Police providing security at the controversial Latpadaung copper mine have stopped taking meals from the company that operates it to avoid fuelling the impression that they are employed by Wang Bao Company, a senior police officer said.
Police stopped taking company meals yesterday because it was giving those protesting against the mine in Sagaing Region the wrong impression, said Sub Police Major U Tin Htut, head of Mone-Ywar district police.
He said that police had taken Wang Bao meals even though they received rations from the government because they were so busy securing the mine they did not have time to cook.
Police are now cooking their own meals, he added.
Sub Police Major Lin Zaw Oo, a region-level officer, said police securing the mine will only eat their rations and meals provided by the state.
Besides their rations, police securing the mine also receive the same daily stipend of 800 kyat (about 85 US cents) that all police officers receive for expenses.
U Lin Zaw Oo declined to say how many police are securing the mine.
Residents of the area around the mine are asking whether the police are public servants or “Wang Bao Police”. During a 10 October protest demanding compensation for appropriated land they held placards emblazoned with a question: “Wang Bao Police or the People’s Police?”
