Resource information
Abstract"
"This research was framed by a human rights approach to development as pursued by Amartya
Sen. Freedoms are not only the primary ends of development but they are the principle means of
development. The research was informed by international obligations to human rights and was placed
within a context of global pluralism and recognition of universal human dignity. The first research aim
was to study the State Peace and Development Council military regime confiscation of land and labour of
farmers in villages of fourteen townships in Rangoon, Pegu, and Irrawaddy Divisions and Arakan,
Karenni, and Shan States. Four hundred and sixty-seven individuals were interviewed to gain
understanding of current pressures facing farmers and their families. Had crops, labour, household food,
assets, farm equipment been confiscated? If so, by whom, and what reason was given for the
confiscation? Were farmers compensated for this confiscation? How did family households respond and
cope when land was confiscated? In what ways were farmers contesting the arbitrary confiscation of their
land?
A significant contribution of this research is that it was conducted inside Burma with considerable
risk for all individuals involved. People who spoke about their plight, who collected information, and who
couriered details of confiscation across the border into Thailand were at great risk of arrest. Interviews
were conducted clandestinely in homes, fields, and sometimes during the night. Because of personal
security risks there are inconsistent data sets for the townships. People revealed concerns of health,
education, lack of land tenure and livelihood. Several farmers are contesting the confiscation of their
land, but recognise that there is no rule by law or independent judiciary in Burma. Farmers and their
family members want their plight to be known internationally. When they speak out they are threatened
with detention. Their immediate struggle is to survive.
The second aim was to analyse land laws and land use in Burma from colonial times,
independence in 1948, to the present military rule by the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).
The third aim was to critically review international literature on land tenure and land rights with special
focus on research conducted in post-conflict, post-colonial, and post-socialist nations and how to resolve
land claims in face of no documentation. We sought ideas and practices which could inform creation of
land laws, land and property rights, in democratic transition in Burma.
