TPP authorities force families to relocate without compensation

By Lawi Weng, IMNA
Two families were ordered to relocate their homes in Jueplut Village, near Three Pagoda Pass on the Thai-Burma border.

The order was issued on April 4 and the families have till the end of the month to shift.

The two houses, which belong to Nai Apain and Nai Balai, are located in front of the Jueplut primary school.

"The authorities alleged that noises emanate from the houses, which disturbs the school. They said that the front of the school should be clean and there should be enough space for the school," said a person in Jueplut Village.

A Mon human rights worker, however, contested the reasoning offered by the SPDC authorities. Neither house is terribly close to the school, he pointed out, nor is either family particularly loud.

Both families have lived on their properties for over a decade, and the houses are valued at 30,000 and 100,000 Thai baht. Neither family will be compensated, nor will they be provided new land to live on.

In what is gross injustice, in addition to losing their land, the families will lose their gardens and the wood used to build the homes. The cost of buying new land, wood and other items to replace the lost homesteads will be prohibitive for both families.

Neither family is linked to politics or accused by the regime of any crime. Both are simply farm workers.

According to another Mon human rights worker, the Three Pagoda Pass authorities have, in the past, confiscated land without compensation only to resell it at a one hundred percent profit. It is still not clear whether the land confiscated in this case will be sold.