Stop president picking top judge to tackle land issues : MP

The latest was to end the executive branch’s control over the judiciary, supported by Section 229 which allows the president to nominate the union chief justice.

MP Aung Thein Lin of the Union Solidarity and Development Party is arguing that because of that section, the executive has too much influence over the judiciary. 

During a discussion on amendments to the Constitution, he told Parliament: “While the president nominates the union chief justice, the judiciary will remain dominated by the executive. Therefore, the public still suspects there is an unhealthy relationship between the two branches of government. It means cases over land confiscation are judged in accord with the desires of the executive rather than those of an independent judiciary.” 

Farmers in several parts of the country have complained about land confiscation and lack of agricultural land. Several have staged protests and faced arrests. They have cried foul over unfair trials.  

Aung Thein Lin said: “According to the Section 11(a) of the Constitution, the three branches of government should be separate, providing checks and balances on each other. Therefore, the head of the judiciary should not be selected by the president.”

House Speaker Thura Shwe Mann on June 30 urged ministries to speed up on enabling farmers to receive farmland work permit, more commonly known as Form (7) as protection against squatters and other threats.

As representatives from the ministries of Agriculture and Irrigation, Home Affairs, Livestock, Fisheries and Rural Development as well as Commerce attended a session, he urged them to follow up actions in accordance with the law and the analysis of the current situation.

“It is a very important matter for our country,” said Thura ShweMann. “This matter can be solved smoothly and quickly if everyone worked together but since it is this way, it has become another problem that draws criticisms under the current government. The criticisms are not important but what is important is that our farmers are actually experiencing the difficulties. I would like to urge seriousness in tackling this issue,” continued Thura Shwe Mann.

There currently are a total of 2.58 million people who have squatted on illegal farmlands and are currently practicing agriculture. The process of eviction starts from the village tract levels and comes up step by step up to the Union level where the vice-president will authorise it.

“If the group led by the vice-president himself sets a deadline and work towards it, it will be solved. Problems along this line must be completely solved in order for everyone to be happy,” said Thura Shwe Mann.

In a 2015 report released last week, the Karen Human Rights Group said that information gathered between December 2012 and January 2015 in southeast Myanmar showed an increase in the number and types of land confiscation cases, compared to 2011 – 2012 when preliminary ceasefire negotiations started between the government and the Karen National Union (KNU). 

Based on testimony from local villagers, the Myanmar government; domestic corporate actors; and Tatmadaw and Karen ethnic armed groups (EAGs) are all identified as being complicit in the confiscation of land from local communities in the area. However, local villagers report using a variety of strategies to prevent and mitigate the impacts of land confiscation, such as reaching out to civil society organisations (CSOs) and the media, negotiating with actors involved in projects, and lobbying both the Myanmar government and Karen EAGs.

Saw Albert, field director of KHRG, noted that there is a “real need for meaningful consultations, and free, prior and informed consent before the implementation of any project, and not only in words, but in deeds”.