Chin govt minister ‘ordering forced labour’ (DVB)

Chin govt minister ‘ordering forced labour’

Published: 8 September 2011 by Democratic Voice of Burma
http://www.dvb.no/news/chin-govt-minister-%E2%80%98ordering-forced-labour%E2%80%99/17536

Men and women to forced to work on construction projects in Chin state (CHRO) Civil servants in northwestern Burma have been threatened with salary cuts by the chief minister of Chin state unless they labour weekly on efforts to prepare parts of a town for rejuvenation.

Civilians, including students, in Hpalam, Hakha and Htantalan townships have also been forced to work by Chief Minister Hung Ngai, according to the Chin Human Rights Organisation (CHRO).

It said that hundreds of people were ordered to “perform manual labour to clear various areas around the town” every Saturday morning since mid-July. Hpalam residents were also forced to porter for a local army battalion.

Reports of forced labour are common in Burma, although such high-level complicity is rarely documented. Hung Ngai is the most senior government official in Chin state, which borders India.

Physicians for Human Rights said in a report this year that human rights abuses in Chin state, one of the most isolated regions in Burma, were endemic.

“We found that government authorities may have killed an estimated 1,000 household members, tortured 3,800 individuals and raped 2,800 adults and children over the course of the 12-month reporting period” last year, Richard Solom, the group’s deputy director, told DVB in February.

CHRO spokesperson Salai Za Uk Ling said that aside from issues such as forced labour, the Chin struggled daily with persistent food shortages.

“Now that the new government is in office, we would like them to keep their word on the rule of law and protecting human rights,” he said, adding that the government’s promises of reform should be exemplified by Hung Ngai.

Burma’s Chief Minister of Chin State Orders Forced Labour

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7 September 2011

Burma’s Chief Minister of Chin State Orders Forced Labour

[Chiang Mai, Thailand] The Chief Minister of Burma’s Chin State has ordered forced labour in the capital Hakha, the Chin Human Rights Organization has learned.

For the past month civil servants in Hakha have been forced to perform manual labour to clear various areas around the town, including the site of a Union Government guesthouse which is being rebuilt, and the roadside that leads up to the Burma Army base of Light Infantry Battalion 266 on top of Rungtlang or Mount Rung.

A civil servant, who cannot be named for security reasons, told CHRO that Chief Minister Hung Ngai has threatened the civil servants with a salary cut if they fail to perform the labour every Saturday morning. The civil servant added, “It rained very heavily the last two Saturdays, but we still had to do the work. Some people even got sick as a result.”

In late July, Hung Ngai also ordered more than 100 ordinary residents living around the State Parliament building in Hakha to clear the compound of the Union Government guesthouse. The residents were threatened with a monetary fine of 3,000 kyats if they failed to show up for work. A local man forced to participate told CHRO, “They called us for forced labor when we should be working for our own survival. I had to miss out on work for my livelihood that day because of the forced labour.”

CHRO has also documented incidents of portering in Falam and Thantlang townships in recent weeks. On 8 August, three high school students were forced to carry very heavy loads for an army unit from Light Infantry Battalion 266 a distance of 18 miles, from Congthia village to Thantlang town.

These latest orders come after the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) official awareness-raising workshop in Hakha in May about the illegality of forced labour, attended by more than 160 people, including general administrative officials, judges, police, and Burma Army personnel.
CHRO’s Program Director Salai Za Uk Ling said, “All officials in Chin State have been made aware that forced labour is illegal, and that those who order it are liable to be punished under the law. Chief Minister Hung Ngai should be setting a positive example to the officials under his command. Instead, he seems to consider himself above the law and is confident that he can act with total impunity.”

Yesterday, the authorities in Burma announced the establishment of a National Human Rights Commission, whose members are former diplomats, retired civil servants and professionals drawn from various fields including law.

Salai Za Uk Ling continued, “This seems like the latest move by Thein Sein’s administration to convince the international community that it is making positive changes. But we have yet to see any concrete improvements in the human rights situation on the ground in Chin State. Are we really going to see the new human rights body investigate and hold powerful ministers like Hung Ngai to account? We believe that a UN-mandated independent, impartial Commission of Inquiry into grave human rights violations in Burma is the only way to end the culture of impunity.”

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For media interviews, please contact:

Salai Za Uk Ling, CHRO Program Director (Burmese and English): +66 89 218 0793
Rachel Fleming, CHRO Advocacy Director (English) +66 86 211 0732

Notes to editors:

1. The photos show civil servants working to clear the site of the Union Government guesthouse in Hakha, which is being rebuilt. The red building in the background is the Chin State parliament building, where Hung Ngai has his office. Please cite the Chin Human Rights Organization as the source.
2. A January 2011 report by Physicians for Human Rights, Life Under the Junta: Evidence of Crimes Against Humanity in Burma’s Chin State, found that almost 92% of people surveyed had been subjected to at least one incident of forced labour in the year before February/March 2010. See www.lifeunderthejunta.org

RFA Interview on ILO visit

CHRO welcomes ILO’s visit to Chin State

CHRO_Welcomes_ILO_Visit_to_Chin_State.pdf

MEDIA STATEMENT:
21 May 2011
CHRO WELCOMES ILO’S VISIT TO CHIN STATE

[Chiang Mai, Thailand] The Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) today welcomes the visit this week by the International Labor Organization (ILO) to Chin State to raise awareness about the issue of forced labor with the local authorities. In a State where more than 90 percent of the people have been subjected to forced labor by the authorities , the ILO’s visit was both timely and appropriate. CHRO considers this an important first step towards tackling the issue of forced labor in Chin State.

The ILO’s awareness-raising event took place in the capital Hakha on Wednesday, 18 May– the first of such event in northern Chin State – with more than 160 officials across the State participating. They included general administrative officials, judges, police and Burma Army personnel. CHRO is encouraged to learn that the authorities have agreed to distribute the ILO complaint mechanism booklets to the wider population.

In this context, the Burmese authorities have a unique opportunity to demonstrate their commitment by taking proactive and concrete actions to crackdown on the practice of forced labor. Actions should be taken to enforce existing domestic laws that criminalize the requisition of forced labor by both civilian authorities and the military, and by taking advantage of the ILO’s expertise and assistance in ending the practice of forced labor in the State.

“We hope that the ILO awareness program has positive impacts on the Chin people. On the one hand, the authorities, including the Burma Army have been clearly informed that it is both illegal to impose forced labor and to punish people for reporting forced labor incident. On the other hand, we hope that more Chin people feel empowered to exercise their right to make official complaint to the ILO against the imposition of forced labor by the authorities,” says Salai Bawi Lian Mang, Executive Director of CHRO.

In Chin State, the Burmese military is the primary institution responsible for the widespread and systematic use forced labor. The Burma Army still exacts forced labor to construct roads and military camps, and forcibly recruits civilian for porters and militia service, on a widespread basis and with complete impunity.

• Burma Army Light Infantry Battalion No. 55 based in Sinletwa village of Paletwa Township, Chin State forced locals from a total of 13 villages to perform night sentry duty in each village from 18 February 2011.

• On 25 March 2011, Burma Army Light Infantry Battalion No. 140 patrolling in Matupi Township of Chin State forcibly ordered 16 locals including a 16-year-old boy from Khuangan village to carry their military equipment.

• Starting from the third week of March 2011, over 50 civilians from Thantlang and Hakha towns were forced to undertake militia training for over two weeks.

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