Twante farmers complain over trespassing charges

Twante farmers complain over trespassing charges

By Wa Lone   |   Monday, 11 November 2013

Farmers of six villages in Yangon Region's Twante township say they have been charged with building on land – that they legally own. They said at a press conference last week the charges were filed by the village administrator, a carpenter who had helped to build one of the houses.

"If we're going to be charged with building on the land, the head of the village should be charged too, and other people who built on their land," said Ma Thin Thin Nwe, 32, one of the defendants from Tamangyi village.

The administrator of the village charged the 41 defendants at Twante township court in September.

"I built my house in 2006. This plaintiff, the village administrator, was an ordinary villager at that time. He worked on my house as a carpenter. We were charged only this year," said U Aung Toe, of Tamangyi village.

Defendants said the administrator was forced to act by township- and district-level authorities.

"They instructed me verbally. The charges can be acted on by our Farmland Management Committee according to the law," Kan Ywar administrator U Thein Tan confirmed.

U Khin Soe, a committee member of the National Unity Party, told The Myanmar Times that the charge was invalid without the approval of the regional Farmland Management Committee. "If they don't follow the rules, the charges should be thrown out."

Translation by Thae Thae Htwe

Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2013/11/14/twante-farmers-complain-over-trespassing-charges/