Narinjara News

Extortion for Myanmar Veteran Organization

Maungdaw, 14^th Sep 03:  Members of the Township Veteran Organization have forcefully been collecting money from local villagers of Maungdaw Township for the Central Veteran organization fund, a headman from Maungdaw Township said.

The money collection drive began Saturday last and each of the family has been forced to pay kyat 700 to the combined collection team led by U Soe Lwin and U Than Myint from Township Veterans’ Organization.

Facing shortage of fund the central Veterans’ Organization in Rangoon, the organization leaders have requested U Hla Pru, Chairman of Maungdaw Township, and Major Thant Zin, in-charge of MI-18 headquarters of Buthidaung, to collect some fund for the organization from the two border towns of Buthidaung and Maungdaw in Burma’s western front, Rakhine State.

On the request of the central Veterans’ Organization leaders from Rangoon, the chairman of Maungdaw issued orders to the Township Veteran Organization and village chairmen to collect money from all the families of Maungdaw Township, according to the source. 

Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships situated in the western border of Burma offer good opportunity to smugglers who deal in illegal money changing, cross-border traffic of gold, fertilizer, fuel oil, textile goods, electronic items, etc.  In recent months since the imposition of the US sanctions the smuggling of US dollars into the western Burmese state has considerably gone up, said a businessman in the town.

According to a retired teacher, the townspeople are heavily burdened with forceful collection of money by local authority for several times a month for such sectors including road preparing, religious ceremony, state functions like welcoming guests of high authority from Rangoon.  #