Extortion of Locals Continues in Yebyu Township

September 20, 2013

HURFOM: Yebyu Township locals have reported being arbitrarily extorted by a Mon splinter group who threatened torture and continued intimidation if failing to pay. The extortion victims have also claimed that the situation cannot improve if the Burmese Military and New Mon State Party (NMSP) continue to ignore their request for increased security in the affected area.

Members of the splinter group approached locals and demanded large sums of money while visiting Sein Pon and Pha Yar Tone Zuu villages in Yebyu Township, Tenasserim Region on September 6. A further five members from the splinter group travelled to Kauk Kadin village on September 13 to demand money from the locals. The Mon break away armed groups, led by Nai Lwin and Nai Shaung are believed to be behind the extortion scheme.

According to reports, the group demanded 5.5 million kyat from Yay Ngan Gyi village, 3.5 million from Sein Pon village, 6.5 million from Pha Yar Tone Zuu village and 20 million from Kyauk Kadin village. The group warned the locals to send the demanded sum within the week and that they would reach the locals by phone to disclose where to deliver the money.

On September 10, two members of the splinter group arrived at the monastery in Pha Yar Tune Zuu village planning to demand money. They entered the crowded monastery and were appealed to by village members and senior monks to reduce the demanded sum. Residents were forced to lend 2 million kyat from the monastery to the insurgents. The groups received a further 2 million kyat from Pha Yar Tone Zuu village, a town of 60 households, and 2.5 million kyat from Sein Pon village, a town of 40 households.

On the morning of September 11, the Burmese Military arrived, but instead of addressing the concerns of the villagers, they instead blamed locals for deciding to meet the splinter group’s demand instead of fighting the group’s two representatives. Villagers countered that to fight the representatives would go against democratic policy. Although Burmese LIB Nos. 282 and 273 are stationed near the affected villages, they failed to protect the locals from the extortion scheme. According to locals, they always informed the Burmese Military of the situation when confronted by the unknown Mon insurgents, but those who failed to report the situation in due time faced intimidation and torture by the Burmese soldiers. LIB Nos. 282 and 273 and the administration of Min Tar village have been involved in past allegations of torture. Affected locals also reported the situation to the NMSP’s liaison office in Yebyu Township, northern Tavoy District, but claimed that the New Mon State Party (NMSP) was unable to help them in any capacity.

Unfortunately this brand of extortion is not new to the area, according to a monk from Pha Yar Tone Zuu village. “This exact situation has been ongoing for many years,” the monk told his interviewer. “If we failed to pay, the insurgents would come to our village, drag us from our beds in the middle of the night and brutally torture us. They even tortured women. In June 2012 they came and beat two men and two women. The villagers don’t want to pay anymore, and many are not even in a position to afford such a huge amount. However, residents are still frightened that they will face violence if they don’t pay. Even if there is democracy in Myanmar, we feel so far removed from it because the government has failed to be aware of our safety. We hope to appeal to the government and senior officials so that we may solve this problem and bring justice for all villagers.”

The locals face great hardship when forced to pay from their savings. They are simple plantation workers and cannot earn enough to meet the demands of the insurgents, so they are then forced to sell their possessions for additional money.

Locals allege that the splinter group spends its stolen money on luxury goods from the Burma – Thai border while their victims struggle to re-earn the money they’ve lost.

“We only earn a small income from our plantations and farms, and yet these splinter groups continue to come here,” describes Nai Pay Tint, a resident of Yay Ngan Gyi village. “Different groups came three or four times last year, and if we didn’t pay them then, they beat and intimidated us. We are in an unavoidable situation. If we don’t fear them, we won’t pay them, but we grow tired of their demands and want the whole situation to end, so we choose to pay them. We would be happy to accept NMSP support for this situation. If possible, we would like to get rid of these robbers because we don’t want to accept this situation any longer. We never appreciated their actions and how they’ve chosen to represent Mon people.”

Burmese Military LIB Nos. 282 and 273 have administrative control over the affected areas, but the villagers’ pleas for additional security measures have continued to fall on deaf ears as the arbitrary extortion continues.

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News