Complaint about confiscation of land and forced labor in Aung Lan Township lodged
On 21st March, 2011, farmers from Ywarma Htone, Aung Myay Gone, Kwin Hlanand Aung Myay Tharyar villages, Aung Lan Township, Magwe Division lodged a complaint to the Office of International Labor Organization in Rangoon about the confiscation of 120 acres of the farmland that they have used for farming for about 40 years. In the complaints, they described about confiscation of land by Defense Industry No. (15) of Defense Ministry since 1999 and they have been forced to work in construction and running of that factory.
In the complaint, they also expressed that in-charge of the factory Major Nyo Myint confiscated some farmlands for Defense Industry – 15 in 1999 and later the confiscation extended to 120 acres owned by farmers from 13 villages in the surrounding areas. Moreover, farmers were also forced to work in construction of roads for the factory, making bricks, felling trees for firewood, ploughing and working in physic nut fields, and so on. And some products from their fields were forced to sell to their factory in fixed price. The farmers had to work for the factory as they were afraid of having their farms confiscated again. Now the farmers were forced to relocate to other places.