Day Four. Friday, 28 November 2014: Land in whose hands?

Is there anything more to learn about land issue, apart from the ongoing land grabbing cycles which is happening not only in Burma but worldwide?

I find out today that there is, after one participant briefs the seminar on the Draft National Land Use Policy which was unveiled on 18 October at Inya Lake Hotel.

To be sure, she says (again another she) the new draft guideline, a 12 part 93 pages affair, has its good points, such as recognition of the customary land rights, land tenure and land use practices.

At the same time, it raises a lot of questions and suspicions, because:
• Limited time for consultation, October-December 2014. Reports say Naypyitaw is pressed on ratifying it before 2015 dissolution of parliament.
• Various land laws starting from 2012 have been criticized for infringing on ethnic nationalities’ land and prioritizing foreign investment.
• The draft policy while speaking of compensation, says nothing about restitution. (Compensation, I learn from Yahoo is “like a gift to say sorry” for the wrong that has been done. But restitution is “pay to restore” as something was before being taken away or destroyed. These days, thanks to President Thein Sein and the peace process he started, I’m being forced to learn a lot of things in a hurry.) In contrast, the word “investment” features a dozen times, according to a joint preliminary assessment.
• In addition, the land issue will be handled by a centralized body
“This is second only to the 2008 constitution in significance,” she concludes.

Comments and suggestions from participants who have studied the draft includes:
• The 2008 constitution was ratified without the people’s consent. We fear this one will be too.
• Opposition to 2015 ratification, before sufficient public consultation has been conducted, must be put up jointly by CSOs, political parties and ethnic armed movements. Doing it after the peace process will prove too late.
Earlier on 5 November, at another seminar in Chiangmai, I remember one CSO participant saying: We are like someone who’s asking for a right to have a piece of cake. While we are asking, others are already eating. By the time our request is granted, nothing will be left for us.
• British era land regulations and the UN Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples, of which Burma was a signatory in 2007, must also  be put to good use to preserve the people’s right to land and livelihood
(To be continued)

N.B
For more arguments against the draft land use policy, please visit Mizzima News, 10 December, The draft land use policy: putting big business first by Dr Jennifer Franco.