Jaloon Htaw: Building preparations for a new cement plant in in Kawpanor village, in Mon State’s Kyaikmayaw Township has lead to the confiscation of over one thousand acres of rubber plantation land in multiple townships in central Mon State.
The planned cement plant is being built by Hexa International Co. in collaboration with the Burmese government. According to a Kawpanor village, on the 6th of October 2010, a 15 member team from Hexa International Co. and the Burmese land records department arrived in the village to informed over 50 plantation owners that their land was being confiscated.
Measurements for the new cement plant began immediately, and finished on October 20th. Land has been confiscated from the villages of Kawpanor and Kawdoon in Kyiakmayaw Township, Kawbeen village in Karen State’s Kawkareik Township, and Kamawet village in Mudon Township.
According to an owner of rubber plantation who lost some of his acreage to the project, when the team arrived at his home, they showed him a map that indicated that the land in question already belonged to the Burmese government, despite this farmer’s denial of the claim.
“They showed the map, so we can’t talk any more. And also about three acres of my rubber plantation is gone. Then they came to measure it every day,” she explained.
According to a second owner from Kawdoon, each acre of confiscated land is worth roughly 400 thousand kyat, not including the harvest the plantations provide each year.
He reported that victimized plantation owners from the four villages had sent a complaint to Naypyitaw but have not yet received a reply.
“My friend lost 25 acres of his plantation. He took a photo of his plantation and reported to Naypyitaw, but not reply yet. He only lives off of this plantation. But they [authorities] said they will give compensation, one thousand kyat per rubber tree, but now not we have not gotten it yet” he added.
A thousand kyat is equivalent to one US dollar. The going price in Burma for a rubber tree is currently five thousand kyat.
This Kawdoon villager reported that when the lands records department authorities arrived at villagers homes, the authorities told villagers that “the country needed” the factory; the measurement team reportedly informed villagers that Hexa International Co. and the Burmese government had signed a 90 year contract. The building of the cement factory will take five years, and will require neighboring Pyarr mountain to be mined and destroyed. The building of the factory will reportedly commence soon.
This villager reported that two thousand workers will be employed by the cement factory.
Sources inside Mon state report that residents of Kyaikmayaw Township’s Ni Don village were recently told during an October 6th village meeting with Burmese land records department that roughly 425 acres of rice paddy land will also be seized for the project, after this year’s rice harvest has been gathered.
According to Nai Aue Mon, coordinator of the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM), the negative health and environmental impacts of the factory will outweigh the positive benefits of the jobs created by the factory.
“Because of building the cement factory, plantation owners’ lives will change. There will be a bad smell from the factory, and because of the explosions of dynamite [in the mine] the villagers who stay near that factory will get diseases, and also the water currents will change and the climate will also change,” he said.
Nai Aue Mon also explained that plans for the construction of the cement plant were originally formulated 15 years ago, but were unsuccessful. This time around however, there is every indication that Hexa International Co’s plans for the area will materialize.
