Resource information
Introduction:
"Over the period of this report, the political landscape in Burma has undergone noticeable shifts. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, once a political prisoner under house arrest, recently returned from a whirlwind tour of the United States where she received the Congressional Gold Medal, America’s highest civilian honour. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and members of the U.S. Congress touted her cooperation with Burmese President Thein Sein, who visited the United Nations in New York City. The trip, at the urging of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, also resulted in the further easing of sanctions on the Burmese government, including an end to the crippling ban on imports.
Simultaneously, human rights violations persist throughout the country. Deadly civil war in ethnic areas, forced labour, child soldiers, torture and ill treatment remain grave concerns. Additionally, this report will emphasize the rampant land confiscation and forced relocation by the Burmese government. Recent events, including the arrests and beatings of farmers protesting the forced relocation of landowners from 66 villages for the Latpadaung copper mine,1 underline the on-going human rights violations by the Burmese government. In its report to the United Nations Human Rights Council, the Asian Human Rights Commission found that land grabbing is a direct result of “the convergence of the military, government agents
and business”. The report cited the rising issue of former military
personnel transitioning to new roles in industry. This marriage of
military and industry has led to human rights violations such as the
confiscation of 7,800 acres of land and untold environmental damage
for the copper mine. The mining project is being completed by the
military-owned Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings, in conjunction
with a Chinese corporation. The effects of land confiscation have real implications on the
livelihoods of civilians. A report by the Asian Legal Resource Centre
(ALRC) noted that, “Almost daily, news media carry reports of people
being forced out of their houses or losing agricultural land to statebacked
projects, sometimes being offered paltry compensation, sometimes
nothing". The 2012 Farmland Law presented an opportunity to
address land grabbing but, according the ALRC, “far from reducing
the prospects of land grabbing, the Farmland Law opens the door to
confiscation of agricultural land on any pretext associated with a state
project or the ‘national interest'
