Since this month began, against the wishes of the locals, 2700 acres of lands between Lawjar, DawLawkhu and Makrawshe villages located in Hpruso township have been confiscated for conversion into a military training ground.
Even though the farmers have been told they will receive 50,000 Kyats per acre as compensation, this does not cover their losses.
One local said: “ Each year, we can earn at least 100,000 kyats growing peanuts on one acre. Therefore, we have suffered big losses from having the land confiscated..
In the future, we will have no land to grow crops. The seized lands were the main source of livelihood for nearby villagers.
Local community leaders sent a petition to the State Minister asking him to reconsider this decision which deprives farmers of their ancestral lands, but there has been no response from authorities.
“A government official told us that it is our choice whether we want to take the 50,000 Kyats or not, but they must confiscate the lands as they are state property”, reported one farmer whose land was taken”.
The lands that have been confiscated are cleared lowlands suitable for cultivation.
“ When they need to , the authorities will use the villagers as forced labour. Maybe they will only start building the military training ground, but in the future, they can expand it into an airstrip, military buildings and a security camp.” said Khu Nge Reh, a coordinator of relief team in Karenni State.
The authorities claim that the confiscated lands are only forest. However, these lands are the ancestral property of the locals which they have been cultivating for years.
Since this month, four engineers from the Ministry of Construction have arrived with six tractors to start preparing the land for construction.
In the early part of this year, the LIB # 576 came to measure the land around the area for four miles around Daw Lawkhu, Lawjar and Makrawshw, within Hpruso Township.
