Narinjara news
Burmese Army force villagers to
construct their quarters
Dhaka,
25 January 03: Burmese Army Light Infantry Division
344 have been reported to have been using villagers as forced labourers in
construction of quarters for the soldiers in the western part of Burma, claimed
the Chin Human Rights Group based in Mizoram State in
the north-eastern region of India in a report on 15th January.
Last
month, during the Christmas and New Year’s Eve the villagers of each of the
villages of Ramri, Shweletwa
and
The period
being holiday season the villagers, mostly Chin Christians, requested the local
military authority to shift the dateline to a few days later so that they could
celebrate their Christmas. But the
request went not only unheeded but also was charged as ‘refusal to obey’ the
orders of the army. The villagers were fined twelve thousand kyats for their
defiance.
On the
other hand, the villagers of Shweletwa Village
fearing the consequences of ‘refusing to obey the army orders’ completed the
two houses as ordered. But the military
taskmasters showed their utter dissatisfaction and told them that their houses
were of shabby build and did not look good.
The result: another fine of kyat six thousand!
The newly
arrived officer-in-charge at Shinn-let-wa is said to
have refused to disclose his name and has ordered the subordinates to address
him as ‘tet-kwet-hmu’ – the company commander, said
the villagers.
The region
of