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Military seizes land in Tenasserim division
Mon 20 Mar 2006,
IMNA
To acquire land for a new base for its battalion, the Burmese Army has once again measured a stretch of land in Yepyu township Tenasserim division, according to a local source.
The Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 407 measured a stretch of land about three miles long between Lortaing village and Kyaukadin village in northern Yepyu Township . Local sources said they did not know the width of the land and its size in acres that the army plans to seize.
“Rubber plantations, areca palm plantations and some uncultivated land falls in the area of measurement,” the source said.
Two villagers own most of the land. The troops did not make any announcement about the seizure to the owners nor have they talked about compensation.
The LIB 407 is now moving around Yebyu Township . In 1999 and 1998, LIB 406, 410 and Infantry Battalion 299 seized hundreds of acres of land from the local people without paying any compensation.
The Burmese military government is in the habit of seizing land from people for its welfare operations after the Mon armed group signed a cease-fire agreement with them.
In 1998 and 2002 the Burmese military had seized about 8,000 acres of land from local people according to the “No Land to Farm” book published by the Human Rights Foundation of Monland. After 2002 the military government continued seizing and acquired more than ten thousand acres of land from the people.
The military seizes land for their bases and for army's business projects (for income of the armymen's families). Sometimes after some land is seized the military resells it to people through auctions.
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