Buthidaung, Arakan State: Villagers have been made to work in the army cantonment as retaliation for their support to the opposition political party in the November 7 elections ...
Ten days after the general election, instances of forced labour have been rising in northern Buthidaung, with local residents saying that at least 50 villagers are required to work without pay every day at the No 564 army cantonment.
The work is said to include clearing brush, digging trenches and other tasks, and Kyi Nute Thee village, which strongly supported the National Democratic Party for Development, has been specifically targeted for forced labour, said a resident.
Workers are forced to toil from 6 am till sunset and arrange for their own food.
Families in the village have begun to suffer as their principal workers have been drafted for forced labour, the resident said.
