Narinjara news
UNHCR OFFICIAL ASKS
BURMESE JUNTA OFFICIAL ABOUT FORCED LABOUR AND BRIBE FOR MARRIAGE IN
Maungdaw, May 17: A Burmese junta official
on 23rd April acknowledged the presence
of forced labour in the remote areas of
The junta official, Major Thein Tun who is commander
of the Aungthabray Nasaka
Area One Headquarter close to the Bangladesh border, told Mr
Narasimha Rao, an official
from the Maungdaw UNHCR that forced labour is still practised by the Burmese army in remote areas where there
is no metalled roads but each of the labourers is paid kyat one hundred a day according to the
official rate. The unofficial rate of a daily labourer, however is between
five hundred and seven hundred kyat a day in the neighbourhood.
The price of a kilo of the lowest quality rice is kyat 140. Besides,
To a question of ‘permission’ to marry a girl and the money required to bribe the
army personnel for the ‘permission’ the commander replied that, there is no
scope for either ‘bribing’ any person or forcing anyone to marry persons of not
one’s choice.
He added that, any adult person who is eighteen years of age can ‘get a
permission’ to marry the person of their choice from the military headquarters.
No one ever needs to pay money for the permission. The permission, according to
him, is necessary to ensure the eligible age of the candidates to marry.
He said that the army only requires to ask the persons to be married for their
consent and ‘the eligible age to marry which is eighteen minimum.'
A Village Peace and Development Chairman in the locality, however, told that
people have to pay at least kyat ten thousand for getting any permission for
marriage from the local military authority.
A Muslim newly wed couple from Aungbala quarter of Maungdaw told that they had to bribe kyat 30,000 to an MI
18 official a few weeks ago for ‘getting permission’ to tie the knot. #