Local people will no longer be able to sell land to the Wa. People who flout this order will be punished and their land confiscated by the Burmese Army.
 
This was announced by the Kengtung-based Triangle Region Command Commander Brig-Gen Kyaw Phyoe to people in Mongton Township, eastern Shan State, north of the Chiangmai border.  The order came into effect from May 3.
 
 
“Don’t sell your land to the Wa anymore,” a villager quoted one of the land surveyors as saying.
 
Wa authorities say, about 80,000 Wa villagers from the Sino-Burma border have been resettled along the Thai-Burma border.
 
Besides, the commander also assigned officials to measure the area of each person’s house and compound and ordered them to apply for title deeds, said another villager.
 
Pongpakhem Area Commander and land surveyors from Mongton went to Hwe Aw, where the UWSA’s 171st Military Region is headquartered on the same day.
 
Each household has to pay Kyat 12,000 for the deed. For the Wa, it is Baht 7,000. There are over 100 households in Hwe Aw, under the control of the Burmese Army.
 
On May 16, Kyaw Phyoe came to inspect whether the assignment he had handed out had been accomplished, along with officials from several government departments like Education, Health, Forestry, land-surveyors and road engineers in 17 trucks (7 four-wheelers, and 10 six-wheelers), said a source.
 
“We can’t help you anymore if the Wa comes to take your land. You need to make title deeds to prevent it,” another villager quoted the commander as saying.
 
The work in Hwe Aw has been completed and officials are reportedly moving to Pongpakhem and other villages to continue the issuing of title deeds, said a source.