Volunteers protect squatters
Play
A volunteer group led by a former regimental commander of the ABSDF (All Burma Students' Democratic Front) has been providing security to squatters living along the Panhlaing River in Hlaingthaya Township against gangs that have been threatening them and
Around 5,000 squatter huts are located along the Panhlaing River and the squatters sought help from the Thaton-based Public Volunteer Group after they were threatened and extorted by gangs. The volunteer group has been carrying out security duties with a force of about 60, according to the squatters.
“I have served as a regimental commander in the ABSDF. I formed the Public Volunteer Group to help Myanmar migrant workers in Thailand. We are a civil society organisation that has been organised officially. We arrived here on May 26. The squatters contacted us to say that there was no rule of law and they were being threatened and extorted by gangs. The Hlaingthaya administrator also ordered the squatters to pull down their huts within 14 days. We are providing security to them at their request.
Since it is a squatter ward, it’s not under an official administration. We have been asking the police to secure the rule of law in the area,” said Thein Sann, chairman of Public Volunteer Group.
There are around 15,000 squatters in the ward and most of them are from the Ayeyarwady Region. They claim to have been threatened and extorted by gangs for three months and the police have not handled the issue effectively.
“I’ve been living here for two years. No thugs have troubled us in the past but three months ago, the gangs told us to give them money if we still want to live here. They told us to give them Ks100,000 (US$100) or Ks200,000 depending on our homes. We paid them because we are afraid they will pick a quarrel with us. When we reported it to the police, they told us that they didn’t care. Recently, a woman’s face was slashed with a knife. The police did nothing. Now they don’t come anymore,” said a squatter, San Lwin.
“We haven’t received an official report about the threats and extortion by gangs. They are living illegally so there may be land issues [with the gangs]. It may be possible that they didn’t dare to report the trouble to the police,” said Major Than Myint Oo from Hlaingthaya Township police.
