally the
farmers in this township could not plant their crops as early as rainy season
started like other townships in
However, Township
authorities and the managers from Agricultural Products Trading Department or
paddy-buying centers planned to buy about 350,000 baskets of paddy in this
township. Since the earlier of
cultivation in June and July, the authorities forced the farmers to receive the
advance payment, which was nearly half of cash amount they would get after
selling paddy.
Because of losing their crops, farmers are too disappointed with the
paddy advance payments by the authorities. Most farmers said that they would
face detentions by the local authorities if they failed to sell the set amount
of paddy to the local buying centers as they have accepted the advance
payment. Although many farmers would
not like to receive this advance payment and signing the contract to promise
they must sell their paddy, but they are forced by the authorities.
Although some farmers,
who lost their crops informed the conditions of their plants to the
authorities, but no responsibility was taken and complained by the authorities
that the flood is not their concern.
They said they did not need any complaints from the farmers, but forced
them to sell the full amount of paddy.
According to the last year experience, the authorities from
Agricultural Products Trade Department have planned to buy 500,000 baskets of paddy
from the local farmers in this Township.
In comparing with the
huge paddy lands Township in Mon State such as Mudon,
Thanbyuzayat Township has less paddy cultivating
lands and so, the amount of paddy required by the Township authorities is also
less than Mudon Township, which situates in the
northern part of this Township.
But this year, similarly
with another townships in
The authorities in this
Township have set to farmers to sell about 500, 000 baskets of paddy to the
paddy-buying with the price of 350 Kyat per basket, which is eight time less than in the market price.
In this Township, many
civilian families have involved in growing rubber trees and raise their income
and less than 50% of the total families involved in paddy cultivation. Some disappointed farmers also shifted their
activities from paddy cultivation to be hard-labourers
working in the rubber plantations.
Although SPDC authorities and troops of Burmese Army could not get
access into all parts of Karen State, but they have some access to Mon and
Karen villages, which situate along these river. Over 80% of the families in Mon villages are
the farmers, who grow paddy and they have been constantly forced to pay various
types of tax and money. They are
similarly forced to sell their paddy to the authorities’ or Burmese Army’s set
paddy-buying centers.
As the authorities and Burmese Army do not have full control or
influence like they have in the whole
If compared with Karen people who stayed in villages in jungles or
forests in the mountainous areas, the Mon people who stayed along the rivers
are suffering more from the possible buying of paddy in their villages. The village headmen also coordinated with the
local authorities or Burmese Army in the attempts to get farmers’ paddy at low
price.
The land’s soil in
The following accounts are how the
authorities and Burmese Army forced the local farmers to sell their paddy at
low price.
Started since November
2002, the
As an instance,
On
In the order, it added
that after deadline to complete selling the paddy to their paddy-buying center,
if the farmers refused to sell the remaining paddy set by the authorities, the
authorities also forced the farmers to complete their duties. Sometimes, the authorities went to farmers’
houses with the militiamen and arrest them to promise that they must be sell
their paddy to the paddy-buying center.
On
In most cases,
As an instance,
On
In Htee-pauk-khlo
village tract, there were three Mon villages in there, and In
these three villages, Htee-pauk-khla village needed
to sell 3,800 baskets of paddy, Tha-ya-gone village
needed to sell 900 baskets of paddy and Shwe-la-inn
village needed to sell 800 baskets of paddy each.
The authorities just
forced the village headmen from Htee-pauk-khla
because they are also village tract leaders to again force their villagers to
sell the set amount of paddy to the paddy-buying centers in Htee-pauk-khlo
village.
In this
The farmlands’ soil in this Township area is
not good like the lands in
Likely many other townships in
This year paddy-buying
season, the authorities planned to buy about 180,000 baskets of paddy at low
price from the local farmers. They planned to buy 10 baskets of paddy per acre
and Township’s Agricultural Products Trade Department set up at least one paddy
buying center in every village tract (one village tract includes 4-6 villages)
and forced the farmers from the villages nearby to sell their paddy. As the land quality of this Township are not
so good, therefore, the authorities ordered to the farmers to sell only 5-10
baskets of paddy per acre of land.
As most parts of
Township are not fully controlled by the authorities and Burmese Army and
therefore, they just estimate how many acres in which village and then forced
the farmers to sell the paddy accordingly to their estimation of lands. This mis-calculation
of lands make farmers to sell more paddy to the
authorities.
As an instance,
In March 2002, the local
Agricultural Products Trade Department manager U kyaw
Oo came to Kaw-ka-taw village and ordered to village
headman that Kaw-ka-taw village must sell the paddy
for 1200 acres of land with the rate of 5 baskets per acre. Actually, that village had only 600 acres of
growing land and the village headman complained against the managers about the
order.
But the manager, U Kyaw Oo refused and said that he got the order from the
higher authorities and anyhow, the farmers needed to sell 6,000 baskets of
paddy to the buying center with the rate of 5 baskets per acre. The authorities
paid just 350 kyat per basket while one basket is about 1,500 Kyat in
market.
The farmers are very
disappointed because the quality of their lands is not good and they could
produce only 25 baskets from one acre of land.
Even in the same Township area, the authorities set to some farmers in
some village to sell 10 baskets of paddy per acre of land. For example, in Kaw-bein
village tract, the authorities set up a paddy buying center and tried to buy
35,000 baskets of paddy from the farmers around the village.
As an instance,
In February 2002, the
township’s PDC chairman, U Ko Ko Gyi
ordered the Kaw-bein village tract that the farmers
from that village tract needed to sell their paddy with rate of 10 baskets per
acre. Many farmers could not afford to sell this amount of paddy and at the end
of February, the buying center received only 25,000 baskets of paddy and
therefore, the authorities forced the farmers again to sell the set amount of
paddy as quick as possible to the buying center. The authorities bought with
low price and paid only 350 kyat per basket.
The Township PDC chairman, U Ko Ko Gyi
also warned the farmers that if they failed to sell the paddy, they must be
punished.
Sometimes,
if the farmers refused to sell the remaining paddy set by local authorities,
the authorities went to farmers’ houses with militiamen and forced them to
promise that they must sell their paddy.
Then, the farmers immediately arranged to sell their paddy to the
paddy-buying center by taking their crops or by buying crops at high price in
the market.
As an instance,
In the evening of
According
to the villagers from Kaw-bein village, the using
force against farmers to receive the set amount of paddy have been ceased for
many years, but now it started again.
Sometimes, the village headmen also cooperated with higher authorities
from Township in forcing the farmers in their village as they have to become as
village headmen for long term.
However as the authorities do not have firm control like
There are some accounts
in
In January 2003, the
township authorities and Burmese Army in
The township PDC
instructed to village headmen that every farmer in
In an order, the
Township authorities also instructed to the villages in Min-thar
village tract which includes Min-thar has to sell 800
baskets; Ye-ngan-gyi village has to sell 500 basket; Hmaw-gyi village has to sell 3500 baskets; Cha-taw village
has to sell 1500 baskets; Le-gyi village has to sell
3500 baskets; Sin-gu village has to sell 3000
baskets.
They instructed to
Thin-gun-kyun village to sell 1500 baskets of paddy
and Talaing-myaw village to sell 1500 baskets of
paddy. They also instructed to Gan-taw village tract
that East Gan-taw village has to sell 8000 baskets
and West Gan-taw village has to sell 15,000 baskets
totally.
After the village collected the paddy in
their villages, then the Burmese Army and the authorities came into villages
and take the paddy along with them to their battalion bases or to town. In this
Since several decades,
the farmers could not grow their rice and the farmlands in the area have been
less because of the civil war. Land
soil in the area is good and the farmers could produce paddy well, but they have
to pay a lot of paddy to the authorities and Burmese Army. In many times, the Burmese Army does not buy
any paddy from the villagers, but they just came into villages and just looted
rice from the villagers.
V. The plight of farmers
Because of
the regime’s forcibly buying policy to get paddy from the farmers as much as
possible to assist their servants, soldiers and the members of GONGOs formed by SPDC, and to export rice to foreign
countries, this makes the farmers to face suffering of in the deep cycle of
poverty.
The regime
has never provided assistance for agriculture land development to prevent
natural flood and to have good crop production, but they just have demanded to
get more paddy crops from farmers to sell them at low price. Additionally, the regime authorities in
When the
farmers failed to sell their paddy to the authorities or paddy-buying centers,
the authorities also forced them to buy the set amount of paddy from the
markets or from other farmers and give them.
Sometimes, in some Townships, the authorities also asked money instead
of paddy crops.
According to a woman
farmer from
“This year I lost nearly
half of my crops because of flood. The
authorities from the paddy-buying centers set to sell 15 baskets for one acre
of land to them. I have 10 acres of land
and therefore, I was ordered to sell 150 baskets of paddy. We could produce only about 250 baskets of
paddy and I have to pay for labour cost, fertilizer, hired
oxen cost and other expenses. So I
could sell them only 60 baskets of paddy and remained 90 baskets. I left nothing. Before harvest, they also borrowed money to
us and force to sign the contract to sell the exact amount of paddy. They paid us 350 Kyat advance payment. Now, I could not sell to them and I
complained to authorities that could I pay them money for 90 baskets with 350
Kyat per basket. But they said no. They told me to give money with the price of
3000 Kyat per basket. So that I have to pay them with 270, 000 Kyat for 90 baskets of
paddy. Now I could pay them only 100, 000 Kyat that I borrowed from my friend. If I could not pay, they said they will
confiscate my lands.”
The
authorities in
Since the
start of cultivation in late May or early June, each farmers
have to pay for a lot of expenses. First
most farmers need to hire labourers to help them work
and hire oxen to plough their lands. But
some farmers have enough oxen or buffaloes to do work, but most of them have to
hire labourers.
The labour cost for the whole cultivation is to pay them the cost of or
give them 100 baskets of paddy.
Additionally,
the farmers need to buy especially fertilizer to put in their lands to get
increased amount of paddy because they have big duty to sell paddy to the
authorities. They also have to buy
agriculture equipment and other related materials. After ploughing
lands, the farmers again have to hire day labourers
to plant paddy plants in the farms.
Depending on the space of their lands, they need to hire 5-20 labourers for one week to two weeks time. They have to pay 700 Kyat per day to each day
labourers. In
some farms, the farmers also need to hire day labourers
to clear grasses among the paddy plants.
Then, in
the harvest season (November and December), the farmers have to hire day labourers again to reap the grains of paddy. Depending on how big of their lands, they have
to hire 5-20 labourers to reap the grains. They also have to pay 800-1000 Kyat per day
for each labourer.
Harvest time normally from one week to two weeks. After harvest, they also have pay
transportation cost to bring their crops to their houses or to the government’s
paddy-buying centers.
Considerably,
a farmer has to spend a lot of money to receive the crops as invested
money. When the farmers faced big flood
in rainy season in 2002, they lost their crops.
Therefore, the farmers are always in the circle of debts. To solve these problems, the farmers also
send their sons and daughters to