About forty villagers from southern Ye Township, Mon State were recently taken hostage and released after paying a ransom, Kaowao has learned.

According to one villager, an armed Mon group raided villagers on the evening of October 25th as they made their way home from work on garden farms, asking them for ransom. The villagers were ordered to pay twenty thousand Kyat each.

Another villager told Kaowao that the armed group was from the Mon splinter group led by Nai Bin that operates in southern Ye and Yebyu townships.

Human right abuses have continued in southern Ye since the 1995 cease-fire agreement. The NMSP has retreated from the area while the Burmese Army has taken up positions.  Khawzar village is now a sub-township and an SPDC-administered area with a police station and No. 31 Infantry Battalion.

“It is very sad to see these villages that were once well looked after by the NMSP.  Innocent Mon villagers are sandwiched between the Burmese Army and the Mon splinter groups. Some are being accused of being rebel-supporters by the Burmese army, and many have been torture and killed.  The Mon armed groups, on the other hand, have forced them into taxation and even killed them when they haven’t obeyed their commands,” said Nai Ong, from Wae Kwao village.

After the New Mon State Party reached a cease-fire agreement with the military junta in 1995, Nai Hloin split from the party to resume fighting against the Burmese Army.  He and his brother Nai Bin led the Mon National Warrior Army (MNWA) and operated in southern Mon State and the northern part of Tenasserim Division.

The two brothers were active until 2005 when Nai Hloin was injured and sought a safe haven in Thailand, away from the Burmese Army.  Nai Sook Gloin (long hair) and Chan Dein succeeded their positions with remaining Mon guerrillas.  Nai Bin came back and led the Mon armed group by using ambush tactics and guerrilla warfare.

"Many villagers from southern Ye fled to Thailand and Malaysia because they were accused of being rebel supporters. They were tortured and their belongings, including houses, were confiscated and burnt down," said Ong, who lives in Malaysia now.

Southern Ye is listed by the Burmese Army as a 'black zone.' Civilians face oppression under the name of military offensives to annihilate the Mon armed groups. 

By nature, this area is known for its coastal beauty and rich resources. Fishing and garden farms are the main income for local communities.