A briefing paper jointly published earlier this month by the Netherlands-based think tank groups has asserted that new ceasefires that have been signed since 2011 have further facilitated land grabbing in conflict-affected areas where large development projects in resource-rich ethnic regions have already taken place.

“The ceasefires with armed groups have made the land more accessible to commercial interests backed by the central government and military,” says Access Denied: Land Rights and Ehtnic Conflict in Burma, prepared by Transnational Institute (TNI) and Burma Centrum Nederland (BCN).

A representative of a Karen civil society organization agrees. “Because of the conflict the original population has fled and their land has not been used for a long time,” the representative says. “The government realizes this, and companies have started to apply for permission to use this land. Villagers coming back find their land occupied.”

In some cases, as in Karen State as well as Shan State, land is being confiscated also by groups that had made peace with the central government, like the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) in Karen and PaO National Army (PNA) in Shan.

To make things worse, few farmers in non-Burman ethnic areas have formally-recognized land titles, not to mention identity cards. “Indeed, the new laws do not recognize customary and communal rights at all.”

They include:

• The Farmland Law (passed in March 2012)
• The Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Land Law (passed in March 2012)
• Foreign Investment Law (passed on 1 November 2012)

Moreover, the Union Government, it points out, does not need approval from state/region governments for large-sized investments within their jurisdiction, although they have to be informed.

The situation, it warns, unless addressed is “setting the stage for further social and political conflict in the years to came.”

It has accordingly made the following recommendations:

• Recognition of existing customary and communal tenure systems
• Land grabbing and unsustainable business practices must halt
• Decisions on the allocation, use and management of natural resources and regional development must have the participation and consent of local communities
• The new land and investment laws must be amended to serve the needs and rights of farmers, especially in ethnic regions

“Land rights must be the cornerstone of the peace process,” it concludes.
The framework for political dialogue, drafted by the Working Group for Ethnic Coordination (WGEC), has outlined 19 dialogue issues, one of which is the land issue. It has proposed to discuss with the government and other stakeholders on 3 points:

• Land ownership
• Land tenure system in accordance with customary laws
• Review of new land laws