SITUATION IN KYA-IN SEIKKYI TOWNSHI

[suriya@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

SITUATION IN KYA-IN SEIKKYI TOWNSHIP


1)      SLORC Army Persecutes Christian Villagers in Kya-in Seikkyi

The Kasa village in Kya-in Seikkyi township is populated by both Christian
and Buddhist villagers who have always lived in religious peace and harmony
all their lives.  A church lies just outside the village near the
Shwe-Hla-Phone Pagoda and the people of both the religious faiths take
pride in this.

The peaceful village life was shattered in October 1997 when the SPDC Army
decided to change the situation. Twenty housholds living near the church
were forcefully relocated inside the village and their homes were destroyed.

Again on March 7, 1998, a column from the 284th Light Infantry Battalion
(LIB) came to the village and told the villagers that the church must be
burned down.  

The task of burning down the church was given to the church pastor.  The
church elder declined, saying he cannot do the job. The Buddhist monk of
Ka-Sa village personally intervened and pleaded with the troops, but was
told that it was an order from the higher authorities. The monk was also
reprimanded for getting involved in the matter.

The troops left saying if the church was still standing because the
villagers did not burn it, they would do it themselves the next time they
come around.  

The persecution against Christian villagers has been worsening steadily.
On March 5, a Christian villager from Ta-Kae village, which is about 2
hours walk away from Seikkyi, was taken to Kyon Sein village and killed.
The Christian villager was told to wear the Buddhist saffron robes of a
monk and told that his life would be spared if wore them.  The villager
refused and he was shot in the chest and beheaded while alive.  

His head was displayed on a stake at the area football ground for the
public to see. 

Also In February 1998, three Christian villagers, including U Baw Gi from
Kyon Sein village, were killed by the troops from the 284th LIB.  Kyon Sein
village is about 4 hours walk east of Seikkyi village.

In all the murders committed against Christians, the troops accused them of
having connection with the Karen National Union.

==========

2)      Military, Khun Sa, Thamu Hae In Joint Logging Venture

A teak extraction venture is underway at Kyo Waing village about 3 hours
walk east of Kya-in Seikkyi. Tha Hmu Hae, who formerly belonged to the KNU
and who has since surrendered to the SLORC, is logging and operating
sawmills with the permission of the ruling generals.  

Teak scantlings and planks produced by the sawmills are bought by the
business interest group of drug kingpin Khun Sa.

Tha Hmu Hae group gets 2,000 kyat per ton of teak for the operation and it
uses the money to recruit soldiers. A new recruit is paid 3 baskets of rice
and 1000 kyat every month.

The people in the region say Khun Sa's representatives, who are all holding
Burmese National Registration Cards, can neither speak Burmese nor English
and can only communicate in Chinese.  

On March 5, a column from the 284th LIB came to Kyo Waing village and
illegally collected 50,000 kyat for each of the operating sawmills.

========

3)      Forced labour and extortion from villages for construction of SPDC battalions

The generals are deploying three more new regiments in Kya-in Seikkyi
Township in addition to the 32rd Infantry Battalion which has long been in
the region. The new units  includes the 283rd Light Infantry Battalion, one
not yet known regiment and an artillery unit. 

Since construction is underway to station the new units at Thon Dine and
Nowa Chu areas, all nearby villages have been ordered to provide "voluntary
labor".  According to the order, each household must work free 2 weeks
every month and pay 3,000 kyat a month for the army to recruit porters.

Families of the troops are now temporaily staying in makeshift huts with
roofing of Inn leaves.   Because of this, the local populace has been
banned by the Army from collecting Inn leaves for their own roofings.
Those found with Inn leaves are told to carry them to the battalion site.

Some of the villages affected are Kya-in, Takay, Thu Lekaw, Shwedo,
Kokkhwar, Mae Thadaw, Thu Ledaw and Kyakhat Chaung. 

====================

4)      Rice mills closed To Punish Farmers for not sellng rice to State

Milling permission for the rice mills in Moulmein and Kya-in Seikkyi
townships has been suspended following the failure by the farmers in the
region to sell paddy to the state authorities.

At the end 1997, the authorities announced that paddy would be bought at
the market price and that the farmers no longer need to sell their paddy to
the state.  The authorities later changed their mind and like in the
previous years, farmers were ordered to sell a quota of their paddy at a
price far below the market price. 

The farmers, however, did not come up with the quota and to prevent the
farmers from milling the paddy, milling permission for all rice mils were
ordered suspended. 

The rice purchase problem was not mentioned in the reason given for the
closure of the rice mills. The authorities said that the price of diesel
oil has increased to 500 kyat a gallon and that there was not enough diesel
for the rice mills to operate. 

In order to make the local people come up with the paddy required, the
authorities are also applying pressure locally. The local people are
prohibited from making charcoal and/or cutting down firewood. 

The local rice price has increased to 75 kyat per pyi of rice as a result
of the mill closures.




Yoma (3) News Agency
March 16, 1998