Myawaddy residents caught in clash over rice contributions

October 16, 2009

HURFOM, Kawkareik: Residents of Myawaddy Township in Kawkareik District, Karen State, have been caught in a confrontation between the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) and the Karen National Union (KNU) over rice stores collected from villagers

HUFOM’s field reporter in Karen State asserts that on October 10th, DKBA battalion No. 907, led by Major Pho Kyaw, entered the villages of Maekanae, Apyin-kwinkalay, and Ahtae-kwinkalay and forced residents to contribute rice to the DKBA’s personal food stores.

According to HURFOM’s field reporter, every household in the three villages was forced to pay a minimum of 3 PJI of rice to the DKBA’s collectors, depending on size of their farmlands (1 PJI is equal to 2 kilograms, 1 basket of rice is about 16 PJI).

A Maekanae villager said, “They [the DKBA] didn’t accept rice paddy seeds, only food rice. Every household had to pay at least 3 or 4 [PJI]. But some households who own more paddy land had to pay more, up to 1 or 2 basket of rice.”

HURFOM’s field reporter witnessed that in three villages listed, 3 or 4 truckloads of rice were collected by the DKBA on October 10th and transported to Ahtae-Kwinkalay village, where the stores were combined and left in the care of a small number of DKBA troops.

According to HURFOM’s reporter, on October 14th, KNU brigade No.6, led by Corporal Htun Htun, confiscated an estimated 110 baskets of rice from the DKBA’s troops in Ahtae-Kwinkalay at 3:00 PM. Allegedly, brigade No. 6 claimed that the rice was being repossessed to offer back to its original owners in the villages that had been harassed by the DKBA.

A spokesperson from the KNU’s Brigade no. 6 said, “The forced rice offering collection was commanded by [DKBA] Major General Nha Kham Hmwe during first week of October. We believe that The DKBA collected food supplies [from the villagers] to prepare for a battle with us [the KNU].”

Residents in Myawaddy are concerned that the clash over their rice is only a precursor for a full-blown confrontation between KNU and DKBA troops in their area.

Naw Phaw Say, a 36-year-old Apyin-Kwinkalay villager said, “I had to pay 2 baskets of rice. So now KNU’s troops confiscated it from them [from the DKBA]. Our villagers think the two will clash, so now we don’t know yet where we can go if they are fighting. Now we are preparing dry foodstuffs to be ready whenever we will have to flee from our village.”

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News