Sittwe: Forced labour continues unabated in Arakan State.  Many villagers have been forced by local Burmese military junta authorities to work at a castor oil plantation in Sittwe Township, Arakan State, without any payment, said a villager in the area.

"The military regime declared in 2000 that there is no forced labour in Burma, but in our area, forced labour is still relevant," the villager said.

Villagers from Kwee Day, Amyint Kyunt, Par Dalike, Nga Tauk, and Chi Li Byint in Sittwe Township have been summoned by village authorities to work in the castor oil plantations.

"The forced labour is at the behest of the village council, Rayaka, on the orders of the Sittwe Township authority, and the villagers have to work in the castor oil plantation whenever the authorities need forced labour for the plantation," the villager said.

The authorities planted the castor oil saplings in many acres of land in the area, after confiscating grazing pastures that were owned by local residents.

"Recently our villagers had to go to the castor plantation to work without any wage. We had to perform many tasks, including putting up fences, making drains or gutters, and cleaning up brush on the plantation," the villager said.

The villagers in the area have been used by authorities at all times of the year, during both the rainy season and the dry season.

The Burmese military authorities have declared that there is no forced labour in Burma, but there have been reports that local authorities are using people as forced labour in many areas in Arakan State, where people are unable to complain of the violation to the ILO office in Rangoon.