Hpa-an Field Report: Continued difficulties under ceasefire, January to December 2015

“They [the Tatmadaw] repaired their army camps, built up many buildings and all of those [were] for the Burma/Myanmar government. They have no concern for the villagers [when it comes to their] economic [situation] and [their access to] education.”

KHRG community member, Hlaingbwe Township, May 2015

Introduction

This report notes a decrease in certain forms of abuse, such as forced labour and violent abuse by armed actors in Nabu Township. In addition, villagers now enjoy greater freedom of movement allowing them to conduct their livelihood activities more freely and new landmines are no longer being planted. However, other abuses have continued into the present reporting period in 2015, including land confiscations, killings, and the trade and use of drugs.

Land Confiscation

As in KHRG’s 2013 Hpa-an Field Report,[1] KHRG has again received reports of land confiscation by Tatmadaw and Border Guard Force (BGF)[2] in Hpa-an District during the 2015 reporting period. This section details three major incidents of land confiscation during the reporting period. First, the Steel Stone Group confiscated land to build a road, second, Tatmadaw confiscated land for military bases, and third, the Burma/Myanmar government confiscated land to build a new town.

On May 1st 2015, the Steel Stone Group, led by Tha Laing Aung, collected soil in A--- and B--- villages for road construction in Yay Pu village tract, Paingkyon Township, Hpa-an District. The land on which the road will be constructed was confiscated by BGF Cantonment Area Supervisor U Kyaw Hein, led by Cantonment Area Commander Kya Aye; the two then sold it to the Steel Stone Company to construct the road. In response, the local villagers submitted a letter[3] to the Burma/Myanmar government and the Karen National Union (KNU) requesting the authorities' support in reclaiming their land. In addition to the complaint letter, the villagers also requested the local KNU Agriculture Department from Paingkyon Township to take action to resolve the land confiscation case committed by the BGF. [4]

Another incident of land confiscation occurred in Hlaingbwe Township, Hpa-an District, when Light Infantry Battalion[5] (LIB) #338 and Infantry Battalion (IB)[6] #28 confiscated land for military bases. This area is also near the area where LIB #339 has already confiscated land.[7] The land was confiscated in 1991 and 1992 across Hlaingbwe Township, Hpa-an District, in C---, D---, E--- and F--- villages. When LIB #338 first came to set up their military base on villagers' land there, they gathered the farmers and asked them to sign a document in order to make the confiscation of the land legal. Signing the document would have meant that the villagers had given the land to the Burma/Myanmar government military (Tatmadaw). One of the villagers whose land was confiscated, a woman named Naw Z---, stated in a June 2015 interview with KHRG:

“And they [the farmers] did not agree [to sign the document] and they went back [home]. My mum told him [my father] not to sign the document. And the second time [LIB #338 asked villagers to sign the document], it included threats."[8]

When they first confiscated the land, the Tatmadaw promised to compensate villagers for their lost crops and all of the land that they had confiscated in the area, but villagers have not received the compensation as of the end of the 2015 reporting period.

With regards to this case of land confiscation, villagers reported that there has also been no transparency on the part of the Tatmadaw. They have never explained openly to the villagers exactly the land area that they require for their base and the villagers have stated that they have confiscated more land than they would legitimately need for military purposes. In 2014, the Burma/Myanmar government Hlaingbwe Township general administrator and the land administrator requested to meet with villagers and, during the meeting, the administrators said that they had received a letter from their superiors stating that the land that had been confiscated by the Tatmadaw will not returned to the villagers.[9]

Another case of land confiscation occurred in 2015 in Hpa-an District when the Burma/Myanmar government built a new town in Hlaingbwe Township called Klaw K'Tee Town. Prior to the recent construction, there was only Lu Pleh Town in the area, but now G--- village has been expanded into a new town. The government has put their efforts into building the place into a new town since 2013, and now they have established a school, clinic, government department buildings, and military buildings in the villages that were abandoned by villagers who migrated to refugee camps in Thailand. G--- village is situated near the Thai-Burma/Myanmar border where Thai and Burmese traders meet to trade goods. The Klaw K'Tee road that leads to the border and that villagers used to use for trading was destroyed in 1981 and 1982 when the Burma/Myanmar government fought against KNU. As the fighting continued, the villagers faced forced labour demands from Tatmadaw. As a consequence, the H--- villagers had to leave their farms and migrate to H--- and Meh I--- villages and then to refugee camps in Thailand. Nowadays, the villagers who migrated to refugee camps in Thailand are facing problems with returning to their homeland, as their land is being used by the Tatmadaw. A KHRG community member from Hlaingbwe Township stated in his report:

“One of the villagers said the Tatmadaw built a new town in order to brag [to the people of Burma/Myanmar about what they have done]. They [the Tatmadaw] repaired their army camps, built up many buildings and all of those [were] for the Burma/Myanmar government. They have no concern for the villagers [when it comes to their] economic [situation] and [their access to] education."[10]