Villagers concerned military used to intimidate and force sale of lands for a company project

July 17, 2020

HURFOM: On July 15, 2020, villagers charge that Myanmar Shwe Aykarit Mining Company Ltd, used the presence of two soldiers from the Light Infantry Battalion LIB #285 in order to get consent for a controversial Da Ni Kyar Ideal Village Project.

The project is located between (Outside) Da Ni Kyar and (Inside) Da Ni Kyar villages of southern Ye Township, Mon State.

The company has plans to do stone mining at the Mount Ba Lae Kha Boil nearby Da Ni Kyar village. This will result in the relocation of a number of villagers’ homes. To deal with this, the company has plans to construct what they refer to as an “Da Ni Kyar Ideal Village” in an Eco-Tourism Zone as defined by the Mon State Government.

The total area for the project is about 1,500 acres and the company has bought about 646 acres, according to the villagers.

Villagers are divided about the project. One group agreed to sell their land to the company and another refused to sell their land.

Villagers had been worried that the company might use the military force to intimidate villagers into selling their lands.

CREATOR: gd-jpeg v1.0 (using IJG JPEG v80), quality = 82

“There are 67 villagers who sold their farmland to the company but (on July 15) 110 villagers went to confirm their agreement. So why are the numbers different? Has the company used the military force to pressure the villagers? Have the villagers signed their agreement because they’re afraid of the military? And did the company get the consent of the villagers by intimidating them? There are lots of questions,” said a local resident.

On July 14, company officials and the Da Ni Kyar Administrator called the villagers who sold their farmland to the company, to the Ye Township General Administration Department (GAD).

“We told the company that we refuse to sell our land ], but [perhaps] later the GAD will seize our land. So we’re worried our farmland will be seized, if we don’t agree to sell it to the company,” said another villager.

Da Ni Kyar Ideal village is mostly composed of grazing land.

“We can’t accept that the company intimidated villagers to get their farmland and to make the project successful. The villagers are uneducated and have no knowledge. I want to raise a concern — the company has much money, so they can do everything they want to the villagers,” said a Da Ni Kyar resident.

The project is causing a controversy in the community.

“Why does the government department just watch and not see the trouble of the villagers? There is a dispute between the villagers due to the company. The administrator has also applied pressure on the villagers, so he should resign,” said another villager.

Written by Modinator · Filed Under News