“We have to work with the voice of the people,” Nai Aue Mon tells me in Sangkhlaburi, Thailand, as we discuss the recent rise of land confiscation and land disputes in the Mon State. Aue Mon has been with the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) since 1999, when he started witnessing the abuse and violations of the rights of civilians in the Mon State. He first began working as a journalist for the Mon publication Guiding Star, before beginning his work as documenting and defending human rights.

The Complaint Letter below was written by the Shwegyin Karen Baptist Association, a missionary association from Kyaukkyi Town, Kyaukkyi Township, Nyaunglebin District, and sent to the chairman of the Burma/Myanmar government Kyaukkyi Township Land Management Committee, on November 5th 2015. The letter concerns the Burma/Myanmar government’s construction of buildings on a Christian church compound. According to the letter, the compound has belonged to the church for 55 years.

The phrase “land grab” has become common in Myanmar, often making front page news. This reflects the more open political space available to talk about injustices, as well as the escalating severity and degree of land dispossession under the new government.

But this seemingly simple two-word phrase is in fact very complex and opaque. It thus deserves greater clarity in order to better understand the deep layers of meaning to farmers in the historical political context of Myanmar.

As Thai Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-Ocha visits Myanmar to revive the stalled Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ), the governments of Thailand and Myanmar should cooperate to establish a legal framework protecting the human rights of the area’s residents, said the ICJ.

The multi-billion dollar Dawei development, strategically located along the Thai-Myanmar peninsula, will be one of Southeast Asia’s largest industrial complexes, with a 250 sq km deep-sea port, petrochemical and heavy industry hub.

Several articles on land grabbing in Burma/Myanmar

The current reforms in Burma/Myanmar are worsening land grabs in the country. Since the mid-2000s there has been a spike in land grabs, especially leading up to the 2010 national elections. Military and government authorities have been granting large-scale land concessions to well-connected Burmese companies.

INTRODUCTION:
"Over the years, the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) has produced a number of accounts highlighting the hardship faced by Mon people who have become victims to land confiscation. In this report, HURFOM reports on the effects from the recent surge of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) coming into Burma.

Commentary: Why people still flee Shan State and seek refuge in other countries...
Contents: Themes & Places of Violations reported in this issue...
MAP...
Situation of people fleeing their native places in Kae-See...
Land confiscation and mining project causing people to flee, in Murng-Su...
Military operation, forced labour and extortion, causing people to flee, in Murng-Kerng...
Continuing forced labour, forced recuruitment and extortion causing people to flee, in Lai-Kha...
Forced recruitment causing people to flee, in Kung-Hing

INTRODUCTION:
"Over the years, the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) has produced a number of accounts highlighting the hardship faced by Mon people who have become victims to land confiscation. In this report, HURFOM reports on the effects from the recent surge of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) coming into Burma.

Commentary: Land Confiscation...
Situation of land confiscation in Nam-Zarng and Kun-Hing...
Land confiscated, villagers house destroyed, in Nam-Zarng...
Cultivated land confiscated in Nam-Zarng...
Farmlands and cemetery ground confiscated in Nam-Zarng...
Lands confiscated, forced labour used, to build new military bases and an airstrip, in Kun-Hing...
Confiscation of land with regard to mining projects...
Land Confiscation due to coal mining concession in Murng-Sart...

This Situation Update describes events occurring in Kyainseikgyi, Kawkareik, and Win Yay townships, Dooplaya District between December 2013 and February 2014, including land confiscation, villagers’ livelihoods, abuses, explicit threats and updates on villagers’ education and healthcare

Commentary: Confiscation and Extortion...
Forcible rice procurement continues in Kaeng - Tung...
Confiscation of rice fields in Kaeng-Tung...
Farmland confiscated for building new military base in Kun-Hing...
Confiscation of rice fields in Murng – Nai...
Leased rice field threatened to be forcibly taken, rent not paid in full, in Murng - Ton...
Houses forcibly taken in Murng-Ton...
Extortion of money from travelers worsens in Kun-Hing...
People forced to pay for election expenses long after poll, in Kaeng-Tung...