This Incident Report describes the destruction of farmland belonging to an A--- villager as a result of stone mining in June 2013. The mining work in question was carried out without the consent of villagers living in the area. Villagers living in A--- village expressed concerns that should the mining project expand, their village and plantations would be destroyed, and stated their intention to seek further information about the project.

The Asian Human Rights Commission has since mid-2012 closely followed, documented and reported on the struggle of farmers in the Letpadaung Hills of central Burma against the expansion of a copper mining operation under a military-owned holding company and a partner company from China.

Rangoon (Mizzima) – Htay Myint, the owner of the Yuzana Company, says the company will give back more than 1,000 acres of confiscated land in the Hukaung Valley in Kachin State to the original owners, said activist Bauk Ja.

This Situation Update describes events occurring in Kawkareik, Kyonedoe and Kyainseikgyi townships, Dooplaya District between March and May 2014, including issues of land confiscation and updates on villagers’ livelihoods and health care.

This Field Report describes events occurring in Toungoo District between December 2013 and December 2014. During this period, KHRG mainly received reports from Thandaunggyi Township and surrounding areas. The report includes information submitted by KHRG community members on a range of human rights abuses and issues of importance to local communities including land confiscation, militarisation, fighting between armed groups, commercial activity carried out by military actors, violent abuse, access to education, access to healthcare, and development projects.

In September 2011, residents of Je--- village, Kawkareik Township told KHRG that they feared soldiers under Tatmadaw Border Guard Battalion #1022 and LIBs #355 and #546 would soon complete the confiscation of approximately 500 acres of land in their community in order to develop a large camp for Battalion #1022 and homes for soldiers' families. According to the villagers, the area has already been surveyed and the Je--- village head has informed local plantation and paddy farm owners whose lands are to be confiscated.

This report includes a situation update submitted to KHRG in September 2011 by a villager describing events occurring in T'Nay Hsah Township, Pa'an District during September 2011. It details an incident in which a soldier from Tatmadaw Border Guard #1017 deliberately shot at villagers in a farm hut, resulting in the death of one civilian and injury to a six-year-old child.

This Situation Update describes events occurring in Hti Lon Township, Hpa-an District in March 2014, including dam construction and the subsequent destruction of villagers land due to flooding, forced relocation, and land confiscation.

This News Bulletin describes land confiscation which occurred as a result of a road repair and expansion project in Bilin Township, Thaton District, from January 2nd – 4th, 2014. On January 2nd 2014, the Zwe Nyi Naung Company arrived in D--- village, Hta Paw village tract, Bilin Township, Thaton District to repair and expand a road. The project resulted in the confiscation of villagers’ plantation lands, paddy fields and the yard around a house.

Articles on this theme from 2004 to 2016

Abstract:
"In 2012, the Government of Myanmar (GoM) passed
the Farmland Law and the Vacant, Fallow, Virgin
(VFV) Land Law—creating a formalized land market. In essence, this created a formalized land
market. Land titling is often considered “the natural end point of land rights formalization” (Hall et al.
2010: 35). This thinking has become dominant among most governments and development agencies
ever since De Soto (2000) popularized it in
The Mystery of Capital
, in which he argued that the

Land tenure rights and food security for all farmers in Burma has been described by Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation Tun Win as one of the top priorities of the National League for Democracy (NLD) government.

“Our government wishes to give back land to the rightful owners,” said Tun Win, referring to the smallholder farmers who still make up the bulk of Burma’s population. He was speaking to reporters from his office on Tuesday.