Ye Township residents appeal to parliament to resolve sluggish land disputes

September 5, 2013

HURFOM: Several residents have accused officials from the Ye Township land records department of failing to advance local land dispute cases after the office conducted surveys to document confiscations and meet with victims. Members of the community claim that there is a wide discrepancy between the survey’s findings and the real number of land confiscation cases in the area, and state that even cases included in official documentation have not received department support in pursuing legal recourse or compensation.

“Locals are not satisfied with the [land records] officials because they were biased while conducting the surveys and the outcome looks the same as it did under the military regime,” said Mi Myint Than, a member of Mon State’s Land Seizures Inquiry Commission Group 9 and People’s Parliament member. “Our country cannot be developed because of [the land records officials’] offenses. They do nothing but hold on to their positions…they appear only when having problems.”

Residents also expressed frustration that visiting land records officials typically communicated with them in Burmese, not local ethnic languages, and used legal terminology that was difficult to understand. In addition, community members alleged that after they first complained to parliament about the unfair land surveys, two chief officers from the Ye records department submitted letters of resignation and disappeared, reportedly having not been seen since. Locals said this sudden departure has allowed the land records department to deny responsibility and evade questions about the survey findings and follow-up.

In response to growing public disapproval, members of parliament formed a land grabbing inquiry commission to verify and evaluate land confiscations in ethnic Mon, Karen, and surrounding areas. The commission began conducting its own survey on December 3 last year. Mi Myint Than, who also serves as the parliamentary commission representative, said she submitted a letter of appeal on behalf of land grab victims to the Chief Minister of Mon State asking for the survey to be completed by January 2013.

During its data collection and reporting period, the parliamentary commission noted the under representation of many local cases in the land record department’s findings. Since the time of Than Shwe’s government, locals assert that there have been approximately 100 cases of land confiscation in Lamine and Ye Townships, of which only 16 have been reviewed.

“My 10-acre rubber plantation was confiscated in 2001,” said a resident of Tu Myaung village in Ye Township. “They [Light Infantry Battalion No. 586] did not want us to use the land any way we wanted. We were asked to pay [them] each year if we worked our land. The situation between victims and the [military] authorities is still complicated.”

Officials from the Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Home Affairs reportedly informed Ye residents that land confiscated for military battalions would not be returned, but that they were authorized to use excess or idle land around the bases to cultivate plantations. However, locals report that in practice they have yet to access these unused spaces, and many farmlands continue to lie fallow.

“It is impossible [for residents to use the land] if the military does not withdraw,” said Mi Myint Than. “During my [parliamentary] service, I always fight for these cases. I do not lessen my momentum but continue my fight. The [National League for Democracy] also suggested re-submitting a [land survey] proposal but we don’t agree with them. This kind of problem has existed for decades, [government departments and political parties] just collect information but solve nothing. They only promote their party. They want us to vote for them but we don’t. After the ceasefire, there is not only the government army in our territory but also our national [ethnic Mon] army. No matter what army it is, we have to find a way to solve the problem.”

Along with other parliamentarians involved with the land grabbing commission, Mi Myint Than suggests that locals secure paperwork proving their former land ownership in order to expedite land return or compensation.

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News