* Beaten villager case
has unreasonable ending, family says
* Huge price hike in
Muse
* Suspension Bridge To
Be Built By Local People
* Indo-Myanmar Border
Trade Frozen
....................................................................
Beaten villager case has unreasonable
ending, family says
=========================================================
Independent Mon News Agency
The case of a patient in the Thanpyuzayart
town hospital ended with
the unreasonable denial by the
Burmese military commander in the area
that the soldier who beat the
patient ran away, according to the
patient’s family.
.
The patient, Nai Hamard, 44, has been taking treatment for serious
wounds after he was beaten by three
soldiers of the Southeast
Military Command No.4 military training battalion in Waekali,
Thanpyuzayart township,
while reaping rice in the paddy on his farm
about one mile from the battalion
on Oct. 26 .
“Although he got permission from the commander, Col. Khin
Maung Ze, to
reap the paddy, he was beaten by
corporal Aung Myit’s groups that
barred him from reaping the paddy
with the reason that his farm was in
an army area, a few days before he
was beaten,” his family added.
“We complained to the commander to take action against
corporal Aung
Myit on the day before yesterday. But commander
Col. Khin Maung Ze
said corporal Aung Myit ran away and disappeared,” a family member
said. “We have returned back not
satisfied with the commanders,” the
family said.
Nai Abair,
a relative of Nai Hamard
who came to see him in the
hospital said, “the Burmese army is
crueler than the Japanese army
that people said was the cruelest
army in World War Two.”
In Thanpyuzayart township, the army confiscated more than 2,000 acres
of land in thie
area near Nai Hamard”s farm
where he was beaten. Most
of the people in the area are
farmers who rely on their farms.
+++++++++++++++++++++
Huge price hike in
Muse
=======================
Shan Herald Agency for News
In Muse, northern
it all started before the fall from
grace of General Khin Nyunt, many
businesses have ground to a halt,
including drug trafficking,
prompting prices to rise sharply,
reports Hawkeye from the border:
One 200-pill bag of low-quality methamphetamine used to cost
about
30,000 kyat (US$30) before Oct. 19, the day Prime Minister
Khin Nyunt
was abruptly "permitted to
retire due to health reasons." It has
suddenly gone up to as high as
70,000 kyat (US$70) in the past few
days.
Meanwhile, 1 kg. of
heroin that was about 23,000 yuan (US$2,875) a few
weeks earlier has soared to 30,000 yuan ($ 3,750) and upwards,
according to local sources.
The price hike has been attributed to the suspension of
operations by
drug entrepreneurs, who have
adopted a wait-and-see policy. "It will
also take sometime to cultivate
relations with the new people in power
before resuming business,"
said a Shan source in Zegao on the Chinese
side of the border.
All business transactions that had been arranged through
connections
with the Military Intelligence (MI)
and its financing arm, Nasaka
(Border Disciplinary Unit), were suspended after
against one after the other in
September and October.
With the MI and Nasaka gone, the
vacuum has been filled by local
police, who are setting up
checkpoints to collect a tax from small
traders.
Each tolaji (farm tractor used by
local people for transportation) is
charged 2,000-10,000 kyat.
"The state of affairs is known as ‘Frogs
become dear when fish is scarce’ in the Shan saying,"
explained
another local resident. "The
cops, long ignored by the populace, have
now become people you have to take
into account, even if temporarily."
On Sept. 12, troops from the Northeastern Region Command
raided the
Nasaka checkpoint in Muse and
confiscated three chestfuls of gold
bars, among other things. The
scandal led to the dissolution of the
unit and its patron, the Military
Intelligence.
+++++++++++++++++
Suspension Bridge To Be Built By Local People
=============================================
Khonumthung News
Aizawl, 01/ 11/ 2004
Local people in Matupi township have taken the initiative to construct
a suspension bridge where no ferry
passage is available.
Matupi Township Peace and
Development Council (TPDC) chairman Za Thi
and the commander of Tactical II
Brigadier San Aung required local
people to construct a suspension
bridge over the Sa Rawng river to
connect Tang Ku and Sum Sen villages, according to a traveler from the
area.
"As this is harvesting time, we have no time to
construct the bridge
whatsoever. We shall have to start
the bridge construction when the
harvest is over," a reporter
quoted.
The suspension bridge construction will affect eight area
villages in
the area including Tang Ku, Reng Kheng, Pa Kheng, Ca Kheng A and B,
Sum Sen, Ti
Three villages have to donate 50 cubic meters of wood for
the
construction. The remaining
villages will be constructed with the
labor of the people.
A report has also been received sayingt
such a suspension bridge will
be constructed by local people
between Ti Baw and Am Lai village of
However, when such an order will be issued is not yet known.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Indo-Myanmar Border
Trade Frozen
================================
Khonumthung News
31/ 10/ 2004
The summoning of Myanmar Military Intelligence (MI)
agents in the
Indo-Myanmar border areas has
reduced the number of border traders.
The goods transporters of vehicles have ceased to
operate since Oct.
24. The MI agency gates were closed after most of the operaters were
summoned by the military junta.
"The prices of essential goods rise
continuously, though luxury goods
were not affected. If the border
trade route is closed for a longer
period, prices will be
rocketing," said the Champhai businessman.
The army and police on the border secured the border tightly
and
strictly checked import and export
goods.
A report has been received saying that the MI agents
stationed at Tio
were summoned on Oct. 29 and
reported to their office in Kalay Myoh.
had been house arrested be
the military junta. In continuation of
this coup certain MI officers were arres ted. This affect the border
trade with the neighbor countries.
.......................................................................
Burma News International is a network of nine exiled media
groups
such as Mizzima
News, Shan Herald Agency for News, Kao Wao News Group,
Khonumthung News Group, Narinjara News, Kaladan Press
Network,
Independent Mon News Agency, Karenni Information
Network Group and Network Media Group.
.........................
Contact: Duty Editor
+66 9 54 94 296
bni_newsimna@yahoo.co.uk