Yebyu residents ask the incumbent government to control its troops as violations persist

April 11, 2012

A report detailing mounting human rights violations in Yebyu territory, titled, “Government’s Navy Units Continue to Violate Rights of Locals in Yebyu Township,” was published on January 20, 2012, on the Human Rights Foundation of Monland’s website (HURFOM/www.rehmonnya.org). Since then, continued monitoring has indicated that the violators–low-ranking soldiers and officials of the Mawrawaddy Navy Command naval administrative unit No. 43–have been blatantly disregarding the human rights of local residents who make their living in fishing and cultivation. The growing violations committed by government troops against civilians are unacceptable and unbefitting to a transition period during which the country is carefully taking steps in a new direction. This short report aims to force the governors and chief ministers of their particular states or divisions to stop the unit No. 43 navy administrative officials from repeatedly violating locals’ rights. In February and March, three field reporters interviewed 22 villagers in order to present the events and opinions found in this report.

Money extorted from local fishermen

The officials and soldiers of the navy administrative unit No. 43, which operates under Mawrawaddy Navy Command, number more than sixty troops and have bases in the Yebyu Township villages of Own-pin-kwin, Kywe Thone Nyi Ma, Kadike harbor, and Kyauk Hta Yan. The troops have extorted money from people with marine-related businesses or fishing-boat owners in the villages near their bases. In February alone, fees of 30,000 kyat, gasoline, and fishing products were unfairly seized from 210 owners of small or large fishing-boats in Kyauk Hta Yan and Da-Min-Seik villages, according to locals. Ko Ngwe Own (pseudonym), a 44-year-old Kyauk Hta Yan resident, feeds his six family members by fishing off a small boat powered by a Honda engine. On February 18^th, he reported that the military troops, police, and navy units have extorted money from him over his entire fishing career, creating a situation in which he struggles to provide for his family. Even in this era of new government, there is no decline in the bribery and extortion committed against civilian populations. In fact, the violations are increasing dramatically.

“During my 20-year career as a fisherman, I have always faced extortion, even up to today. It is heard that other regions are peaceful, but the conditions in our region are still bad. Now, each month I have to pay 30,000 kyat to Captain Min Zaw Moe of Navy 43 and his staff. They justify the fee by saying they provide security and grant a monthly fishing-permit. I merely own a small boat, so I have to work the whole day to cover my daily food costs, not including 5000 kyat for gasoline. Sometimes, we don’t catch anything. They should lower their demands. In Kyauk Hta Yan village alone, there are over eighty villagers required to pay this “boat-tax.” You can calculate how much [the troops] get if each villager has to pay 30,000 kyat.”

The monthly 30,000 kyat fee is demanded only of engine-powered boat owners. Ko Min Chit, a 39-year-old Kyauk Hta Yan resident, fishes in a small boat without an engine. At the end of February, he reported that the troops from naval unit No. 43 were demanding a weekly gallon of gasoline and 200 prawns from rowboat owners who only fish periodically.

“The engine-less boat owners have to pay 5,000 kyat, or the equivalent of a gallon of gasoline, per week. [The troops] will not give receipts, so if another group demands the same payout that week, we have to pay again. Normally, the 5,000-kyat fee is paid to Sergeant Kyi Wai and his group, who work under Captain Min Zaw Moe. There are over forty villagers in the same situation as me. If the troops come across a prawn-catching boat, 200 prawns are demanded. If there is any failure to pay, a work-permit isn’t granted on the following day. My uncles have to pay 200 prawns daily.”

Forced labor and boat commandeering

On top of seizing prawn hauls or exacting fees, locals explained that troops also commandeer boats to transport high-ranking naval administrative officials and force residents to labor in local army units. Male villagers and boat owners in Kyauk Hta Yan and Da-Min-Seik villages described how they were forced to work for the navy unit in March.

“My boat was commandeered for two consecutive days in mid-March, during a visit from Moulmein and Tavoy Navy executive officials. I was unable to raise money for food and they used four of my gallons of gasoline during that time. Meanwhile, eight other boat owners also had their crafts seized. A lieutenant colonel led the visit, and Captain Min Zaw Moe ordered us to yield our boats. None of us could work our jobs. Around twenty ordinary villagers from Kywe Thone Nyi Ma who aren’t in the fishing industry or rubber plantation owners were forced to work on Kadike Base, welcoming high-ranking visitors. The village administrators managed everything.”

Ko Kyaw Min Htike, a 22-year-old Kyauk Hta Yan resident, said that motorbikes with full tanks of gasoline were also commandeered to transport the patrol navy soldiers. The troops carelessly and roughly handled the bikes, but then were not accountable for their actions.

“These incidences are occurring under the civilian government of President U Thein Sein; therefore, we want the government to stop the military. We want nothing else. If the situation changes and we are allowed to live freely, then no one will want to flee this place (Kyauk Hta Yan),” said 55-year-old boat owner U Thin Po during an interview on March 24^th. He added that one of his sons fled to Thailand in late 2011 after getting in a fight with a navy soldier and subsequently being severely tortured.

“Kyauk Hta Yan, Da-min-seik, and Kywe Thone Nyi Ma are villages that have never tasted peace. Land confiscation, forced labor, money extortion and other abuses are still occurring today. In 2011, Navy No. 43 confiscated plots of land in Kywe Thone Nyi Ma and Min Thar villages. The government never resolved that crime. Since we are in a transition period, I would like to urge governors and members of parliament (MP) of each particular state or division to stop the violations against civilians committed by the Navy No. 43.”

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News