The Shan State government agreed to pay villagers who fled fighting in Mong Kung township but they say it’s not enough to cover the extensive damages they sustained during the clashes between the Burma Army—also called Tatmadaw—and the Shan army.
The ministry of Social, Relief and Resettlement has offered 2,100 kyat (US$1.5) to each person but villagers told SHAN they sustained hundreds of thousands of kyat in damages to their homes by bombing and looting when Tatmadaw soldiers slept in their homes and ate their livestock while they were forced to seek shelter in a monastery or with their relatives.
MP Sai Pan told SHAN each villager gets 2,100 kyat for the 7 days they were displaced. The minister is offering 50,000 kyat (US$36) to residents whose homes were damaged by fighting or soldiers sleeping in them.
“I’m unclear who I should report this to. Obviously, the villagers haven’t been compensated fairly for their losses.” Sai Pan said.
Aik Sai, from Koong Nyawng Hpahsa, estimates total losses at about 100 lakh Kyat (US$7,000).
Following days of intense fighting that pushed the Shan State/Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA) from its base on Loi Don mountain in southern Shan State, the government soldiers began building a new camp and they’re forcing villagers from Koong Nyawng Hpahsa to help them. The villagers have to donate wood and use their own vehicles to bring supplies and water up the mountain.
They’re really scared of the government soldiers, Sai Pan told SHAN, it’s like during the post-reform period under the Four Cuts policy.
