Tension rises over land disputes

Tension rises over land disputes

By Ei Ei Toe Lwin   |   Sunday, 26 January 2014

MPs have accused the government of fudging the figures to create the impression that the country's widespread land disputes are rapidly being resolved.

A farmer protests the confiscation of land in Yangon's East Dagon township in June 2013. (Zarni Phyo/The Myanmar Times)

After establishing an investigation commission in 2012, the parliament sent three reports on land disputes to the government between August and November. The government then set up a committee, headed by Vice President U Nyan Tun, and set a one-year deadline to resolve the thousands of land ownership-related complaints submitted to the parliament.

Speaking to Pyidaungsu Hluttaw on January 21, Deputy Minister for Agriculture and Irrigation U Ohn Than said between October 26 and December 25 the government had resolved 418 of 745 cases. Of the 565 disputes involving the military, 332 have already been resolved, he said.

In the Nay Pyi Taw Council area, meanwhile, 93 percent of the 111 submitted complaints have been addressed, he said.

But MPs said the government's figures did not bear any resemblance to the situation on the ground.

"What do you mean the '111 complaints in the Nay Pyi Taw Council area'?" asked Daw Sandar Min, the Pyithu Hluttaw representative for Zabuthiri, one of eight Nay Pyi Taw townships. "There are more than 100 land seizures in my township alone that have not been settled yet."

"I oppose the [statement] that there are only seven cases left to settle in Nay Pyi Taw because it just doesn't make sense based on what I have seen," she said.

Daw Sandar Min was one of 11 MPs who discussed the deputy minister's presentation. Representatives from Yangon, Sagaing, Ayeyarwady and Tanintharyi regions, and Kachin, Kayin, Kayah and Rakhine states, all complained that the number of land disputes mentioned in U Ohn Than's presentation was less than the figure they submitted to the government.

Chairman U Tin Htut said the commission sent 5858 complaints to the president and the government has not explained why it is only trying to resolve 745 complaints, adding that the deputy minister's presentation was "too general".

"There is a big gap between what the deputy minister said and the real condition," said U Tin Maung Oo from Shwe Pyi Thar. "The farmers want proper compensation for the seized lands or, in casese where the land was not used, for it to be returned. But in some cases squatters have now taken over that unused land.

"I consoled them by saying that the government will pay compensation from the [2014-15] budget … but the compensation budget for the Ministry of the Defence is only for land taken now, not old cases."

Among those who called for government action was Amyotha Hluttaw representative U Khin Shwe, whose company, Zaykabar, is involved in a dispute with farmers on the fringes of Yangon.

"In our case, the land for the project was granted by the former government. The confiscation was done by the Ministry of Construction and Department of Human Settlement and Housing Development. These government departments are the ones who should resolve the dispute," he said.

"Because of these problems, we won't be able to attract foreign investment."

Pyidaungsu Hluttaw Speaker Thura U Shwe Mann urged the government to cooperate more closely with the MPs and to act on the concerns they raised during the discussion.

Translation by Thiri Min Htun

Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2014/01/29/tension-rises-over-land-disputes/