With only our voices (English)

Karen Human Rights Group
Village Agency Case Study: Hti Lon Dam, Hpa-an District
Construction on the Hti Lon Dam, located in Hti Lon Township, Hpa-an District, began in
2006 and was completed in 2010, although the negative effects, primarily due to flooding,
were still being reported to KHRG by villagers as late as March 2014. Villagers who had their
land confiscated for the construction of the dam, or were displaced due to subsequent
flooding, have tried a number of different strategies to obtain compensation for their losses.
During the reporting period, villagers met with various media outlets to discuss their cases,
provided videos and photos of the destruction caused to their land, and presented official
petitions to government ministers regarding the land confiscated. Although they have yet to
receive compensation, Nan Say Hwah, the local parliamentarian for the area, agreed to
meet with them to hear their concerns, and promised to raise the issue of compensation with
the Chief Minister of Kayin State as well as the Farmland Investigation Commission. 565 While
the outcome has yet to be decided, this case shows that, in many instances, villagers will
assertively advocate and take steps on their own behalf to address grievances.
“3,000 acres of land were confiscated [by the government and wealthy individuals] in Hlaing
Bwe Township, Hpa-an due to the construction of the Hti Lon Dam. [As a result of this
project] the villagers encountered various difficulties. The villagers do not have land to live
and work on, so they must do odd jobs in order to survive. In addition, a number of their
children have gone to work in Thailand, as there is no work available locally… In a list
submitted to me by the villagers there are 40 fields that were flooded. They submitted [to me]
the amount of land and the names of the villagers whose land was confiscated. They also
submitted the acres of land that were confiscated by the government and the rich people and
the names of the 58 land owners whose land was confiscated. They gave videos that show
the land was confiscated and a list of the land owners in their own hand writing.”
Short Update, written by a KHRG researcher, Hti Lon Township,
Hpa-an District/Central Kayin State (Received in March 2014) 566
B. Trends compared to 2011-2012
Previous KHRG research on land confiscation in southeast Myanmar identified 74 cases of
village agency strategies being employed by villagers in the period between 2011 and 2012.
In the current report, KHRG has identified 98 cases of village agency responses to landrelated
abuses. The number of reports has therefore increased in this reporting period
compared to that of Losing Ground. This continues the overall trend of the frequency and
diversity of agency responses. In addition to this overall increase, the type of responses in
the current reporting period has also showed greater diversity. Responses such as
negotiation and lobbying have increased in frequency, while formal registration of land and
outreach to CBOs/NGOs have emerged as growing trends in this reporting period. This is
not say that these strategies were not employed prior to December 2012, but rather that they
emerged in the current reporting period as strategies consistently employed by villagers to
defend their rights and prevent or address abuses.
565 The Farmland Investigation Commission was founded in August 2012 as part of the Farmer’s Affairs
Committee, with the goal of identifying farmland ownership disputes. The first report issued by the commission
in March 2013 indicated that over 250,000 acres of land had been confiscated by the Myanmar military,
country-wide between July 2012 and January 2013. The commission has faced criticism for only highlighting
land confiscation conducted by the military and not other actors. See “Rampant Land Confiscation Requires
Further Attention and Action from Parliamentary Committee,” Burma Partnership, March 2013; and Htet Naing
Zw and Aye Kyawt Kaing, ‘Military Involved in Massive Land Grabs: Parliamentary Report,’ The Irrawaddy,
March 2014.
566 See source #77.
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