Force labour for construction Ngapali Sea beach tourism complex

Sandoway, Dec 16: Large number of valuable timber trees were being felled for the construction of tourism complex, in Ngapali sea beach of Sandoway in Arakan state, by the military headquarters of western command of Burma and locals were being used as unpaid forced labour, a report said.

It is learnt that the military personnel were also building permanent quarters inside the reserve forest, at Khamong village of Talaing daung village track under the Ann Township, to extract valuable woods from these reserve forest.

The villagers were being used for forced labour for various works like construction of houses, locating of specific trees and logging them without any payments.

One victim said, not only do the villagers have to supply their physical labour free of cost but also have to provide buffaloes.

" We are being forced by the military personnel,” said a villager of Khamong. The villagers not only have to work without any payments but they even have to manage food and water on their own.

Force labourer for logging was being extracted from the following villages: Kalaing daung, Khamong, Mhroy, Raymathin and two other Chin tribal villagers Hang Royk and Pathagrow under the Ann township.

The SPDC and the military junta are in a hurry to build complexes to attract foreign tourists at Ngapali seaside. They are using country’s natural resources, valuable timber and force labourer, to execute this.

It is should be mentioned that at Ann township price of a ton of wood is Kyat 1,50,000, 4,00,000 in Sittwe and 2,00,000 in Sandoway, a Timber merchant told the reporter.