Police evict 700 squatters
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The authorities have evicted some 700 squatters who claimed the five-acre land owned by the Livestock, Fisheries and Rural Development Ministry in Mingaladon, Yangon Region.
Ohn Myint, the minister for livestock and fisheries, watched as three bulldozers flattened the homes, a Mingaladon police officer said.
Squatter Mya Thandar said: “The authorities told us to leave our homes at about 4am. If we defend ourselves against eviction, legal actions will be taken. They held sticks and knives.”
The police detained three defiant squatters. The police banned journalists from covering the clearance until they had got a media pass from the minister. The squatters apparently moved to the site five days earlier. Most of them were from Kontalapaung, Laydaunkkan and Nwekhwe villages and Pale Myothit.
The squatters were taken to an unnamed monastery.
