The Burmese military junta's authorities in Momauk Township also called N'Mawk in Kachin language in Kachin State are forcibly making people buy tarpaulin sheets (Moe-Kar) in Dunghkung village in Momauk Township. The tarpaulin was among items donated for victims of Cyclone Nargis affected areas, a source said.

According to a villager from Dunghkung village, at first, the tarpaulin sheets were forcibly sold to villagers by the authorities on August 2008. Most villagers refused to buy it.

However, some households took it because they didn’t have to pay at that time.  But later, the authorities forcibly gave tarpaulins to every household at the end of September 2008, because not every household bought it when they sold it for the first time, a woman villager said.

The villagers didn’t know the tarpaulins were donated for Nargis affected areas. The authorities also did not say where the tarps came from, she added.

Meanwhile, villagers from Dunghkung village are facing difficulties paying for the tarpaulins. The authorities have been forcibly collecting the money from the villagers since January 2009, said another villager from Dunghkung village.

“This month, the authorities came and asked for the money thrice. If we had bought the tarpaulin from the market, it would have cost only 25,000 Kyat (US $25) but the authorities asked for 30,000 Kyat (US $29),” a villager said.

There are over 70 households in Dunghkung village and the village is located on the way to Bhamo also called Manmaw in local Kachin language, the second largest city in Kachin State.

Cyclone Nargis originating in the Bay of Bengal lashed the Irrawaddy delta in southeastern Burma and some other parts of Rangoon, the formal capital on May 2 and 3, 2008.