Migyaungkan land 'to house veterans'

Thein Nyunt received the letter after inquiring during a parliamentary session about the ongoing land problem in Migyaungkan land plots 1 and 2.

According to the letter, the Ministry of Construction handed over the 33.85-acre parcel of land to the Ministry of Defence on December 9, 1992. Since the handover, those who wished to engage in agriculture and livestock breeding have been allowed to conduct joint businesses on the land for the welfare of retired servicemen. The businesses could only commence once the individuals had signed an agreement volunteering to leave the land if necessary, said the letter.

To avoid unnecessary problems in the future, it said, authorities summoned the people living in the area in October 2012 and asked them to move away by the end of December. For their convenience, the letter mentioned, those with school-aged children could remain there until March 31, 2013, when the academic year ended. However, the residents became squatters in April, when they decided not to leave the land, instead holding three rounds of protests. 

Those who came from rural areas wanted to leave. But others, led by Soe Mi Mi (also known as “Ma Tar”) resorted to various methods in order not to move as they found it easy to do business on the military-owned land. 

On June 13 last year, the Military City Develop-ment Affairs Committee (Yangon) cleared the area in accordance with the 1995 Eviction Act, the letter stated. The military did not use force to seize its land, but all the houses were systematically dismantled for reuse with the help of police, said the letter.

In addressing the land issues, the letter mentioned that the Ministry of Defence provided owners with compensation at the going market rate.

But the ministry says it has no plans to return the military-owned land in Migyaungkan Wards 1 and 2 because the land will be used to provide housing for war veterans, the letter added.