Mray Bon: Burmese Army officials have forced cyclone victims in Kyunt Thaya Village in Mray Bone Township in Arakan State to work at many renovation sites without payment after Cyclone Giri lashed the area, said villagers.

"Now we have to work for some reservoir reconstruction in our village without payment. About 50 per cent of our village has been forced by the army to work at the sites every day. We were forced by the army to carry stones and earth from a distant place to the reservoir renovation sites," a villager said.

Army officials from Artillery Battalion No. 270 based on the island of Kyaunt Thaya have used villagers as labour in the area without payment.

"The army officials recently formed 26 small groups in Kyunt Thaya with 10 villagers each and forced them to work at many reconstruction sites across the island. The army officials ordered the village authority to send five groups to the reconstruction sites every day," the source said.

Moreover, the villagers have also been forced to work at many army reconstruction sites, including rebuilding the helicopter grounds, paths connecting the army battalion, and army barracks.

"We were forced by army officials to work on three helicopter grounds two weeks ago before Prime Minister Thein Sein visited our area by helicopter. We worked there for 10 days from dawn to dusk without any payment," he added.

Army officials began using villagers for forced labour soon after Cyclone Giri lashed the area on 22 October.

Many villagers have been unable to repair their damaged homes and fishing boats because the army authorities have been forcing them to work on other reconstruction sites every day.

In Kyunt Thaya Village, more than 400 of the 500 homes were destroyed by Giri.

Another villager said, "We are now staying in huts built from Areca palm because we cannot repair our homes, as we have no money and no materials to repair our houses. We received a plastic sheet from UNICEF but it is only 5 square feet. We have received rice from the government twice since the cyclone but it is a very small amount and not enough for our daily food."

The village of Kyunt Thaya was among the worst hit by the cyclone in Arakan State, but villagers have not been receiving relief from international NGOs or local social aid groups. Aid organizations have been avoiding the area because Battalion No. 270 controls the area. At the same time that they are missing out on relief aid, villagers have also been forced by the army authority to work without pay.