Villagers Face Lawsuit for Demanding Constitutional Appointments of Village Administrators

Min Bya: Seven villagers from villages in Munbra Township in western Burma's Arakan State are facing charges after complaining and demanding the authorities appoint their village administrator in accordance with the 2008 constitution.

The villagers are from the village groups of Thunpone Chaung, Chaungchay, and Thakpone Chaung in Munbra Township, and they are facing charges of defamation by the administrators of those village groups, said a village elder from the area.


"The administrators who have filed a suit against the seven villagers are U Tun Gree of Thunpone Chaung, U Saw Hla Aung of Chaungchay, and U Sein Kyaw Won of Thakpone. They have accused the villagers of misleading other villagers in their village tracts with defamations against the administrators," said the elder on condition of anonymity.

He added that the administrators have been serving as heads of the village groups since 2006. As they have done nothing to improve the welfare of the villages during their tenure, almost all villagers from those three village tracts have submitted a signed petition to the township administration authorities demanding new administrators be appointed in their areas according to the 2008 constitution that was adopted in April of this year.

In retaliation against the villagers, the administrators have filed charges in the township court against the selected seven villagers who were identified as leading the villagers against them.

In Article 289 of the Burmese constitution that was drafted by the previous SPDC military regime in 2008, a person who has integrity and moral uprightness and is admired in the ward or village must be appointed as the village administrator.

"They have been charged 211, a legal section covering fraud, and their case started on 29 April, and was heard again on 2 August in the township court," said the elder.

The villagers being sued by the administrators include one from Zeepun Gree Village and one from Khwasone Village in the Thunpone Chaung group, four from Chaungchay, and one from Thakpone Village group.

The elder said most of the residents from those village tracts are disappointed with the authorities for allowing their own villagers to be brought to trial by the administrators, and are ready to support them if the court rules against the seven in the defamation case.