By KANTARAWADDY TIMES
The Burma Army’s Battalion 102 forced eight villages in Karenni State’s Demoso Township to provide them with wood and bamboo to fix a military camp on Monday, locals told Kantarawaddy Times.
Maj Hla Moe reportedly ordered the headman of Htee Hpoe Kalo village to provide his battalion with enough planks of wood to fill two trucks, which they transported to their nearby camp site.
“They demanded logs and bamboo to fix their army camp… Soldiers came to take all the wood and bamboo,” a Htee Hpoe Kalo villager told Kantarawaddy Times.
Other residents of the area said that they felt they had no choice but to provide the military with what they needed, but that they wished these practices would end.
“In this situation, I don’t think they should demand [the building materials]. If we didn’t give it, the situation would not be good. It’s time that they stop demanding [things from us],” another villager in the tract said.
Battalion 102 also confiscated three 14-foot logs each from the villages of Daw Khu Lee, Hpe Lyar, Htee Thae Kalo and Daw Lyar Khu. They also took bundles of 10-20 stalks of bamboo from Daw Tadah, Daw Byar Ku and Daw Khu Thwe villages.
In total, the amount of materials filled six trucks. No payment was reportedly provided.
The Burma Army and the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) signed a bilateral ceasefire agreement in 2012, in which they agreed not to expand their military camps or increase troop numbers in the area.
The KNPP is still in talks regarding a potential signing of the country’s Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement with the government and military.