Forced labour shows back-breaking lack of reform in Myanmar military

A victim of forced labor speaks during a Reuters interview in a village at Buthidaung township in northern Rakhine state June 10, 2015. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun

BUTHIDAUNG, Myanmar (Reuters) - In the fertile river valleys near Myanmar's border with Bangladesh, stateless Rohingya Muslims say there is no let-up in soldiers forcing them into hard labour, despite the government launching a campaign three years ago to end the practice.

The military, which ruled the former Burma for nearly half a century before handing power to a semi-civilian government in 2011, has vowed to end forced labour. President Thein Sein, a former general, promised in 2012 to eradicate what was once a military custom within three years.