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Extra school fees in Nyne Hlone leaves parents worried about how to pay for their children’s education

HURFOM: Schools fees for students at Nyne Hlone High School in Nyne Hlone village, Mudon Township, Mon State, are set to increase next month. The Nyne Hlone School Committee and teachers announced that they would begin to collect extra education fees from high school students, leaving some parents worried their children will no longer be able to afford to attend school.

In Nyne Hlone, high school students are required to attend nightly study sessions in addition to their normal, daily class schedule. As per the school committee, Grade 10 (Standard Nine) and Grade 11 (Standard Ten) students will now have to start paying for night study classes at an annual cost of 200,000 kyat (US $148) and 300,000 (US $222) respectively. Parents who are experiencing financial hardship feel they have no alternative but to pull their children from school all together. Read more

3-year-old rape victim in critical care, village admins order family not to seek medical treatment or report to police

HURFOM: On May 15^th 2017, a three-year-old girl from Ka Log village, Ye Township, Mon State, was raped by a 35-year-old, male neighbor. The child is currently in critical care in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Mawlamyine’s Women and Children Hospital, according to Chief Physician Dr. Nine Oo.

Deputy Chief of Ye City Police, Officer Soe Mon, stated that the child was playing in her home compound when she was taken by her neighbor and raped in the plantation behind her home. The assault was discovered after the girl’s 25-year-old aunt and guardian, Mi B—, questioned the victim after the child was seen crying in pain. When asked, the child disclosed that she had been slapped in the face by their neighbor, while also indicating that a sexual assault had taken place. Read more

HURFOM: World Environment Day Statement

Today, the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) celebrates World Environment Day. Villagers in Mon State and Mon areas of southeast Burma/Myanmar have strong economic, social, and cultural ties to their land and environment. Many villagers rely heavily on their surrounding environment to meet their daily livelihood needs, whether it is for farming, collecting water, or feeding livestock. It is with this knowledge that HURFOM calls for the promotion and protection of Mon State’s vast and resource rich environment. In doing so it seeks to draw attention to the concerns of villagers in Mon State and Mon areas of southeast Burma/Myanmar regarding environmentally harmful, large-scale development projects near their communities. Read more

NMSP arrest drug trafficker, seize 100 methamphetamine pills

HURFOM: On May 23^rd 2017, the New Mon State Party (NMSP) anti-drug task force in Kyar Inn Seik Kyi Township, Karen State, arrested a drug dealer and seized methamphetamine pills, gold, and cash. The perpetrator has been handed over to the NMSP Kyar Inn Seik Kyi Township authorities who in turn asked the NMSP Mawlamyine District Court to administer the criminal charges, according to an official from the NMSP in Kyar Inn Seik Kyi Township.

“We received information about the drug dealer from local civilians and our anti-drug team raided the dealer’s house during the investigation. The dealer’s name is Nai Kyaw Aye and he is about 60 [years old]. He has a history of imprisonment with the NMSP, [having previously been incarcerated for] 3 years and released for [the last] 2 two years. We found pills on his body and also in his bed. We also discovered gold jewelry and cash. There were 715,000 Burmese kyat and 820 Thai baht. We caught him yesterday and now he has been sent to the Mawlamyine District Court [of the NMSP],” said Nai Raja, the Chairman of the Kyar Inn Seik Kyi NMSP.

As the anti-drug task force believes the cash and gold jewelry are associated with the drug trade, the have seized all of the associated properties, according to the official.

NMSP anti-drug task forces have frequently caught small-time drug dealers engaged in the local drug trade amongst the villages; however, big-time dealers have continued to elude authorities. The team confiscated 100 methamphetamine pills, 163.29g of gold jewelry and both Burmese and Thai currencies.

According to the NMSP’s drug laws, a drug user will be imprisoned for 2 to 6 months; individuals who farm drug-related plants will be imprisoned for 1 to 3 years; a drug mule will be imprisoned for 2 to 5 years with all associated properties being seized by the law; and a drug dealer will be imprisoned for 3 to 7 years and all associated properties will be seized by the NMSP.

 

Ye Township residents want a fair electricity fee

HURFOM: During a consultation with local residents on May 12^th 2017 in Ye City, Ye Township, Mon State, Chief Minister Dr. Aye Zan announced that all of Ye Township would have access to electricity within 18 months. In response, locals remarked that they expect to pay a fair electricity fee commensurate with other townships in Mon State. Read more

Locals in mix-controlled areas of Kyar Inn Seik Kyi Township continue to complain of double taxation

Twenty-four ethnically Mon villages in the mix-controlled areas of Kyar Inn Seik Kyi Township continue to experience double taxation due to the absence of a mutual agreement on tax collection between the New Mon State Party (NMSP) and the Karen National Union (KNU), according to a local source. Read more

Sharp declines in rubber prices creates livelihood hardships

HURFOM: There has been a sharp decline in the price of rubber in Mon State following last month’s Sangkran Festival. A unit of rubber priced at more than 1,000 kyat before the water festival is now priced at only 700 kyat, according to a local in Thanbyuzayat Township, Mon State.

During the previous 3-4 years, the rubber price has gradually declined; however, it had regained its optimal price during the previous months. The price of rubber has consistently declined over the last month, almost matching the lowest market price of the last 3-4 years. Read more

Odours from the Fushin Rubber Trading Co. Ltd. factory in Mudon spoils local water resources

HURFOM: Local water resources are being polluted by waste run-off from a nearby Fushin Rubber Trading Co. Ltd. factory, according to residents in Mudon Oo Ward and eastern Kwan Tarr village in Mudon Township, Mon State.

“A bad smell has been emitting [from the factory] for a long time. Even the people in the ward are familiar with the smell. As the smell is very strong, the water in the wells nearby the factory is getting smelly. The stream water near the company has turned really black. This has been happening for a long, long time. The local people tolerate it as they’re familiar with the smell. But if outsiders come here they suffer from shortness of breath. Even the travelers who use the main [Mudon-Mawlamyine] road have to hold their breath, so you can imagine how badly it smells,” said Nai Ba Lai, a resident from Kwan Tarr village, Mudon Township. Read more

Local plantations in southern Mudon Township experience theft as young people mistakenly believe they grow kratom

HURFOM: Young people near Kamawat City, Mudon Township, Mon State, are stealing leaves from chukla kyine trees on local plantations in the mistaken belief that they are kratom leaves, according to a local plantation owner. Read more

Protesters say rights violated after Mon State government silently opens bridge under controversial name

HURFOM: While locals in Mon State have been preparing to send an appeal letter to the Minister of Ethnic Affairs and other relevant government departments, the Mon State government silently opened the Than Lwin (Chaungzone) Bridge under the controversial name of “General Aung San Bridge (Chaungzone)” on April 27^th 2017. Read more

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