Maungdaw, Arakan State: Officials from Burma’s border security force Nasaka have continued to conscript forced labor in Area 5 since November 17 in order to build a new road along the Burma-Bangladesh border, said a local traded on condition of anonymity.
Nasaka has been forcing local residents to work on the road despite already having received money from the general engineering department for construction.
The border security force controls 22 villages in Area 5, and it has extracted laborers from each village to work on the road, the trader said.
Nasaka officials have issued plots of land to each household on which they are required to construct sections of the road. They are given 20,000 kyats to complete the work, but more than 50,000 kyats are needed to pay for the construction.
The excess money is being skimmed off and kept by Nasaka officers, the trader said, adding that no one knows how much the general engineering department has given Nasaka for each section of the road.
If any village household does not want to provide a suitable laborer, they can pay 10,000 kyats. If they do not have the money, they are forced to give up one family member for 10-day shifts, during which they must provide their own food.
Nasaka officers have been instructed to arrest family members who refuse to work or pay money, for the purpose of extorting money for their release, said a local elder.
The villages of Tha Oo Hla, Myaw Taung, Tharat Oh, Darr Gri Zar, Borgozo Bill, Retwin Chaung, Lone Gha Daung, Kyagong Taung, U Shekya, Zimbon Nga and Nanchaung of Maungdaw Township have provide forced labor for road construction along the Burma- Bangladesh border.
Nasaka has been forcing local residents to work on the road despite already having received money from the general engineering department for construction.
The border security force controls 22 villages in Area 5, and it has extracted laborers from each village to work on the road, the trader said.
Nasaka officials have issued plots of land to each household on which they are required to construct sections of the road. They are given 20,000 kyats to complete the work, but more than 50,000 kyats are needed to pay for the construction.
The excess money is being skimmed off and kept by Nasaka officers, the trader said, adding that no one knows how much the general engineering department has given Nasaka for each section of the road.
If any village household does not want to provide a suitable laborer, they can pay 10,000 kyats. If they do not have the money, they are forced to give up one family member for 10-day shifts, during which they must provide their own food.
Nasaka officers have been instructed to arrest family members who refuse to work or pay money, for the purpose of extorting money for their release, said a local elder.
The villages of Tha Oo Hla, Myaw Taung, Tharat Oh, Darr Gri Zar, Borgozo Bill, Retwin Chaung, Lone Gha Daung, Kyagong Taung, U Shekya, Zimbon Nga and Nanchaung of Maungdaw Township have provide forced labor for road construction along the Burma- Bangladesh border.
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