Protesters told not to behave ‘lawlessly’
Villagers have been reprimanded over an unsanctioned protest staged outside the Mandalay Region government’s office last week. The Thabeikkyin township residents were seeking a meeting with the chief minister over gold mines they allege have encroached on village territory over the last few years with environmentally disastrous effects. The Yehtwet villagers were summoned by the police and regional minister for security and border affairs on September 30. Instead of helping assuage the contentious land feud, the officials chastised the villagers for not obtaining prior permission, or even notifying the authorities of the five-person demonstration on September 27. “We went to the government’s office after we were summoned. Authorities from the administrative office, senior police officers and the region minister for security and border affairs warned us not to wage an unauthorised demonstration again. They did not tell us they will help to resolve the village land dispute,” Ko Than Naing Oo, one of the Yehtwet villagers, told The Myanmar Times on October 2.
