December 8, Irrawaddy

Forced labor reported in scheme to open up ski area - Khun Sam

Villagers in upper Kachin State are being forced to construct a road leading to one of Burma's highest mountains, Phonkanrazi, to improve access for tourists, according to sources in the region.

A western tourist who recently visited Putao region and photographed people working on the road construction told The Irrawaddy: "On the way from Hsangoung to Wasadan we were shocked and sickened to find more than 500 villagers (children to elderly) chopping down trees, bamboo, moving huge rocks, cleaning bush."

He went on: "We were told that it had been announced in all of the local churches that every household had to provide one person a week to work without pay ...on widening the footpath into a road." The enforced laborers had to provide their own food and shelter, he said.

A Kachin man, who gave his name as Sompong, said the work had been in progress since early October between the upper Putao villages of Hsangoung and Ziyadan. He said the local authority had told the villagers they were to work without pay on a "self reliance" program to develop their region.

The road construction scheme appears to be part of the Rangoon government's "Visit Myanmar 1996" program, which includes plans to develop the mountainous region of Kachin State and open a ski resort on Phonkanrazi mountain. Tour companies are already reported to be bringing visitors to the area.

The office of Township Development Committee in the Kachin capital Myitkyina confirmed to The Irrawaddy that road construction work had been going on since last year. A spokesman said the government had allocated 10,000,000 Kyat (US $8475) for a 30-mile stretch, but work had been suspended because the budget had been over-spent.

The International Labour Organization office in Rangoon has often expressed concern about forced labor in Burma, but its head, Richard Horsey, said he could not comment on the latest case. It was not his office's policy to comment on individual cases of alleged forced labor, he said.