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Villagers in Yebyu Township strained by the army’s latest round of taxation

HURFOM : Battalions in the Thabyay Chaung village area, in Yebyu Township, have been ordered to pay a new set of taxes to Light Infantry Battalions No. 406 and 407, say local sources.

On October 2nd, 2008, LIB No. 407 ordered every household in Thabyay Chaung village, Yebyu Township, to make a new set of monthly payments of 800 to 1,000 kyat. “The money is to support army families while soldiers are away on military operations,” said a thirty-year-old villager from the area.

Betel nut farmers about to enter the November harvest season will also be taxed by LIB No. 407, says Ko Soe, 45, a cattle trader from Thabyay Chaung. “I saw a group of soldiers from LIB No.407 come to the village to collect the names of betel nut plantation owners. They plan to tax betel nut harvest next month.” Ko Soe did not know how high the betel nut tax would be, but he said that farmers have had to pay the tax before: “During the harvest season last year, my uncle, who has a ten acre betel nut plantation, had to pay 50 kyat per viss.” Viss are a unit of measurement used in Burma, approximately equivalent to 1.5 kilograms.

Daw Thit, 50, a betel nut owner who lives near Thabyay Chaung, added that LIB No. 406 will also be taxing betel nut. “According to village Peace and Development Council officials, next month LIB No. 406 is going to tax betel nut more than last year, but I don’t know how much more. I am worried because I could barely make enough after the taxes last year.”

Officers say the betel nut taxes are to pay for repairs to the road connecting Thabyay Chaung to Thit-Toe-Dauk village. Residents, however, are skeptical about the actual use of the funds. “The village headmen said the money will pay for work on the Thabyay Chaung to Thit-Toe-Dauk road,” says Daw Thit. “They already made us pay for construction on that road in June and July. Every household had to pay 300 kyat. But we haven’t seen any improvements.”

“Both LIBs No. 406 and 407 have farms as part of the army’s ‘Self-Reliance Program,’ but it is never enough. They always make people provide them with cash, food and other goods,” added another source. On September 28th, the source added, each household in the village was also ordered to pay 500 kyat for the maintenance of LIB No. 407’s jatropha “physic nut” plantations.

The new taxes add onto existing taxation levied by the army, compounding difficulties villagers in Yebyu face. The worst is a paddy quota enforced in Yebyu by LIBs No. 406, 407 and 408. For the last seven years, every household in villages around the battalions’ headquarters has had to provide the army with three baskets of paddy rice. The paddy requirements strain villagers struggling to subsist, especially in years when rice crops are not bountiful. Even families that do not farm rice must supply the paddy, forcing them to purchase baskets, which each typically cost 5,000 kyat.

Burma’s junta maintains the second largest standing army in Southeast Asia. According to Sean Turnell, a Burma expert from Australia’s Macquarie University, the junta spends close to 40% of its annual budget on the military. This does not mean, however, battalions are outfitted sufficiently or soldiers given adequate salaries. Instead, the government encourages the military to be “self-reliant,” directing the armed forces to augment government funding as necessary. This often leads to human rights violations as an army that operates with virtually no oversight or culpability seeks food.

A variety of sources report that the rank and file of the Burmese army is increasingly unhappy with this situation. The Irrawaddy, for instance, recently published an article detailing rising numbers of desertions. In a recent extreme case, a soldier in LIB No. 707, in Taikgyi Township, Rangoon Division, assassinated an officer.

In 2006, a HURFOM reporter interviewed a soldier who had deserted from LIB No. 409, also based in Yebyu Township. The soldier complained of mistreatment by officers and a general lack of food and medical care. “A lot of commanders do not care about the soldiers. They just think about their own benefit and are not concerned about the lower ranks. There are many problems both in the families’ barracks and battalions.’ Mainly, the problems were related to soldiers’ income and lack of rations,” said the soldier, adding, “I was displeased and wanted to change my life. I knew there was no way to quit legitimately. The only way was to run away from the battalion.”

KNU encouraging logging free-for-all in advance of DKBA offensive

HURFOM:The Karen National Union (KNU) is slashing logging restrictions in territory it controls near Three Pagodas Pass, on the Thai-Burma border. The change in timber policy comes before the KNU is expected to retreat in the face of a coming offensive by the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA).

Timber stands in the Makate and Kyunchaung forests, respectively nine and thirty kilometers from the Thai-Burma border, have been opened for free-access logging, say loggers, sources in ethnic political parties and local villagers. Both forests are in Thupalaryar District, currently under the control of KNU Brigade 6.

Logging in both areas marks significant changes in KNU forestry policy. In years past, logging operations in both forests were permitted only from January until May, with exceptions made for continuing operations or community timber harvesting for projects like schools, monasteries, churches and bridges.

Previously, only large timber companies like Thailand based Sia Hook could purchase logging contracts. In an interview in mid September, Nai Maut, a logger working in Makate, reported that the KNU typically charged 100,000 baht for permission to log fifty tons.

This year, the price of logging access has been drastically reduced. According to a logger interview in Three Pagoda Pass three weeks ago, the KNU had reduced charges to just 50,000 to 80,000 baht for rights to harvest stands in Makate and Kyunchaung.

According to sources interviewed more recently, last week the KNU appears to have cut fees altogether. Captain Htat Nay, of Bridge 6, told IMNA that loggers are now harvesting timber from Kyunchaung Forest without having to purchase advance permission from the KNU. Makate is open as well, says the owner of a logging company based in Three Pagoda Pass. A former official in the KNU Forestry Department confirmed both sources. Logging trucks still have to pay at KNU checkpoints, but loggers report that the fees have been reduced.

Importantly, not only are loggers free to operate without having to purchase permission, but they are being allowed to log virtually without limits. Restrictions on the minimum size of harvestable trees have been loosened. In the past, loggers were prohibited from cutting trees less than ten centimeters across. Trunks with a diameter of just over seven centimeters, barely larger than a can of soda, are now eligible for harvest. Tree species other than teak and ironwood, once off limits to loggers in an attempt to maintain at least a modicum of forestland, can now also be cut.

The KNU is permitting a wider array of actors to participate in the logging operations. In Magate, where contracts were once granted to only large companies, now anyone can log, including villagers, says Captain Htat Nay. In Kyunchaung, large companies are currently not allowed to log, the captain says, but villagers and smaller companies are being granted unlimited access.

The difference between the types of companies allowed to lob in the two forests appears to be nominal and will likely have little affect on the rate at which timber is harvested, for the small businesses often work for larger operations.

According to the captain, the KNU Forestry Department estimated the Magate Forest to be 50,000 acres and home to 150,000 tons of unharvested hardwoods, including teak and ironwood. Kyunchaung is thought to be 20,000 acres and contain 500 tons.

It is unclear why KNU forestry policy has changed. Some sources speculated that the changes are related to an expected offensive by the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, which split from the KNU in 1994 and is now unofficially allied with Burma’s military government.

The DKBA has been preparing for an offensive into KNU areas since at least August, reported the Irrawaddy last week. According to a source in Payatung village, near Kyunchaung, the KNU has explained that it will soon leave the Kyunchaung area rather than fight a Karen-on-Karen conflict with the DKBA.

“I think the KNU is about to leave this area and wants to earn as much as it can before it goes,” says a source in Kyunchaung village. “They’ll earn a lot of money if they let logging continue like this, but the trees will be gone in a few months.” The source said he spoke with a highly placed KNU official, who told him that the new rules are an attempt to extract all possible revenue from the territory before it is occupied by the DKBA. The source, however, speculated that the new policy is as much an attempt to prevent the DKBA from profiting from remaining timber as it is an attempt to earn revenue for the KNU.

The source in Kyunchaung village seemed unimpressed with the actions of armed groups in general, and accused the KNU, DKBA and Burmese army of caring more about exploiting natural resources than the people.

This sentiment was echoed by a villager in Kyo Hablu, near Makate, who said, “If the KNU continues to allow logging like this, we will face disaster. We will have floods and the weather will be even hotter in the coming hot season. When the trees are gone nothing can live in the forest. How can we survive?”

Moulmein Internet cafes face increased restrictions

HURFOM : Internet café’s in Moulmein, the capital of Mon State, are facing increased restrictions say sources in the city. Two weeks ago, cafés were ordered to close no later than 8pm, shortening permitted operation time by three hours. Shop owners have also been threatened for failure to provide authorities with sufficient information about their patrons.

“The Myanmar Teleport’s rules say we are allowed to stay open until 11pm,” says the owner of an Internet café in Moulmein. “But last week they demanded we close at 8pm.”  Read more

Paddies seized in Tennasserim Division; former owners forced to work without pay

HURFOM : Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) No. 406 has commandeered at least ninety acres of farmland in Yebyu Towship, Tennasserim Division, say local sources.

The battalion’s commander claims the seizures are justified because farmers were not cultivating the land. July and August, farmers contend, saw unusually large amounts of rainfall, which caused flooding and mudslides that made farming impossible until water levels decreased. Read more

“I need help” email virus attacks Burmese exile groups

HURFOM : Members of Burmese exile groups are facing another round of cyber attacks. An email with the subject line “I need help” is infecting the computers of users who open the message, report sources in Mae Sot, Thailand.

“On October 2nd, after I finished my work, I logged into my email and clicked on an email titled ‘I need help.’ After that my computer froze, including the screen, cursor and keyboard. After waiting a few minutes, nothing changed so I shut the computer down. When I restarted, I could only get a black screen,” says Maung Shwe, 40, a Burmese pro-democracy activist in Mae Sot. Read more

Villagers forced pay for People’s Militia Forces in Thanbyuzayat Township

HURFOM : Local residents in Thanbyuzayat Township, Mon State, are being forced to pay the expenses of militia forces recently recruited by the Township Peace and Development Council (TPDC).

The new round of “taxation” began after significant numbers of the Township People’s Militia Force resigned and replacements had to be found and paid for. The militia is headed by U Maung Gyi, 49, who demanded payments from residents of Wagaru and Taung Phalu villages. Read more

Villagers in Three Pagodas Township forced to plant Jatropha trees

HURFOM :Three Pagodas Township authorities are forcing villagers to plant Jatropha “physic nut” trees along the seven kilometer road connecting Chaung Zone to Three Pagodas Pass. Residents have to pay authorities for the cost of the trees, and then plant the trees themselves.

The order was given on September 28th, by U Myo Kyi, 46, chairman of the Three Pagodas Township Peace and Development Council (PDC), and applies to Kyo-Ha-Blu, Jown-Kwee and Chaung Zone villages.

The recent order follows a similar one last year, when residents were also required to plant jatropha. “Last cold season, PDC officials ordered each households to grow ten to fifteen plants and took 50 baht from each household to cover the cost of the saplings,” says Nai Bai, 35, a resident of Chaung Zone village. Read more

Villagers forced to work clearing brush

HURFOM:

Light Infantry Battalion No. 299 is forcing villagers in Komile village, southern part of Ye Twon ship, are being forced to work as unpaid laborers clearing brush on the battalion’s rubber plantations, barracks and roads.

About thirty people are being forced to cut brush, each working four days a month sharing four gas-powered grass trimmers. Villagers are not only unpaid, but must provide all their own supplies; neither food nor fuel is provided. One day of work requires three to four litter of fuel, costing around 5,000 kyat. Read more

Mudon residents extorted by Electric Power Corporation authorities, still without power

HURFOM, Mudon Township, September 30th, 2008

Residents of Mudon Tonwship report that they have been required to pay multiple rounds of exorbitant fees for electricity, but are still without power.

On August 20th, the Mon State Electric Power Corporation (EPC) demanded seven million kyat from villages in Mudon Township for the costs of setting up electricity. Six villages, including Let-Tet, Kyaik-Ywe, Wet-Tae, Nyaung-Gone, Kyone Phaik and Kaw-Kha-Pone, made the initial payment. Barely two weeks later, the electricity supply was cut. Read more

Farmers ordered to grow doomed rice during next year’s hot season

HURFOM : Mudon Township authorities have ordered farmers to grow summer rice crops, in spite of the season’s unsuitability to rice cultivation.

The order, given in a September 25^th meeting between township authorities and village headmen, applies to Mudon Township’s twelve village tracts, each home to at least twenty-six villages. Farmers will be required to grow rice during the summer hot season, even though the weather is not conducive to rice cultivation. “Last year we had to grow summer paddy like they want us to do again. It did not work because the weather is no good for rice. We also had to buy everything even though it is their idea – the seeds, fertilizer and water,” said a farmer from Mudon Township. “We were not allowed to use our native seeds, the Myanmar Agriculture Service (MAS) only allowed us to use their seeds. But their seeds are not good or suitable for our land, and they are more expensive.” Read more

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