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Self-Reliant Electricity Committees in Rural Areas Exploit Village Funds

A majority of self-reliant electricity providing programs in Mon State are riddled with misuse of funds and lack of transparent financial reporting; creating problems between electricity providing committees and local residents. Read more

Lack of Transparency Persists in Foreign Direct Investment Projects

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) continues to negatively impact local people as their rights are ignored. An unidentified Chinese investment company has initiated and implemented stone extraction and road construction in Ain Din village, Ye Township while ignoring residents’ protests and failing to consider how their activity will affect local residents. Read more

Village Administrators Persistently Misuse Development Funds

The Htaung Mam village administration crew has misused government development funds granted to the Mya Sein Yaung social charity group by biasedly distributing support to specific villagers as opposed to others. Htaung Mam villagers have reported this issue to authorities in efforts to raise awareness of the village administration crew’s corruption practices. Read more

Authorities Repeatedly Ignore Ye Township Landowners’ Appeals

With the arrival of democracy in Burma, farmers are pursuing their right to reclaim land that has been confiscated by military and government personnel. Residents of Ye Township have submitted multiple letters of appeal to relevant authorities in efforts to seek justice for unjust land confiscation, but, due to corruption and abuse of power, authorities have repeatedly ignored the villagers’ request for justice. Read more

In Pursuit of Justice: Reflections on the past and hopes for the future of Burma

Media release:
In order for Burma to successfully transition towards genuine democracy and national reconciliation, the Burmese government must address, and act upon, the specific needs expressed by victims of past human rights abuse, says the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) in a report released this morning. The 90-page report, titled In Pursuit of Justice: Reflections on the past and hopes for the future of Burma, details the history of human rights violations perpetrated in Burma’s ethnic minority areas, and analyzes how to repair the relationship between the government and citizens to rebuild trust and move through a peaceful transition towards a united future Burma. Read more

Children of Nearly Every Household in Three Pagoda Pass Suffer from Dengue Fever

WCRP: Children under 15 years-old are suffering from dengue fever in nearly every household in Three Pagoda Pass (TPP), on the Thai-Burma border. Health workers from TPP report that children, in particular, are being brought in for treatment at overcrowded medical clinics on the Thai side of TPP. When children come to the clinic with dengue, health workers travel to the child’s home and spray the house with anti-mosquito chemicals. Read more

Chairman of Mya Sein Yaung Social Charity Group Arrested after Military was Informed by Village Administrator

Htaung Mam Village Administrator U Hla Hpei submitted complaints against Mya Sein Yaung Chairman Min Soe Myint Win, which has led to the arrest of the Htaung Mam Village, Mudon Township, Mon State social charity group’s chairman. Min Soe Myint Win was arrested by the Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) No. 565 on June 7^th, 2014.

U Hla Hpei submitted complaints to authorities accusing Min Soe Myint Win of being a fugitive who ran away from military training duty. Min Soe Myint Win was apprehended in Naing Pyaing Village, Mudon Township, while he was in transit to a social society workshop in Moulmein.

After graduating high school in 2001, Min Soe Myint Win was recruited by an LIB based in Mudon, enlisted in the military in 2003, and initially stationed in Shew Bo City, Mandalay District. In 2004, Min Soe Myint Win was transferred to Rangoon to serve as an assistant accountant for Military Intelligence.

When the Military Intelligence base was demolished in 2004, Min Soe Myint Win was assigned to work in Infantry Battalion No. 76. In 2005, with the objective of continuing his education at university, Min Soe Myint Win requested to return home, whereupon he graduated by distance learning from Government University.

Min Soe Myint Win believed be was free from any remaining military service, as the military never contacted him while he was living with his family during his four years of study.

Banyar Chean Mon, a friend close to Min Soe Myint Win, explains that U Hla Hpei complained to authorities in order to oust Min Soe Myint Win from his position of chairman, and take over control of the charity funds.

“To help poor people, the government funded [the] Mya Sein Yaung [social charity group],” said Banyar Chee Mon, “To manage that fund, we created [a] community. Min Seo Myint Win won [the position of] chairman of May Sein Yaung by [a] secret voting system. Soe Myint Win is an honest man. The village administrator tried to get rid of him in order to use the fund as they want.”

As Min Soe Myint Win was attending the social society workshop in Moulmein, U Hla Hpei was able to convince Soe Myint Win to return to Htaung Mam Village, with the ruse of a meeting regarding the Mya Seing Yaung social charity group. Soe Myint Win was told there was no meeting, only after he returned to the village. Early the next morning, on June 7^th, Soe Myint Win headed back to Moulmein to attend the workshop in time; he was arrested by LIB No. 565 on transit from Htaung Mam Village to Moulmein.

Banyar Chean Mon explains, “The wedding photo of Soe Myint Win was given to LIB No. 565. They waited with [a] car to arrest him. They said very simply that they [had] tried to arrest him for three days. They hired a car [for] 50,000 kyat per day. Three days cost 150,000 kyat. The village administrator gave [them] that money, so they had to detain him (Soe Myint Win). They will investigate later whether he is guilty or not. They don’t have a warrant order to arrest him for running away from the military. If there is [a] warrant order, the military and police have to arrest [him]. But now they arrested him because of [the] village administrator’s personal feeling.”

During his detention, Soe Myint Win reported that he was not treated badly.

Authorities went to Mandalay district to check if his name was on the military list of soldiers, and if Soe Myint Win’s name was on the list, the military could remove it. The military promised to release Soe Myint Win if his name was not, in fact, on the list. Though the chairman’s name was not found to be included on the LB No. 76 list, Soe Myint Win was not released, and remained detained with his feet chained together.

The military alleges that they later found his name on the list. Soe Myint Win was unchained, and moved to LIB No. 104, where he was ordered to stay with the soldiers.

Htaung Mam villagers are dissatisfied with Soe Myint Win’s detainment, and signed a request to spare Soe Myint Win’s life and to charge the village administrator.

Bayar Chean Mon states that according to Khin Mg Kyaw, the person responsible for Soe Myint Win’s arrest, “The village administrator requested to jail Soe Myint Win whatever it took. U Hla Hpei spend 150,000 for [the] car. He also bribed the military.” Bayar Chean Mon states that Khin Mg Kyaw disclosed to Soe Myint Win how much U Hla Hpei bribed the military for his arrest.

Citizens who actively participate in Myanmar’s development are arrested for many different reasons. Such a response to development initiatives negatively affects the country’s transition from dictatorship to democracy.

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

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

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

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

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