UWSA offers to compensate for confiscated lands in Mong Pawk
The United Wa State Army (UWSA) has pledged to pay
compensation to locals in Mong Pawk whose lands were confiscated during the
construction of a development project in the eastern Shan State town.
According to an UWSA official, the decision to
financially recompense the villagers was taken at a meeting last week headed by
Pawk Aik Pan, commander of UWSA Brigade 468. It was agreed that all previous
owners of land, houses and rice fields that were seized would be compensated.
The UWSA say they will pay 3,500 yuan ($US525) for
each mu (Chinese measurement equivalent to 1.647 acres) of confiscated
land. They have also offered to set up electricity and water facilities for the
affected villagers.
The new town development project in Mong Pawk
required the clearance of about 3,000 acres of land, according to Ar Pong, a UWSA battalion commander in Mong Pawk,
speaking to Shan Herald last month.
Aik Nub, a UWSA official who
attended last week’s meeting, confirmed yesterday to Shan Herald that
the compensation had been agreed, but could not say exactly when the payments
would be made.
The land and buildings of 32
households in an ethnic Lahu village named Jadawkhar were among those
confiscated.
“If we sold our land we would get 70,000-100,000
yuan per mu,” said Nar Wee, a resident who was forced out. “But they
will only pay us 3,000-3,500 yuan. Then we’ll have to rebuild our homes by
ourselves – but not in the new town. We will have to build near the forest or
the mountain which is far from the town.”
The new town project was started in July by the
UWSA, which is arguably the strongest ethnic armed group in Burma with a troop strength of up to 30,000.
The UWSA has signed bilateral
accords with the government; however it declined to sign the Nationwide
Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) with President Thein Sein’s administration in October
2015.
By Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN)
Tags: General, News
