Village Electric Power Group Continues to Extort Local Residents in Mon State

June 30, 2014

Ka Loh Tort villagers are dissatisfied with current extortion and exploitation practices of their village electric power group. Villagers find themselves forced to endure extortion from the private electric power group, as government authorities have failed to provide Mon State with enough electricity for all of its residents for 2014. Read more

Grade 5 Child Raped and Killed in Yebyu Township

June 30, 2014

WCRP: On June 4, 2014, an eleven year-old child was raped and murdered as she walked home from school in Kalein-Aung Sub-Township, Yebyu Township, Tenasserim Region. The victim’s parents and residents from the village found her dead body along the road near the child’s school in Tabhu Village, where she attended grade 5. Villagers say the girl had been raped before being murdered. The victim was from Paran Village, Yebyu Township, daughter of Nai Mine Phyu. Read more

Wae Kalee Landowners Resubmit Appeal to Reclaim Lands Confiscated by Locally-Based Burmese Troop

June 26, 2014

Authorities have repeatedly failed to act upon villagers’ requests for justice regarding local farmers’ land rights; in response, villagers from Thanbyuzayat Township, Mon State, have joined together to resubmit second letters of appeal for their land rights in efforts to gain justice and reclaim land confiscated by the Military Advanced Training School No. 4 in Waekalee, Thanbyuzayat Township. Read more

Mon-Karen Relationship Strains as Ten Plantation Workers Arrested and Detained in Thanbyuzayat Township

June 25, 2014

On June 17th, an unidentified Karen armed group apprehended ten plantation workers, detaining them with wooden shackles in a forest in eastern Wae Ka Lane Village, Thanbyuzayat Township, located on the border of Mon and Karen territories. Read more

Domar Village Adminstration Crew Extort Local Farmers for ‘Cultivation Fees’

June 20, 2014

The Domar Village administration crew from Domar Village, Mudon Township, has been entering and plowing its villagers’ farmland without the owners’ permission, in order to extort ‘cultivation fees’. Domar administration has been abusing its power and extorting villagers in this way for the past two years. Read more

Thanbyuzayat Farmers’ Letters of Appeal for Land Rights Ignored by Central Government

June 16, 2014

Thanbyuzayat, Mon State rubber plantation landowners have confirmed that the central government has repeatedly ignored their appeals regarding confiscated lands, which were penned and submitted last year through the Mon State Land Investigation Commission to the office of President Thein Sein in Naypyidaw, Burma’s capital city. Read more

Local Residents Lend Their Support for Suspended Administrator

June 12, 2014

Residents of Kwan Hlar Village, Chaung Zone Township, Mon State, are dissatisfied with the recent suspension of publicly appointed administrator Nai Nay Lin Aung. Nai Nay Lin Aung, 31, was elected by the local people, but the township administration group placed him on a one month suspension from duties in attempts to block his power. Kwan Hlar villagers support Nai Nay Lin Aung, and are preparing to fight the suspension with upper-level courts. Read more

Differing Perspectives on Ain Din Coal-fired Power Plant

June 11, 2014

On April 25, a community meeting was held to discuss concerns regarding the Tokyo-Thai coal power plant that is to be built along the seashore in Ain Din, a village located west of Ye Townshiop, 10 miles from Ye City. The Tokyo-Thai Company plans to appropriate 500 acres of land for the project, 200 of which are wild and virgin land, and the other 300 are farm land. Read more

Fifth SYCB Regional Conference for Student and Youth Exchange Held in Moulmein

June 9, 2014

The Student and Youth Congress of Burma (SYCB) held a two-day conference for regional students and youth in Mon State focusing on human rights and democratic reform in Burma. The conference aimed to utilize Burma’s emerging political space to create strategies for human rights-based action and common regional advocacy campaigns to improve and bolster human rights and democratic reforms in targeted areas of Burma. Read more

Ye Residents Campaign against Power Plant

June 4, 2014

Local residents in Ye Township are concerned as plans to build a coal power plant in Ain Din Village proceed. The Ye Social Society (YSS) gathered local residents in an effort to campaign against, and educate residents about potentially harmful impacts the coal-fired power plant will have on the community. The YSS opposes the power plant and aims to put a stop to its construction. Read more