Description:
Summary: "A bitter land struggle is unfolding in northern Burma?s remote Hugawng
Valley. Farmers that have been living for generations in the valley are
defying one of the country?s most powerful tycoons as his company
establishes massive mono-crop plantations in what happens to be the
world?s largest tiger reserve.
The Hukawng Valley Tiger Reserve in Kachin State was declared by
the Myanmar* Government in 2001 with the support of the US-based
Wildlife Conservation Society. In 2004 the reserve?s designation was
expanded to include the entire valley of 21,890 square kilometers
(8,452 square miles), making it the largest tiger reserve in the world.
Today a 200,000 acre mono-crop plantation project is making a
mockery of the reserve?s protected status. Fleets of tractors, backhoes,
and bulldozers rip up forests, raze bamboo groves and fl atten existing
small farms. Signboards that mark animal corridors and ?no hunting
zones” stand out starkly against a now barren landscape; they are all
that is left of conservation efforts. Application of chemical fertilizers
and herbicides together with the daily toil of over two thousand
imported workers are transforming the area into huge tapioca, sugar
cane, and jatropha plantations.
In 2006 Senior General Than Shwe, Burma?s ruling despot, granted the
Rangoon-based Yuzana Company license to develop this ?agricultural
development zone” in the tiger reserve. Yuzana Company is one of
Burma?s largest businesses and is chaired by U Htay Myint, a
prominent real estate tycoon who has close connections with the junta.
Local villagers tending small scale farms in the valley since before it
was declared a reserve have seen their crops destroyed and their lands
confi scated. Confl icts between Yuzana Company employees, local
authorities, and local residents have fl ared up and turned violent several
times over the past few years, culminating with an attack on residents
of Ban Kawk village in 2010. As of February 2010, 163 families had
been forced into a relocation site where there is little water and few
fi nished homes. Since then, through further threats and intimidation,
* The current military regime changed the country?s name to Myanmar in 1989
1
others families have been forced to take ?compensation funds” which
are insuffi cient to begin a new life and leave them destitute.
Despite the powerful interests behind the Yuzana project, villagers have
been bravely standing up to protect their farmlands and livelihoods.
They have sent numerous formal appeals to the authorities, conducted
prayer ceremonies, tried to reclaim their fi elds, refused to move, and
defended their homes.
The failure of various government offi cials to reply to or resolve the
problem fi nally led the villagers to reach out to the United Nations and
the National League for Democracy in Burma. In March 2010 representatives
of three villages fi led written requests to the International Labor
Organization to investigate the actions of Yuzana. In July 2010, over
100 farmers opened a joint court case in Kachin State.
Although the villagers in Yuzana?s project area have been ignored at every
turn, they remain determined to seek a just solution to the problems in
Hugawng. As Burma?s military rulers prepare for their 2010 ?election,”
local residents hold no hope for change from a new constitution that
only legalizes the status quo and the military?s placement above the
law. Companies such as Yuzana that have close military connections are
set to play an increasing role in the economy and will also remain above
the law. The residents of Hugawng Valley are thus at the frontline of
protecting not only their own lands and environment but also the rights
of all of Burma?s farmers.
The Kachin Development Networking Group stands fi rmly with
these communities and therefore calls on Yuzana to stop their project
implementation to avoid any further citizens? rights abuses and calls on
all Kachin communities and leaders to work together with Hugawng
villagers in their brave struggle."
Source/publisher:
Kachin Development Networking Group (KDNG)
Date of Publication:
2010-08-25
Date of entry:
2010-08-25
Grouping:
- Individual Documents
Category:
Language:
English and the other EU languages
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Format:
pdf
Size:
2.58 MB