Amount lost in junta’s Four Cuts campaign recounted

 

Amount lost in junta’s Four Cuts campaign recounted
Wednesday, 21 October 2009 10:19 Hseng Khio Fah


Updated reports on the Burma Army’s 5-day scorched earth campaign, also known as Four Cuts - cutting off food, funds, intelligence and recruits by local villagers to the resistance, 27 July – 1 August, in townships in southern Shan State, have confirmed the loss of the villagers in one village tract alone at around Kyat 700 million (US$ 700,000).

An informed source in Mongkeung reported that the total affected houses and belongings of the villager in Hokhai village tract were 125 houses, 3 rice mills, 596,330,666 liters of paddy (11,812 Tin), 3 bullock carts, 6 motorbikes and one farm tractor (Tolaji).

“The total amount was at Kyat 699,420,000. It did not include the amount being robbed by the Burmese soldiers,” he said.
He added that there was a villager whose gold and money was being robbed while she was trying to escape the incident. “The gold was 2 Kyattha (3.26 gram) and her money was Kyat 700,000 (US$700).”

The incident took place in Mongkeung, Laikha and Kehsi townships by the battalions under the Mongnawng-based Military Operations Command # 2 of Col Kyaw Zan Myint in accordance with the order of the Chairman of Shan State (South) Peace and Development Council and Commander of Eastern Region Command Brig-Gen Ya Pyae. But the Burma Army later told villagers, in a public meeting, that the campaign was not waged by them, it was the Shan State Army members.

A month later, the MOC#2 was assigned to rebuild houses for those affected villagers. All houses must be a two story made of wood designated on Nargis home model and must be finished by September. However, the construction project was just started early in the month.

Victims were being told that they will receive the houses free of charge. But local traders and nearby villages were forced to provide hundred tons of wood for rebuilding houses.

And over 500 carpenters from Taunggyi were ordered to help the construction. Currently, 10 out of 125 affected houses in Hokhai village tract were almost finished and one other finished.

Each house is 15 feet in length and 20 feet in width.

Up to date most villagers are still staying in temporary shelters they built themselves in their fields and some are still in their farms.

However, they are being forced to continue the construction. Moreover, they were told to provide one cow to local based Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 517, every two weeks, said a villager in Hokhai.

The project does not seem succeed as almost all of the carpenters were reportedly turned back and traders also stopped providing woods because most did not get paid by the officials. And the officials were reported to have quarreled with each other over the unbalance of the power sharing, according to another source.

“An official from the municipality was slapped by the battalion commander Major Kyaw Thu,” he said. “After that many of the civilian officials left.”

According to the rights groups Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF) and Shan Women’s Action Network (SWAN)’s report, more than 500 houses and 200 granaries in villages in Mongkeung, Laikha and Kehsi townships, where the campaign took place, had been razed to the ground and over 10,000 people from almost in villages in the townships were homeless.

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