Land confiscation for military, commercial and other purposes
Individual Documents
Description:
Submission of evidence by Lawyers Network and Justice Trust to the Letpadaung Investigation Commission...(Submitted 28 January, 2013, re-submitted with exhibits 5 February, 2013)...EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
"The evidence submitted in this report covers two main issues: 1) the circumstances and validity of contracts signed by local villagers in April 2011 to allow their farmlands to be used by a copper mining joint venture between Wanbao, a Chinese military-owned company, and U Paing, a Burmese military-owned company, and 2) the circumstances and validity of the police action used to disperse peaceful protesters at the copper mine site during the early morning hours of 29 November, 2013.
This submission presents relevant laws and facts concerning the Letpadaung case; it does not draw legal conclusions or make specific policy recommendations.
The evidence indicates that local government authorities, acting on behalf of the joint venture companies, used fraudulent means to coerce villagers to sign contracts against their will, and then refused to allow villagers and monks to exercise their constitutional right to peaceful assembly and protest.
The evidence also indicates that police used military-issue white-phosphorus (WP) grenades (misleadingly termed smoke bombs) combined with water cannons to destroy the protest camps and injure well over 100 monks with severe, deep chemical burns. White phosphorus spontaneously ignites in air to produce burning phosphorous pentoxide particles and, when combined with water, super-heated phosphoric acid..."
Source/publisher:
Lawyers Network and Justice Trust via AHRC
Date of publication:
2013-02-14
Date of entry/update:
2013-04-11
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.76 MB
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Description:
WITH SUBSTANTIAL SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS, INCLUDING A PHOTO ESSAY...Selected Land and Livelihood Impacts Along the Shwe Natural Gas and China-Myanmar Oil Transport Pipeline from Rakhine State to Mandalay Division..."Yesterday, we published a photo essay and companion report highlighting the severe impacts of the Shwe natural gas and Myanmar-China oil transport pipelines on the lives and livelihoods of local communities living around these mega-projects. Set for operation later this year, these Chinese and Korean led projects will transport Myanmar and foreign resources to China while providing little benefits to communities; lands have been taken, destroyed and damaged with inadequate compensation to make way for the dual pipelines and associated infrastructure. Based on over one year of on-the-ground fact-finding inside Myanmar by EarthRights International, the photos and essay amplify the voices of communities who are calling for the projects to be suspended or diverted to avoid ongoing harms..."
Source/publisher:
EarthRights International (ERI)
Date of publication:
2013-04-08
Date of entry/update:
2013-04-09
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Land confiscation for military, commercial and other purposes, Shwe gas field and pipeline -- reports and articles
Language:
English, Burmese/ မြန်မာဘာသာ
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Description:
"The Asian Human Rights Commission has since mid-2012 closely followed, documented and reported on the struggle of farmers in the Letpadaung Hills of central Burma against the expansion of a copper mining operation under a military-owned holding company and a partner company from China. After repeatedly being refused permission to demonstrate against the operation under the terms of the country?s new antidemocratic public demonstration law, the farmers began public protests, which were met with a range of repressive measures, culminating in the night time attack on encamped protestors last November. The attack received international media coverage because the police fired white phosphorous into the protest camps causing extensive burns to protestors, the majority of them monks who had joined villagers in resistance to the mine project.
In recent months two reports have been issued, in Burmese, on the struggle against the mine. The reports make interesting reading because they represent very different perspectives and understandings of the issues for the affected villagers in Letpadaung. One is the official report of an investigative commission headed by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, published in the 12 March 2013 edition of the state newspaper. The other is an unofficial report by the 88 Students Generation group and the Lawyers Network, Upper Burma, issued before the official report, on 21 January 2013. Whereas the latter report represents a genuine effort to identify the causes for the opposition to the mine and speak to the human rights questions concerned with events in Letpadaung of 2012, the former is little more than an exercise in playing at politics, and an attempt to sidestep and obfuscate the questions of human rights involved through the use of "information" that conceals more than it reveals..."
Source/publisher:
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
Date of publication:
2013-04-03
Date of entry/update:
2013-04-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
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Description:
"RANGOON—Less than eight months after a parliamentary commission began investigating land-grabbing in Burma, it has received complaints that the military has forcibly seized about 250,000 acres of farmland from villagers, according to the commission?s report.
The Farmland Investigation Commission submitted its first report to Burma?s Union Parliament on Friday, which focused on land seizures by the military.
According to the report, the commission received 565 complaints between late July and Jan. 24 that allege that the military had forcibly confiscated 247,077 acres (almost 100,000 hectares) of land. The cases occurred across central Burma and the country?s ethnic regions, although most happened in Irrawaddy Division..."
Htet Naing Zaw, Aye Kyawt Khaing
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy"
Date of publication:
2013-03-05
Date of entry/update:
2013-03-27
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Tenure insecurity in Burma (including land grabbing), Land confiscation for military, commercial and other purposes
Language:
English
Local URL:
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Description:
"This past week the parliamentary Farmland Investigation Commission submitted its report on land confiscation to the parliament. The report finds that the military have taken almost 250,000 acres of land from villagers. The commission stated that they had spoken to military leaders about the confiscation, ?Vice Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing […] confirmed to me that the army will return seized farmlands that are away from its bases, and they are also thinking about providing farmers with compensation.?..."
Source/publisher:
Burma Partnership
Date of publication:
2013-03-12
Date of entry/update:
2013-03-27
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Land confiscation for military, commercial and other purposes, Tenure insecurity in Burma (including land grabbing)
Language:
English
Local URL:
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Description:
"This report contains the full transcript of an interview submitted to KHRG during July 2012, which was conducted in Mergui-Tavoy District by a community member trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The community member interviewed 45-year-old G--- villager, Saw E---, who described the destruction of agricultural land, including betel nut and coconut plantations in G--- village resulting from construction of a vehicle road by the Italian-Thai Development Company (ITD). Saw E--- raises concerns regarding the lack of compensation for damaged agricultural land and crops. He also raises his concerns that relocation will be necessary, as the road will continue to be built and is set to cross his land. Further, Saw E--- describes villagers? strategies in response, including requesting ITD to provide compensation for the value of crops lost in road construction, this compensation was promised by the company, but is yet to be received. This report, and others, will be published in March 2013 as part of KHRG?s thematic report: Losing Ground: Land conflicts and collective action in eastern Myanmar..."
Source/publisher:
Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)
Date of publication:
2013-03-01
Date of entry/update:
2013-03-22
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
104.82 KB
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Description:
"This report includes a situation update submitted to KHRG in July 2012 by a community member describing events occurring in Ler Doh Township, Nyaunglebin District, in the period between May and July 2012, including information on the use of villagers for forced labour by Tatmadaw soldiers, a KNU campaign to inform villagers of the ceasefire process, the testing of stones for mining operations and land confiscation. The community member describes how Muh Theh villagers were forced by Tatmadaw LIB #704 Battalion Commander Nyan Win Aung to build a bridge across the Thay Nweh Loh River for the purpose of providing motorbike access from the village to Poh Khay Hkoh army camp, as well as providing information regarding taxes placed upon motorbike taxi drivers by soldiers from IB #60. The report goes on to provide details surrounding a campaign carried out by the KNU to inform villagers about the ceasefire process, during which villagers voiced their problems to the KNU, including land issues. Moreover, the report contains information about several pending, as well as current development projects in the area, including an incident in which Tatmadaw MOC #4 and LIB #704 facilitated the testing of stones in Maw Day Forest. The report also describes the purchase of 9,000 acres of land by U Nyan Shwe Win, following the Government designation of the land in question as uncultivated. The community member reports that the land in question includes local villagers? land; betel nut; durian; mangosteen; cashew; betel leaf; cardamom; and dog fruit plantations, as well as villagers? hill field farms. Villagers were not consulted about the sale of this land. The problems that this sale of land poses to those villagers relocated during the ?four cuts? is specifically detailed; previously able to return from relocation sites to work on their plantations, this sale of ?uncultivated? land puts their livelihoods at risk. Finally, the report describes flooding caused by the Kyauk N?Ga dam, resulting in damage to villagers? paddy farms.
Source/publisher:
Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)
Date of publication:
2013-03-08
Date of entry/update:
2013-03-22
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
134.91 KB
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Description:
"This report includes a situation update submitted to KHRG in November 2012 by a community member trained by KHRG to monitor human rights. It describes events occurring in Papun District during the period between July to October 2012. Specifically discussed are Tatmadaw and Border Guard abuses, including forced labour, portering, land confiscation, coercive land sale transactions, and damages to the villagers? livelihood. The community member mentioned that large amounts of the villagers? land were confiscated and damaged, as well as an increase in waterborne diseases, from gold mines that were initially operated by the DKBA, but now villagers are uncertain if the private parties who are negotiating permission to continue from the KNU will be allowed to continue the mines. This report also describes how Border Guard #1013 confiscated more than 75 acres of plantation land in order to build shelters for soldiers? families, which created direct problems for villagers livelihoods. Tatmadaw Infantry Battalion #96 has been forcing villagers to perform various work for the base and for soldiers on patrol, and demanded bamboo poles to repair their camp. Moe Win, a company second-in-command from Tatmadaw Light Infantry Division #44, sexually abused Naw C---, a married woman from T--- village, in her home while she, her baby, and her husband was sleeping. The Company Commander promised Naw C--- 200,000 kyat as compensation and to ensure she not report the crime, but only 100,000 kyat has been paid. This report, and others, will be published in March 2013 as part of KHRG?s thematic report: Losing Ground: Land conflicts and collective action in eastern Myanmar..."
Source/publisher:
Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)
Date of publication:
2013-02-28
Date of entry/update:
2013-03-22
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Land confiscation for military, commercial and other purposes, Border Guard Forces (all states)
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
342.19 KB
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Description:
"This report includes a situation update submitted to KHRG in February 2013 by a community member describing events occurring in Tantabin and Than Daung Townships in Toungoo District, during the period between September and December 2012. Specifically, it describes how over 40,000 acres of villagers plantations were flooded due to Toh Boh Dam operations in October 2012, and how the Shwe Swan Aye Company provided compensation to some, but not all, of the affected villagers. This report also describes how, on September 3rd 2012, Tatmadaw Light Infantry Battalions #124, #546 and #084, based in Ba Yint Naung Camp, confiscated villagers? lands, forcing villagers in the Than Daung Gyi area to sell their lands to the battalion. The community member reported that the Tatmadaw battalions also continue to send rations, rotate troops and conduct training every four months; in one incident, heavy and small weapons were fired during a military exercise, landing in and damaging villagers? plantations. Villagers? livelihood problems caused by flooding of land from the dam, as well as villagers concerns about the ceasefire process in the context of ongoing Tatmadaw military operations, are also described..."
Source/publisher:
Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)
Date of publication:
2013-03-01
Date of entry/update:
2013-03-22
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
369.75 KB
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Description:
"Analysis of KHRG?s field information gathered between January 2011 and November 2012 in seven geographic research areas in eastern Myanmar indicates that natural resource extraction and development projects undertaken or facilitated by civil and military State authorities, armed ethnic groups and private investors resulted in land confiscation and forced displacement, and were implemented without consulting, compensating or notifying project-affected communities. Exclusion from decision-making and displacement and barriers to land access present major obstacles to effective local-level response, while current legislation does not provide easily accessible mechanisms to allow their complaints to be heard. Despite this, villagers employ forms of collective action that provide viable avenues to gain representation, compensation and forestall expropriation. Key findings in this report were drawn based upon analysis of four trends, including: Lack of consultation; Land confiscation; Disputed compensation; and Development-induced displacement and resettlement, as well as four collective action strategies, including: Reporting to authorities; Organizing a committee or protest; Negotiation; and Non-compliance, and six consequences on communities, including: Negative impacts on livelihoods; Environmental impacts; Physical security threats; Forced labour and exploitative demands; Denial of access to humanitarian goods and services; and Migration."
Source/publisher:
Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)
Date of publication:
2013-03-05
Date of entry/update:
2013-03-07
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Land confiscation for military, commercial and other purposes, Tenure insecurity in Burma (including land grabbing)
Language:
English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Format :
pdf pdf
Size:
2.35 MB 6.19 MB
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Description:
"The ethnic conflict that ravaged much of Rakhine State in western Myanmar last month was an opportunity for more than settling old and new scores between Muslim Rohingya and Buddhist Rakhines and co-religionist new arrivals from elsewhere in the country.
Those involved were also clearing land in a densely populated area that is set to be among the country?s prime bits of real estate as energy-related projects start transforming the impoverished state.
More than 100 people (some reports indicate many times that number) were killed last month, untold others were wounded, and an estimated 28,000 fled or were driven from their homes in clashes between the stateless Rohingya and Buddhist citizens in a recurrence of violence last June. They are the latest incidents involving evicted ethnic groups around the country weeks before US President Obama visits Myanmar later this month.
"The government has taken the opportunity to create more violence allowing a destabilized and vulnerable state which they can then take the natural resources from. This is believed to be the main reason to why so many villages [in Rakhine State] were razed to the ground," the representative of one non-government organization (NGO) told Asia Times Online, citing the source as a Rakhine resident..."
Syed Tashfin Chowdhury, Chris Stewart
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times Online"
Date of publication:
2012-11-09
Date of entry/update:
2012-11-09
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Other Special Economic Zones, Land confiscation for military, commercial and other purposes
Language:
English
Local URL:
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Description:
"Shwe Pipeline Brings Land Confiscation, Militarization and Human Rights Violations to the Ta?ang People.
The Ta?ang Students and Youth Organization (TSYO) released a report today called ?Pipeline Nightmare” that illustrates how the Shwe Gas and Oil Pipeline project, which will transport oil and gas across Burma to China, has resulted in the confiscation of people?s lands, forced labor, and increased military presence along the pipeline, affecting thousands of people.
Moreover, the report documents cases in 6 target cities and 51 villages of human rights violations committed by the Burmese Army, police and people?s militia, who take responsibility for security of the pipeline.
The government has deployed additional soldiers and extended 26 military camps in order to increase pressure on the ethnic armed groups and to provide security for the pipeline project and its Chinese workers. Along the pipeline, there is fighting on a daily basis between the Burmese Army and the Kachin Independence Army, Shan State Army ? North and Ta?ang National Liberation Army in Namtu, Mantong and Namkham, where there are over one thousand Ta?ang (Palaung) refugees.
?Even though the international community believes that the government has implemented political reforms, it doesn?t mean those reforms have reached ethnic areas, especially not where there is increased militarization along the Shwe Pipeline, increased fighting between the Burmese Army and ethnic armed groups, and negative consequences for the people living in these areas,” said Mai Amm Ngeal, a member of TSYO.
The China National Petroleum Corporation and Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise have signed agreements for the Shwe Pipeline, however the companies have not conducted any Environmental Impact Assessments or Social Impact Assessments. While the people living along the pipeline bear the brunt of the effects, the government will earn an estimated USD$29 billion over the next 30 years.
?The government and companies involved must be held accountable for the project and its effects on the local people, such as increasing military presence and Chinese workers along the pipeline, both of which cause insecurity for the local communities and especially women. The project has no benefit for the public, so it must be postponed,” said Lway Phoo Reang, Joint Secretary (1) of TSYO.
TSYO urges the government to postpone the Shwe Gas and Oil Pipeline project, to withdraw the military from Shan State, reach a ceasefire with all ethnic armed groups in the state, and address the root causes of the armed conflict by engaging in political dialogue."
Source/publisher:
Ta?ang Students and Youth Organization (TSYO)
Date of publication:
2012-11-07
Date of entry/update:
2012-11-07
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Shwe gas field and pipeline -- reports and articles, Land confiscation for military, commercial and other purposes, Internal displacement/forced migration of Shan. Palaung and Wa villagers, China-Burma relations, Oil and gas pipelines, Non-ILO Reports on forced labour, including forced portering, in Shan State
Language:
English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Format :
pdf pdf
Size:
2.03 MB 1.44 MB
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Description:
Executive Summary:
"Worsening conflict and abuses by Burmese government troops in
northern Shan State have displaced over 2,000 Palaung villagers from
fifteen villages in three townships since March 2011. About 1,000,
mainly women and children, remain in three IDP settlements in Mantong
and Namkham townships, facing serious shortages of food and medicine;
most of the rest have dispersed to find work in China.
Burmese troops have been launching offensives to crush the Kachin
Independence Army (KIA), the Ta-ang National Liberation Army (TNLA),
and the Shan State Army-North (SSA-N), to secure control of strategic
trading and investment areas on the Chinese border, particularly the route
of China?s trans-Burma oil and gas pipelines. In rural Palaung areas,
patrols from sixteen Burma Army battalions and local militia have been
forcibly conscripting villagers as soldiers and porters, looting livestock
and property, and torturing and killing villagers suspected of supporting
the resistance. This has caused entire villages to become abandoned.
Interviews conducted by PWO in September 2012 show that the burden
of displacement is falling largely on women, as most men have fled or
migrated to work elsewhere. The ratio of women to men of working age
in the IDP camps is 4:1. Women, including pregnant mothers, had to
walk for up to a week through the jungle to reach the camps, carrying
their children and possessions, and avoiding Burmese army patrols and
landmines. Elderly people were left behind.
Little aid has reached the IDP settlements, particular the largest camp
housing over 500 in a remote mountainous area north of Manton, where
shortages of water, food and medicines are causing widespread disease.
Mothers are struggling to feed their families on loans of rice from local
villagers, and have taken their daughters out of school. Some women
have left children with relatives and gone to find work in China.
PWO is calling urgently for aid to these IDPs, and for political pressure
on Burma?s government to end its military offensives and abuses, pull
back troops from conflict areas, and begin meaningful political dialogue
to address the root causes of the conflict."
Source/publisher:
Palaung Women?s Organization
Date of publication:
2012-11-03
Date of entry/update:
2012-11-06
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Internal displacement/forced migration of Shan. Palaung and Wa villagers, Land confiscation for military, commercial and other purposes, Reports about women of Burma by national, regional and international NGOs
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.72 MB
Local URL:
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Description:
This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted during April 2011 in Tantabin Township, Toungoo District by a community member trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The community member interviewed a 37 year-old township secretary, Saw H---, who described abuses committed by several Tatmadaw battalions, including forced relocation, land confiscation, forced labour, restrictions on freedom of movement, denial of humanitarian access, targeting civilians, and arbitrary taxes and demands. Saw H--- provided a detailed description of three development projects that the Tatmadaw has planned in the area. Most notable is Toh Boh[1] hydroelectric dam on the Day Loh River, which is expected to destroy 3,143 acres of surrounding farmland. Asia World Company began building the dam in Toh Boh, Day Loh village tract during 2005. The other two projects involved the confiscation of 2,400 acres, against which the villagers formed a committee to petition for compensation and were met with threats of imprisonment. Saw H--- also described how 30 people working on the dam die each year. Also mentioned is the Tatmadaw?s burning of villagers? cardamom plantations, and the villagers? attempts to limit the fire damage using fire lines. It is also described by Saw H--- how some villagers have chosen to remain in KNLA/KNU-controlled areas and produce commodities for sale, despite the attendant increase in the price of goods purchased from Tatmadaw-controlled villages, while others have fled to refugee camps in other countries. For photos of the Toh Boh Dam taken by a different community member in March 2012, see "Photo Set: More than 100 households displaced from Toh Boh Dam construction site in Toungoo," published by KHRG on August 23rd
Source/publisher:
Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)
Date of publication:
2012-09-05
Date of entry/update:
2012-11-05
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Economic oppression, Extortion, Robbery, Land confiscation for military, commercial and other purposes, Forced relocation of Karen, Non-ILO Reports on forced labour, including forced portering, in Karen (Kayin) State, Dams and other projects on rivers in Burma/Myanmar (countrywide)
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
224.34 KB
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Description:
Introduction:
"Over the period of this report, the political landscape in Burma has undergone noticeable shifts. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, once a political prisoner under house arrest, recently returned from a whirlwind tour of the United States where she received the Congressional Gold Medal, America?s highest civilian honour. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and members of the U.S. Congress touted her cooperation with Burmese President Thein Sein, who visited the United Nations in New York City. The trip, at the urging of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, also resulted in the further easing of sanctions on the Burmese government, including an end to the crippling ban on imports.
Simultaneously, human rights violations persist throughout the country. Deadly civil war in ethnic areas, forced labour, child soldiers, torture and ill treatment remain grave concerns. Additionally, this report will emphasize the rampant land confiscation and forced relocation by the Burmese government. Recent events, including the arrests and beatings of farmers protesting the forced relocation of landowners from 66 villages for the Latpadaung copper mine,1 underline the on-going human rights violations by the Burmese government. In its report to the United Nations Human Rights Council, the Asian Human Rights Commission found that land grabbing is a direct result of ?the convergence of the military, government agents
and business?. The report cited the rising issue of former military
personnel transitioning to new roles in industry. This marriage of
military and industry has led to human rights violations such as the
confiscation of 7,800 acres of land and untold environmental damage
for the copper mine. The mining project is being completed by the
military-owned Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings, in conjunction
with a Chinese corporation. The effects of land confiscation have real implications on the
livelihoods of civilians. A report by the Asian Legal Resource Centre
(ALRC) noted that, ?Almost daily, news media carry reports of people
being forced out of their houses or losing agricultural land to statebacked
projects, sometimes being offered paltry compensation, sometimes
nothing". The 2012 Farmland Law presented an opportunity to
address land grabbing but, according the ALRC, ?far from reducing
the prospects of land grabbing, the Farmland Law opens the door to
confiscation of agricultural land on any pretext associated with a state
project or the ?national interest?"
Source/publisher:
ND-Burma
Date of publication:
2012-11-01
Date of entry/update:
2012-11-02
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
209.79 KB
Local URL:
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Description:
* Themes: All the reports in this month?s issue are about various types of Land Grabbing and Confiscation, and a few incidents of other violations, committed by members of the Burmese army and their cronies during mid and late 2012...
* Places: Ta-Khi-Laek, Murng-Ton, Murng-Sart, Loi-Lem, Murng-Nai, Lai-Kha, Mawk-Mai, Larng-Khur, Kae-See, Nam-Zarng and Parng-Yarng.....Rampant Land Grabbing Continues: Themes & Places of Violations reported in this issue...
Acronyms...
Map...
Farmlands seized by police in Ta-Khi-Laek...
Land grabbed and resold by military in Murng-Ton...
Farmlands seized by Burmese Army-Sponsored people?s militia, in Murng-Sart...
Villagers? farmlands seized by ?Wa? ceasefire group, in Murng-Ton...
Villagers? lands seized by headman, with the help of land officials, in Loi-Lem...
Farmlands seized without knowledge of owners in many townships in Central Shan State...
Villagers fined for trying to work their farmlands taken by military in Nam-Zarng...
Lands seized for building roads, displacing people, by ceasefire group in Parng-Yarng.
Source/publisher:
Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF)
Date of publication:
2012-09-30
Date of entry/update:
2012-10-27
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Tenure insecurity in Burma (including land grabbing), Land confiscation for military, commercial and other purposes
Language:
English
Local URL:
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Description:
"Land grabbing is an urgent concern for people in Tanintharyi Division, and
ultimately one of national and international concern, as tens of thousands of people are being displaced
for the Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ). Dawei lies within Myanmar?s (Burma) southernmost
region, the Tanintharyi Division, which borders Mon State to the North, and Thailand to the East, on
territory that connects the Malay Peninsula with mainland Asia. This highly populated and prosperous
region is significant because of its ecologically-diversity and strategic position along the Andaman coast.
Since 2008 the area has been at risk of massive expulsion of people and unprecedented environmental
costs, when a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Thai and Myanmar governments,
followed by a MoU between Thai investor Italian-Thai Development Corporation (ITD) (see Box 1) and
Myanma Port Authority, granted ITD access to the Dawei region to build Asia?s newest regional hub.
Thai interest in Dawei is strategic for two reasons. First, the small city happens to be Bangkok?s
nearest gateway to the Andaman Sea, and ultimately to India and the Middle East. Second, the project
links with a broader regional development plan, strategically plugging into the Asian Development
Bank?s (ADB) East-West Economic Corridor, a massive transport and trade network connecting
Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam; the Southern Economic Corridor (connecting to Cambodia);
and the North-South Economic Corridor, with rail links to Kunming, China. If all goes as planned,
the Dawei SEZ project, with an estimated infrastructural investment of over USD $50 billion will be
Southeast Asia?s largest industrial complex, complete with a deep seaport, industrial estate (including
large petrochemical industrial complex, heavy industry zone, oil and gas industry, as well as medium
and light industries), and a road/pipeline/rail link that will extend 350 kilometers to Bangkok (via
Kanchanaburi). The project even has its own legal framework, the Dawei Special Economic Zone Law,
drafted in 2011 to ensure the industrial estate is attractive to potential investors..."
Elizabeth Loewen
Source/publisher:
Paung Ku and Transnational Institute (TNI)
Date of publication:
2012-08-31
Date of entry/update:
2012-10-15
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Dawei (Tavoy) Special Economic Zone, Tenure insecurity in Burma (including land grabbing), Land confiscation for military, commercial and other purposes, TNI-BCN Project on Ethnic Conflict in Burma
Language:
English
Local URL:
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Description:
WETHMAY, Myanmar—Anger over plans to expand a Chinese-backed mine near here is emerging as a test case of Myanmar?s recent political reforms.
Villagers have staged raucous protests in recent weeks over the giant copper mine near Monywa in northwestern Myanmar, owned jointly by Myanmar?s military and a subsidiary of China North Industries Corp., an arms manufacturer. The subsidiary, Wanbao Mining Ltd., and its Myanmar partners are hoping to expand the mine, but that would require taking over huge tracts of land and moving as many as 26 villages, locals say..."
Patrick Barta
Source/publisher:
"Wall Street Journal"
Date of publication:
2012-09-24
Date of entry/update:
2012-10-14
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Land confiscation for military, commercial and other purposes, Agricultural land confiscation/grabbing
Language:
English
Local URL:
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Description:
"The Asian Human Rights Commission has followed closely reports in recent weeks of an uprising by farmers against a takeover of a large area of agricultural land in upper Burma by an army-owned company and a private partner. The land grab, in the Letpadan Mountain Range of Sarlingyi Township, Sagaing Region, is of some 7800 acres of fertile land, to make way for copper mining. Currently farmers of around 26 villages cultivate the land. The residents of four villages--Siti, Wehmay, Zidaw and Kandaw--have already been forced out of their homes. The grabber is the usual suspect--Myanma Economic Holdings Ltd., a conglomerate of army interests, staffed by retired army officers, along with a joint partner company, Myanmar Wan Bao. In this case the director of the project is one Lt. Col. (Ret.) U Aung Myint.
Farmers in the area began protests and interventions against the confiscation on 2 June 2012, and tensions and conflicts with local authorities have been growing since. According to reports coming daily from the region, the area of confiscated land has been placed under an administrative order declaring it off limits, and local authorities have threatened to prosecute anyone gathering to protest at the land confiscation. Their threats have so far failed to deter demonstrators: since August 24, thousands have been gathering outside company offices in the township to demand that the land be returned to them, and to object to the copper mine project. They have also raised their voices against the uncompensated destruction of crops through the movement of vehicles, dumping of rubbish and other actions by the companies that have adversely affected their lives and livelihoods..."
Source/publisher:
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
Date of publication:
2012-09-13
Date of entry/update:
2012-09-13
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Local URL:
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Description:
"Villagers say their farmland was unlawfully taken from them by a military-backed mining venture...More than 10,000 villagers in northwestern Burma demonstrated Wednesday, burning effigies and demanding the return of land they said was illegally confiscated by a mining company in a rare mass protest.
They marched from the site of the Monywa copper mine, located in the Latpadaung mountain range in Saigang division?s Sarlingyi township, but were stopped by more than 200 government security personnel and company officials, said one female villager.
"The police circled around us. They blocked the path to Pathein-Monywa highway so that we couldn?t cross the road,? said the villager, who spoke to RFA on condition of anonymity, and who said that the protesters had marched for about one mile before they were blocked by authorities..."
Source/publisher:
Radio Free Asia (RFA)
Date of publication:
2012-09-05
Date of entry/update:
2012-09-06
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Local URL:
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Description:
Rangoon (Mizzima) ? Htay Myint, the owner of the Yuzana Company, says the company will give back more than 1,000 acres of confiscated land in the Hukaung Valley in Kachin State to the original owners, said activist Bauk Ja.
Kyaw Phone Kyaw, Aung Myat Tun
Source/publisher:
"Mizzima"
Date of publication:
2012-08-31
Date of entry/update:
2012-09-01
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Local URL:
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Description:
"This Photo Set presents 17 still photographs taken by a local community member who has been trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The photos were all taken in March 2012 at the Toh Boh Dam construction site in Tantabin Township within locally-defined Toungoo District. According to the community member who took these photos, more than 100 households have been relocated from the area now occupied by the dam construction site, where construction is ongoing."
Source/publisher:
Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)
Date of publication:
2012-08-23
Date of entry/update:
2012-08-24
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Forced relocation of Karen, Internal displacement/forced migration of Karen villagers, Land confiscation for military, commercial and other purposes
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
240.45 KB
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Description:
Introduction:
"The following analysis has been compiled to bring attention to a wider audience of many of
the problems facing the people of Burma, especially in Arakan State. The analysis focuses
particularly on the increase in land confiscation resulting from intensifying military
deployment in order to magnify security around a number of governmental developments
such as the Shwe Gas, Kaladan, and Hydropower projects in western Burma of Arakan State...Conclusion: "The SPDC?s ongoing parallel policy of increasing militarisation while increased forced land
confiscation to house and feed the increasing troop numbers causes widespread problems
throughout Burma. By stripping people of the land upon which peopl?s livelihoods are based,
whilst providing only desultory compensation if any at all, many citizens face threats to their
food security as well as water shortages, a decrease or abolition of their income, eradicating
their ability to educate their children in order to create a sustainable income source in the
future. Additionally, the policy of using forced labour in the Government?s construction and
development projects, coupled with the disastrous environmental effects of many of these
projects, continues to create severe health problems throughout the country whilst
simultaneously stifling the local economy so that varied or sustainable work is difficult to
become engaged in. All of this often leads to people fleeing the country in search of a better
life."
Source/publisher:
All Arakan Students? and Youths? Congress (AASYC)
Date of publication:
2010-05-31
Date of entry/update:
2010-06-16
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Land rights, Shwe gas field and pipeline -- reports and articles, Agricultural land confiscation/grabbing, Land confiscation for military, commercial and other purposes
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
2.34 MB
Local URL:
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Description:
1. Introduction 1;
2. Historical Context and Current Implications of the State Taking Control
of People, Land and Livelihood 2;
2.1. Under the Democratically Elected Government 2;
2.1.1. The Land Nationalization Act 1953 2;
2.1.2. The Agricultural Lands Act 1953 2;
3. Under the Revolutionary Council (1962-1974) 2;
3.1. The Tenancy Act 1963 3;
3.2. The Protection of the Right of Cultivation Act, 1963 3;
4. The State Gains Further Control over the Livelihoods of Households 3;
4.1. Under the Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP) Rule (1974 - 1988) 3;
4.1.1 Land Policy and Institutional Reforms 3;
4.2 Under the Military Rule II - SLORC/SPDC (1988 - present) 4;
4.2.1. Keeping it Together: Agriculture, Economy, and Rural Livelihood 5;
5. Militarization of Rural Economy 8;
5.1. Land confiscation 8;
5. 2. Land reclamation 11;
5.3. Military Agricultural Projects 13;
5.4. The Fleecing of Burmese Farmers 15;
5.5. Procurement 17;
5.5.1. Other crops 20;
5.5.2. Farmers tortured in Mon State 23;
6. Forced Relocation and Disparity of Income and wealth 25;
7. Conclusion 29...
APPENDICES NOT YET ACQUIRED
Appendix 1. Summary Report on Human Rights Violations by SPDC and
DKBA Troops in 7 Districts of KNU ( 2000 to 2002) 31;
Appendix 2. Forced labor by SPDC troops on road construction from
Pa-pun to Kamamaung in 2003 38;
Appendix 3. Survey Questionnaires (Ward/village and Household - in Burmese) 45.
Dr Nancy Hudson-Rodd, Dr Myo Nyunt, Saw Thamain Tun, Sein Htay
Source/publisher:
NCUB, FTUB
Date of publication:
2003-04-30
Date of entry/update:
2003-08-12
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Forced relocation of several ethnic groups, Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary), Agricultural land confiscation/grabbing, Land confiscation for military, commercial and other purposes
Language:
English
Format :
htm pdf
Size:
19.45 KB 412.77 KB
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