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Unrest continues following Tenasserim Division clash

HURFOM: Villagers remain uprooted from their homes following violence between Burmese military and New Mon State Party (NMSP) soldiers in Tenasserim Region’s Thu Mingalan village. With no resolution yet found between the two sides, and NMSP soldiers still being held hostage, there are worries that the conflict may be reignited in the displaced NMSP troop’s new location. Read more

2 NMSP soldiers killed and 3 arrested in clash with Burmese military

HURFOM: Reports have emerged of a clash between Burmese military and New Mon State Party (NMSP) forces in Tenasserim Division, killing 2 members of the Mon armed group and a Burmese military sergeant. With the Burmese military alleged to have initiated the attack, the move breaks a ceasefire between the two groups that, aside from a period of renegotiation from 2010 to 2012, has spanned the last 18 years. Read more

Beyond the male: The case for a gender analysis of illicit drugs in Burma

WCRP: On June 26, Burma’s anti-narcotics task force marked the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking by destroying over 4.4 billion kyat worth of illegal drugs. This move, along with others aimed at rehabilitating drug users and developing alternative crops for poppy farmers, seems fitting in light of recent international recognition of the country’s drug problems. In the past year Burma has been named by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) as the world’s second largest producer of opium and the “top source of illicit methamphetamine pills in East and Southeast Asia.” Read more

Tier 2 Watch List mirrors real incidence of trafficking on the border

WCRP: In February of this year, a Mon broker from Mudon Township coerced Mi Nu (an alias) and her two young children to migrate to Thailand. He explained to her that she would be placed as a domestic worker and that the job would be easier than alternatives like construction or factory work. She believed the broker and left with him and her children for Thailand. Since that day, Mi Nu has had no contact with her relatives or neighbors and the broker has not been seen again. Read more

Education reform remains elusive

WCRP: In March 2011, President U Thein Sein gave a speech to parliament urging improvements to the national education system. He called for implementing a system of free, compulsory primary schooling, upgrading the country’s educational standards to international levels, and increasing enrollment in basic education. Changes have thereby been made in the last few years that ostensibly liberated students and their families to freely pursue education. According to education officials, registration fees have been waived, textbooks are provided free of charge, and the local administrators’ practice of collecting “donations” to buy school equipment (for everything from the headmaster’s chair to a football for the schoolyard) was targeted for elimination. Read more

Ethnic armed groups also guilty of land confiscation: The case of Kha Yone Gu

HURFOM: In recent months Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) has been tracking various cases of land confiscation, some of which took place years ago but have only now come to light. So far, published documentation has focussed on confiscations perpetrated by the Burmese military, local authorities and private companies working on government projects. However, field reporters have noted that numerous ethnic armed groups have also been involved in land seizures in Mon areas. Residents have accused ethnic armed groups of taking advantage of the on-going peace process to further their own interests, with the government giving groups involved in 2012 ceasefires the authority to take land from residents.   Read more

TPP slot machine seizures fail to result in further action

HURFOM: Gambling has continued to plague the Thai-Burma border sub-township of Three Pagodas Pass (TPP). In what looked like a promising move, local police forces recently seized 9 slot machines from TPP’s Quarter No. 3. However, the machines were returned to their owners shortly afterwards. Residents have expressed concerns, saying that they want the gambling to stop. Read more

Kaloh village’s appeal for confiscated land remains unresolved

HURFOM: On 4 March, 2011 HURFOM reported on the case of 210 acres of land confiscated from residents of Kaloh village in southern Ye Township, Mon State. Two years on, appeals for justice from these villagers have been left largely unaddressed.

The land was seized in late February 2011 by the headmen of Kaloh village and Khaw Zar sub-township, with the support of administrative staff. HURFOM received reports that landowners had not been consulted about the seizure, and in some cases only became aware of the authorities’ plans when village administration arrived to take measurements of their land. Read more

Residents speak out about rice seizures in Yebyu township

HURFOM: New reports have arisen of seizures of rice by the Burmese militia from villagers in northern Tenasserim Region. Whilst this is alleged to have been taking place for decades, the case has thus far gone undocumented. However, residents, who in the past were too afraid to expose the army’s activities to the media, have begun to speak up. Encouraged by recent government reforms, they have sought an end to ongoing abuses of their rights. Read more

Dengue season “came early” to Mon State

Unseasonably warm and wet weather this year has triggered a surge in cases of dengue fever in Mon State and other areas of Burma. Health practitioners reported that children in particular are being brought for treatment to overcrowded medical clinics, and a recent report by the Ministry of Health in Burma reveals that Mon State trails only the Ayeyarwady Region and Yangon for having the country’s highest number of dengue fever cases. Read more

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