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Report from inside Burma




A Report From Inside Burma


Farmers In Irraweddy Division Face Arrests 


11 October, 1996


A report from inside Burma shows that farmers in Irraweddy Division were
arrested for not meeting the rice selling quota posted by the Burmese military
authorities. A number of farmers had been detained and sentenced up to one
year with hard labor for the crime.

After the last harvest the farming communities in the Irraweddy Delta found
that their crop output had dwindled compared to that of the year before. They
blamed the bad weather for having such a scanty yield. But the State Law and
Order Restoration Council (SLORC) did not blame the weather; they held 
farmers responsible for not being able to supply the re-determined amount of
rice to the SLORC. 

Farmers in Burma are required to sell a part of their crop at fixed price to
the government in accordance with the acres they own - 420 kg per acre. The
authorities determines the price of rice in advance. This oldest form of
practice has been in practice since the SLORC seized power in 1988. Ever since
the military regime has doubled its efforts to buy more rice from farmers at
pre-determined prices. Rice is one of main foreign currency earners in Burma.  

Reportedly there had been mass arrests of farmers who were not able to come up
with the quota in the Delta. Some of the farmers have been sentenced to a
prison term for the crime and sent to labor camps.

In order to meet the quota, mmany farmers had to sell thei belongings such as
houses, paddy fields, cattle and others to buy necessary amount of rice from
other areas to fill up the quota. This was then sold to the Irraweddy Division
Law and Order Restoration Council. 

The report also mentioned that the farmers who had nothing to sell other than
their paddy fields had run away with their families from their home and that
some other farmers who were old and feeble committed suicide because they
could not escape like others.

Due to the problems arisen during the last harvest, the population of farmers
in that area has decreased and subsequently the paddy fields have been left
uncultivated during the time of monsoon. 

U Win Htein, a close aide of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, was arrested early this
year for collaborating with farmers in the Delta region to video the paddy
fields with dry plants under the SLORC's special programs. He was later
sentenced to 7 years imprisonment. 

In an attempt to solve the problem, the SLORC later released the farmers who
had been imprisoned for the crime to grow rice. The farmers however had to
sign agreements for the fiscal year 1996-97 to sell SLORC the pre-determined
quota of rice from the new harvest plus the amount left unpaid by the farmers.
 
These problems were especially rampant in the townships of Bo Galay, Kyait
Lat, Phya Pon and Daedaye in Irraweddy Division.

The followings are the partial list of farmers who were arrested, spent their
in labor camps during this year.

[1]

Name:          U Ba San
Father's Name: U Mya Gyi
Address:       Ywa Thaya village, Kyait Lat township, Irraweddy Division.      

U Ba San was sentenced to jail for one year with hard labor and  was sent to
 Shwe Laik Kyin prison labor camp later. He owns six acres of paddy fields. He
was not able to sell full amount of the quota. At the time of reporting,  he
still owes 1,995 kilograms of rice to the SLORC. 

[2]

Name :         U Than Kyi
Father's Name: U Myint Hlaing
Address:       Ywa Thaya village, Kyait Lat township, Irraweddy Division.      
                                   
U Than Kyi was sentenced to jail for one year with hard labor and
was sent to Shwe Laik Kyin prison labor camp. He owns 30 acres of paddy
fields. He still owes 12,600 kilograms of rice to the SLORC.
 
[3] 

Name:          Ko Kyi Nyo
Father's Name: U Htaik
Address:       Ywa Thaya village, Kyait Lat township, Irraweddy Division       
                                                 
Ko Kyi Nyi was sentenced to jail for one year and hard labor. He owns 20
acres. He still need to sell 7,000 kilograms of rice to the SLORC.

[4] 

Name :         Ko Aye Ko
Father's Name: Unknown
Address:       Baka Gyi village, Kyait Lat township, Irraweddy Division.       
                                                  
Ko Aye Ko was sentenced to jail for one year with hard labor. He
owns 20 acres of paddy fields and has still 4,200 kilograms to repay to the
SLORC.

[5]
Name :         U Maung
Father's Name: U Gyi
Mother's Name: Daw Win Win
Address:       Mar Mar Gon village, Kyait Lat township, Irraweddy Division     
         
U Maung has 10 acres of paddy fields. He still has to repay 3,500 kilograms 
of rice to the SLORC. When he heard that he would be arrested forthe crime 
he hanged himself and died.

Note: The names of farmers and villages have been changed for security reasons.


Oway News Agency

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