The villager said, “The army authority ordered the village councils around the dam to send 20 people per day from each village to clean brush and grass that grew on the water inside of the dam.”

The use of forced labor began after General Khin Zaw from the defense department in Naypyidaw visited the dam for an inspection last month.

“We heard that General Khin Zaw instructed the army officials to clean the brush and grass somehow from the dam, and said he did not want to see any bushes inside the dam in the future. After that, the army authorities began forcing the villagers to work.”

The dam is located 10 miles from Mrauk U Town and locals know it as Ah Bound Daw Mraung. The dam was constructed by authorities five years ago to distribute water for some nearby army agricultural projects.

According to a local source, 15 villages near the dam have been forced to send residents to complete the work. Some of those villages are: Okk Paw Gan, Bu Wrat Ma Nyo, Maung Re Gan, Pauk Taw Byin, Let Kar, Lat Sit Byin, Kyi Ra Byint, and Tha Ma Rite.

“We have to go to the dam in the early morning every day for work, and we are allowed to return home after 4pm everyday. Residents in our village go there to work on a rotating system every day,” the villager added.

Army Battalions 540, 378, and 379 based in Mrauk U have many agricultural and husbandry projects nearby that use the water from the dam.