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Extortion for castor oil plants
Mon 28 Jul 2008,
IMNA
Burmese military junta authorities in Southern Burma are into extorting money from residents for replanting castor oil plants (Jatropha Curcas).
The Township Peace and Development Council (TPDC) in Ye, Mon State extorted 1000 Kyat each from residents during the weekend.
According to Ye residents, the authorities took the money for replanting castor oil saplings where some had had died on the main road and in government's plantations.
A resident said TPDC forcibly collects money annually from residents to implement government projects.
Similarly the TPDC in Mudon Township collected funds recently from the people in the township for replanting castor oil saplings.
The Burmese regime had targeted to plant jatropha curcas on eight million acres of land in the country in three years, according to a report of the Ethnic Community Development Forum (ECDF). The areas are including Kachin, Karenni, Karen, Chin, Mon, Arakan, and Shan states.
The junta wants to grow 500,000 plants in each of its 12 regional military command in three years. The military southeast command ordered different levels of the government administration to grow the plant.
Government authorities used resources from the people to implement the project forcing people to shell out money.
Each government departments were ordered to grow the plant in their own land while people were ordered to grow at least five plants on their land.
Each high school has been directed to grow 1,000 plants, 700 plants in middle school and 300 in primary schools.
Castor oil plants will also have to be grown along the main motor road and highway.
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