Chan Mon, Independent Mon News
Agency
A Burmese
Army’s battalion has been collecting rice from local farmers in Ye township,
Burmese
Army’s Infantry Battalion No.61, which is under the command of Military
Operation Command No.19 that bases in Ye, is taking rice from the local farmers
in northern Ye township, in Duya village-tract and Ain-Din
village tract respectively.
“They take
two “baskets” (about 66
kilograms) of paddy per acre. They ordered us to send the rice to them on time.
They do not want paddy. They want us to crush paddy into rice and send it to Village-tract
Peace and Development Chairperson’s house”, a farmer in Ain-Din
village said.
“Battalion commanders told us that they will pay 1100
Kyat per basket. But they did
not give us money yet,” the farmer said.
Battalion No.61 officer, Captain. Moe Aung Khaing joined
with village-tract headman and planned to take rice 2500 baskets from the farmers in the area
and started collecting the rice on last May 20. The army only set the price
110, 000 Kyat for 100 basket of paddy while the paddy price is 200,000 Kyat for
100 basket in market.
“We have to
husk paddy by our money. We have to pay 100 Kyat per basket and send it to
village headman home. If we late, we have to send it to Ye Town with our own
transport cost,” the farmer explained.
The
villages, which are ordered to sell rice at low price but those
do not receive money are: Plaing-thein, Hnin-sone, Krock-kree, Kaw-krait, Aindin, Paw-htaw and Duya village tracts.
Although
Burmese military regime issued a statement that the authorities are not going
to buy paddy from the farmers in 2003, but the regime’s armed faction, the
Burmese Army in
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