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News from Sagaing Division



Human Rights Violations in Sagaing Division

 Kin Tat Sluice Gate And Forced Labor
	Local people have been used as the forced laborers in the
construction of Kin Tat sluice gate in Kabalu township, Sagaing division.
	People from Tant Se, Ye - U, Depeyin, Butalin, Shwebo, Atadaw and
Khin - U township have been working on this forced labor project since
late 1994.  People are being forced to dig the ground, build the canal,
and construct the embankment without pay. The main job is digging the
ditch. The number of ditches depends on the type of people involved. For
government servants two ditches are required. If there is a government
servant or retire person in the family, four ditchs are required. For the
ordinary family, six ditches are required. If someone fail to provide
labor for the project, 100 kyats per ditch could be paid to the local
LORC. People are asked to bring their own tools and their own food to the
worksite. No shelter is provided and people have to stay in makeshifts
near the worksite. 
	During this forced labor. U Ko Lay, a retired secondary school
teacher from Aung Zeya ward, Ye-U town, died.  In last year, two laborers
from Seik Khwe village, Shwe Botownship and two laborers from Ye-U
township were killed when the earth collapsed while they were digging the
ditch at night. 

Forced Labor in Min Kin township, Sagaing division
 
	Local people from villages in western Min Kin township, Sagaing
Division have been forced to work two forced labor projects at the same
time and made their daily lives more miserable. People have left very
small extra time, hardly enough to work for their daily needs as they have
been forcibly ordered to contribute unpaid labor both in Kyauk O-Ye Poke
Chaung embankment and Kyauk O- Min Kin motor road construction project. 
	About 1,800 local people from all six villages in Kyi Nyine
village group, Kyauk O village group, Ain Kyin Taung village group and Min
Sar village group have worked at the two-mile-long Kyauk O- Ye Poke Chaung
embankment project since May 1995. One person from each household was
ordered to work one week in every month. People were grouped in which ten
person each included. Each group were assigned to dig 5 x 49 x 6 ft
embankment. 
	People who fail to do so have to either hire the another person to
replace which cost 75 Kyat per day or pay 100 Kyat per day for fine.  For
those who could not effort to do either way were subject to beat or
torture by the local LIB 228 for failing to comply the order. 
	Same requirement to work forced labor was imposed on the local
people at the same time. People were ordered to work forced in 4-mile-long
Kyauk O-Min Kin motor road. They were ordered to build 6 ft high, 15 ft
wide and 4 miles long motor road for a week in every month.  People in the
region usually had to spend one week in embankment project and another one
week in motor road project that led only two weeks to work for their
families. 
 
School drop out rate high in Sagaing Division
	While the Slorc is claiming that the education standard in Burma
is being upgraded and extra expenditure for the education sector are
allocated, there are high rate of school drop out of children among the
townships in Sagaing Division in the 1995-96 academic year.
	Due to the high sky-rocketing prices of commodities, the daily
needs for the family have become a big burden for the working people
inside Burma. Only the bread winner could not earn for the whole family
members and that forcing the other members including the children at
school to the work place. Beside that, the high cost of schooling for the
children is an another obstacle for continuing the children at school. 
Children at school have only one way to drop out from school to help their
family. "Because of this problem, the rate of school drop out in Sagaing
Division especially under 10-year of age is incredibly increasing in
1995-96 academic year." said one primary school teacher who recently
arrived to the Thai-Burmese border. The lives of the children after
quitting school are varied. Some children, after drop out from school,
have to work with their working parents in order to help the family needs.
But some have to quit the school just to take care the household things
while the other family members are at work.
	The other reason for the high drop out rate from school is the
high cost of schooling. Though free education for basic education is
available in Burma, many compulsory fees for the schooling lead the common
working people in Burma to drop out their children from school.  Parents
of school children are required to pay many forms of fees when their
children register at school in the beginning of the academic term.  For
example, every student is required to pay 200 kyats for school
registration fee, 200 kyats for school fund raising, 35 kyats for
township's "Kathina festival " fee, 35 kyats for school sport fees, 200
kyats for renovation of school building, 200 kyats for computer lab in
school and 10 kyats for student sport festival upon their registration at
State High School No.(1) Ye-U Township in Sagaing Division. Moreover, many
different forms of fees are requested throughout the academic school year. 
	Insufficient school text books in school is an another obstacle,
students are in hard time to buy the text book in black market with
extremely high price.
	In Min Kin Township, Sagaing Division, students were ordered to
contribute some amount of money, depending on the grade for the extension
of school building at the Min Kin State High School.
	According to the order by Lt-Gen. Khin Nyunt, Secretary -1 of the
ruling Slorc and also chairman of the Education Council in Burma, state
school were ordered to introduce the extra special education session
aiming to abolish the private tuition system in Burma. Again, students
were asked to give to 50 kyats for primary school, 75 kyats for secondary
school and 100 kyats for high school in every month to the school. 
Working parents especially who have many children at school could not
afford to keep their children at school but drop out from school. 

 

ABSDF News Agency
ABSDF (DAWN GWIN)