Friday, 04 February 2011 21:40 Kun Chan
New Delhi (Mizzima) – Township Peace and Development Councils in three townships in Mon State have forced farmers to donate money and rice to the army, according to local farmers.
Since early February, many farmers in Thanbyuzayat Township and some villages in Mudon Township were forced to give the army a bushel of rice and 1,000 kyat (about US$ 1) for each acre they work.
The Township Peace and Development councils reportedly ordered the relevant authorities to hold a meeting with villagers to collect money and rice, according to farmers in Wakharu Village in Thanbyuzayat Township.
A farmer in Kamawak Village in Mudon Township said that continuous rain from December 10 to 12 and heavy rain on January 11 spoiled his paddy fields and the rice that was harvested, but if he didn’t give as they asked he feared the army would confiscate his land.
Another farmer in Mudon told Mizzima that the land itself was also an issue with the farmers.
‘Although we work on our farms, we do not have the right to own our farms. If we refused to give them what they demanded, our paddy fields could be confiscated. So, I must give in every possible way’.
In Burma, ownership of farm land by farmers was eliminated by the Land Nationalization Act and the Tenancy Act of 1963.
Burma’s Meteorology and Hydrology Department in Naypyidaw announced that Moulmein received a record high rainfall of 4.09 inches on December 18, 2010.
New Delhi (Mizzima) – Township Peace and Development Councils in three townships in Mon State have forced farmers to donate money and rice to the army, according to local farmers.
Since early February, many farmers in Thanbyuzayat Township and some villages in Mudon Township were forced to give the army a bushel of rice and 1,000 kyat (about US$ 1) for each acre they work.
The Township Peace and Development councils reportedly ordered the relevant authorities to hold a meeting with villagers to collect money and rice, according to farmers in Wakharu Village in Thanbyuzayat Township.
A farmer in Kamawak Village in Mudon Township said that continuous rain from December 10 to 12 and heavy rain on January 11 spoiled his paddy fields and the rice that was harvested, but if he didn’t give as they asked he feared the army would confiscate his land.
Another farmer in Mudon told Mizzima that the land itself was also an issue with the farmers.
‘Although we work on our farms, we do not have the right to own our farms. If we refused to give them what they demanded, our paddy fields could be confiscated. So, I must give in every possible way’.
In Burma, ownership of farm land by farmers was eliminated by the Land Nationalization Act and the Tenancy Act of 1963.
Burma’s Meteorology and Hydrology Department in Naypyidaw announced that Moulmein received a record high rainfall of 4.09 inches on December 18, 2010.
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