Local residents have reported that the military is selling plots of land that were forcibly seized in Thayar Aye Ward, Mawlamyine City, Mon State. These lands, which include farmlands and residential areas, have been owned and cultivated by local residents for generations before being illegally confiscated by the military council. On January 10, during a meeting at the Aung San Hall of the Mon State Government Office, the Minister for Security and Border Affairs issued an order to remove what they claimed were ‘encroachments’ on these lands.
Following this order, on January 26, the military forcibly demolished residential homes using backhoes and seized agricultural lands. Currently, the military council-appointed Mon State Chief Minister Aung Kyaw Thein, Border Affairs Minister Colonel Kyaw Swa Myint, the State Municipal Department, and businessman Ngwe Moe Moe Kyaw are collaborating to sell these lands. They have declared the area as municipal land and are selling plots measuring 40 × 60 feet for 140 million kyats each.
According to local residents, these actions were taken without any consultation or notification to the landowners, with authorities arbitrarily declaring it municipal land. Roads have already been constructed, and the plots are now available for purchase with advance payments. The farmers who owned these lands have been paying regular land taxes and fees, with many holding official land grants. Some of the properties were home to internally displaced persons fleeing from conflict. The landowners have maintained proper documentation of their ownership rights.
Previous attempts by successive ministers to seize these lands were halted when farmers presented legal ownership documents and filed complaints. However, despite the current landowners submitting petitions with complete documentation to relevant departments, no government agency has taken responsibility or acted on their behalf. The military council is proceeding with the forced seizure and sale of these lands under their authoritarian system, disregarding the legal rights of the original owners and the proper legal processes that should be followed for land acquisition and transfer.
