Kaladan News

Dated: Saturday, December 20, 2003.

Forced labor for harvest in Northern Arakan

Buthidaung, Dec. 20, 03: The Military Operation Command (MOC-15) Commander ordered to the villagers of Buthidaung Township, Arakan State to harvest 10 acres of land, according to our correspondent.

The MOC-15 is based in Dabru Chaung village of Buthidaung Township. The villagers of Quen Dine, Nanragon, Tharakkani and Sinyan Way of Buthidaung south are being engaged in forced labors for harvest of paddy lands. Previously, MOC-15 seized this arable land from Rohingya villages, adjacent to military Headquarters and had been used for growing paddy with forced labors and now the time of harvest, he further added.

The Commander warned the villagers to take serious action in case of non-compliance. As a result, since 12th December 2003, a total of 100 labors from four villages have been working daily on the harvest site by rotation, another villager said who was engaged in forced labor.

The said Commander gathered all the laborers who were engaged with forced labor, asked them to affix their signatures and thumb impressions on blank paper sheets, as acknowledgement of voluntary services for the harvest, he further said.

The villagers have to reap the paddy fields and were fed by the villagers. Besides, they had to do other works such as threshing, carrying, storing the grains in the granary and put the paddy into heat, etc.

Though, the Nasaka issued a request to the local authorities of Nasaka to stop the use of forced labor on November 14, 2003, the Military Operation Commander (MOC-15) is still in practice of forced labor. # #

N.B: The persons who made the statements to our correspondent live inside Burma and requested to withhold their names for fearing of persecution.