Migrant workers from upper Burma are at the heart of a perceived increase in thefts in Mon state villages, according to residents. Some area residents who say they have paid attention to regional politics have also claimed that this increased spate of thefts is the result of Burmese army efforts to purposefully send criminals to make conflict among the Mon people.

“I got information from Burmese army officers that the army encourages their former soldiers and their informers to steal and rob things from Mon communities”, claimed a leader from the People Militia in Mudon Township.

In once instance, multiple thefts occurred on Oct 31st in Thanphyuzayart Township during the full moon holiday of Dazaunmon month. Unidentified youths were reported to have stolen motorbikes, motorcycles, sheets of harvested rubber, clothes, equipment from shops, and in some cases destroying the shops themselves. Despite the rampant vandalism, none of the reported crimes resulted in arrests. The village headman and local police say they are working to solve these problems.

The village headman from Mudon explaining several recent events they’ve been working to solve and prevent from happening again, “Yesterday night [Nov. 2nd] several thefts of motorbikes were reported as well as a case of assault.”

“On the night of November 2nd, 3 motorbikes from Kyaikhamee (Kyaikhami) area in Thanphyuzayart were stolen and have yet to be recovered”, said a village security man from Thanphyuzayart.

At the last month a Mon monastery in Thanphyuzayart Township reported 60 blankets stolen. Additionally younger monks who were making donations at the monastery in Kyonekaroat village reported their money and belongings stolen while making offerings of yellow robes to senior monks as a sign of respect.

In an effort to curtail the crimes, a senior monk from Thanphyuzayart warned villagers to pay close attention to the valuables in their houses.

Some residents claim that the cause of these disruptions has been area police and Burmese army battalions. A source close to a man who started a gambling facility in Moulmein Township, claims that police and members of the Burmese army are sending people to steal motorbikes, and some villagers only got their vehicles back after complaining to the police and army. Despite the return of some property, no arrests were made.

According to an eyewitness of the arrest, a villager from Mudon Township reported that thief was caught and arrested at the Kyaikhamee pagoda festival. The thief, under questioning, admitted that his group consisted of 20 people coming from a division in upper Burma, to steal whatever they saw.

Observers have reported that most crimes have been occurring in villagers where there is a more active Mon community or where Mon soldiers are located.

“The army sends theifs and robbers among villages that garrison Mon soldiers,” claimed a member of the central committee to hold the 63rd of Mon National Day. “If that village ends up having conflict, the authorities can point to the Mon soldiers and say that thefts and robberies are normal, and even happening among villages with Mon soldiers.”