People forced to paint fences or walls in front of

People forced to paint fences or walls in front of

houses for bridge opening

Nai Jorn, Independent Mon News Agency

January 31, 2005

Intent on welcoming Burma's military leaders for the

opening ceremony for the longest bridge in Burma,

police have forced people who live along the main

Rangoon-Ye road in Mon and Karen states to paint their

fences or walls white and clean up the bush along the

roadsides.

"The Burmese regime, trying to open the 11,575-foot

Mawlamyine-Mutama bridge, will visit Kyaikkami

pagoda," local authorities stated.

To have a nice, clean view during the Burmese top

leaders' long road trip, police led local authorities

to order people to clean up the bush in front of their

houses and plantations, authorities said. Villagers,

from Zar-tha-pyin, in Pha-an township, Karen State, to

the Kyaikkami Pagoda, where Burmese military leaders

will visit, were ordered to paint, and clean up the

bush.

"If you can't work on painting, and cleaning bush, we

will do the work for you. But you have to pay us for

the work," village PDCs told people during the

announcement. Now people in Mawlmyine, the Mon State

capital, have been busy painting walls and fences

since they received the order about a week ago.

According to local authorities who received invitation

letters to attend the bridge opening ceremony, higher

ranking authorities did not give the date of the

opening ceremony. "This means we are not sure when

they will open it, and they covered up the news of the

opening. They are trying to open it immediately when

they are ready," said a local authority.

The regime tried to have the bridge opening on Jan. 4,

Burma

Independence Day, but because of security reasons and

lack of preparation, the regime delayed the opening

ceremony for the bridge.

A rumor also broke out about car seizures. The slogan

"Car Yuu

Malar.. Darr Yuu Malar" means that if the government

is going to seize unlicensed cars owned by the

Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, the DKBA armed group

will fight back against Burmese local authorities

seizing the cars.

This is one reason for delaying the opening; another

one is the bomb that was exploded in Pha-an.

For the opening ceremony, the regime planned to put

more security in the area. The No. 19 Military

Operation Management Commander (MOMC) was ordered to

take security measures in Mawlamyine and Kyaikkami

where the top leaders will visit. MOMC troops in Ye

retreated from the area and were placed in

Thanpyuzayart and Kyaikkami.

__________________________________________________________________

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