“The total amount of land confiscated by the army from farmers across Myanmar is equivalent to an area larger than Yangon city district—over 297,000 acres [460 sq miles],” announced Minister for Defense Lt-Gen Wai Lwin in parliament on July 16.
He spoke a day after the date set by the government to return all the seized land had passed. Sources say it is still unclear when and how much of the land the farmers and landowners will get back.
The debate in parliament began with MP Win Myint who stated that it was not appropriate for the Government to announce the exact date when confiscated lands would be returned to the farmers, and offered reassurance by saying that the parliament was working on a solution as soon as possible.
Chairman of Confiscated Lands Investigation Commission, Lower House MP Tin Htut from the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party argued: “I object since this could lead to the sense that we, the bicameral assembly, are casting doubts upon the Government and its performance.”
After much debate, an NLD MP’s proposal to declare an official date as to when all lands must be returned failed when only 44 MPs voted to approve the motion.
