Farmland owners in Sittwe Township have been deprived of compensation for their lands confiscated by the Burmese military junta for an Indian oil company, said a displaced landowner.

"Our lands were confiscated for oil exploration and the junta authorities in our township promised us compensation. However, we have not yet received compensation even after a year," she said.

The farmland is located in Nyung Yi Chaung Village in Sittwe and accounts for about 16 acres. Since the confiscation it has been fenced off with barbed wire.

"The farmland was owned by ten farmers in the village and they have not been able to earn after the authorities confiscated their lands," she said.

According to a villager, the land owners are all farmers whose survival depended on their land. The farmers have been identified as Maung Thein, San Thein Aung, Daw U Sein Tha, U Maung Bu, Daw NGay Ma Chay, Thein Han, Daw Yin Sein Pru, Pho Kyaw Oo, Shwe Maung, and Maung Tun Hlaing.

A teacher in the area told Narinjara that the authorities confiscated the lands for the Indian company Essar last year, and landowners were promised compensation for their land.

The Indian company Essar is now exploring for oil in three Arakan townships - Sittwe, Rathidaung, and Ponna Kyunt - and is expected to begin drilling for oil in these areas in the coming dry season.