Paddies seized in Tennasserim Division; former owners forced to work without pay

October 6, 2008

HURFOM : Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) No. 406 has commandeered at least ninety acres of farmland in Yebyu Towship, Tennasserim Division, say local sources.

The battalion’s commander claims the seizures are justified because farmers were not cultivating the land. July and August, farmers contend, saw unusually large amounts of rainfall, which caused flooding and mudslides that made farming impossible until water levels decreased.

“We were delayed by floods and couldn’t start working. The rains caused us a lot of problems. Then the Burmese Army officer came and ordered farmers whose lands were flooded not to plant rice this season. When we complained, he told us our lands had been seized due to failure to work. We told him that we only stopped farming because of the weather and it was not our fault, but he ignored this and gave the land to the soldiers,” said U Myint, 40, who left Thit-Toe-Dauk village for the Thai-Burma border after losing his land.

A second source from Thit-Toe-Dauk village told HURFOM that many farmers whose land had been seized were being forced to work for LIB No. 406 as unpaid laborers. “The land confiscation and forced labor began at the end of August and beginning of September,” said the source. “Troops from LIB No. 406 called about twenty-five to thirty villagers, mostly owners of paddy fields and their family members. An army captain instructed this group of people to work. He told them to repair the boundaries of paddy fields, fertilize the crops, develop young rice plants and cultivate the paddies.” According to the source, the captain also ordered Thit-Toe-Dauk’s headman, U San Myint, 50, to organize the work.

U Myint estimates that ninety acres of rice paddies belonging to fifteen families were seized in his village. The loss of land is creating obvious problems for villagers, many of whom have no other means of economic support. “The people here have no other jobs except cultivation of rice,” said U Myint during an interview in the Halockhanee refugee camp, near the Thai-Burma border. “I decided to come here to find work for my family. I will go to Thailand if I have a chance.”

How long the land will be held by the battalion is unclear. According to U Myint, LIB No. 406 will farm the land for at least the rest of the year. It is rare for the Burmese army to seize and hold paddy, but long-term seizures of more lucrative and less labor-intensive crops is common. According to a HURFOM estimate, from 2007 until the present the army has seized and held at least 1,500 acres of rubber plantations in Mon State.

According to a retired Myanmar Agriculture Service worker from Ye Township, these actions are authorized by the 1953 Land Nationalization Act, which gives the state final ownership of “all lands and resources arising from above and below ground, water, air space within the country.”

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News