New Report Highlights Land Confiscation in Myanmar’s Karen State

A new report launched today by Human Rights Watch called “‘The Farmer Becomes the Criminal’: Land Confiscation in Burma’s Karen State” documents how government officials, military personnel, local militia members, and businessmen have used intimidation, coercion, and force to seize land from local people in Karen State.

The report analyses the corrupt land administration structures and abusive laws that have laid the foundation for these practices. Human Rights Watch has also called on Myanmar’s new government to release all land rights activists detained for peaceful protests, investigate allegations of unlawful land seizures, and ensure the return of land taken improperly.

According to a HRW press release “Conflicts over land in Burma have intensified in recent years as the country has embarked on a process of democratic transition. Demand for land is greater than ever, and powerful interests are seizing control by displacing local people without adequate compensation or effective redress. In a country where over 70 percent of people earn a living through agriculture, losing land often means losing a livelihood.”