The Kachin 'Nakba'

Bauk Ja is a Kachin farmer who was displaced from her land in the Hukawng Valley in December 2008. It was seized by Burma's military authorities and redistributed to the Yuzana Company as part of a massive agriculture project in the region.

The chairman of Yuzana is Htay Myint, one of Burma's wealthiest businessmen, who is targeted with sanctions by the US and the EU as a military crony.

Bauk Ja

Last week, the State Court in Myitkyina announced that it was exonerating the company chairman from prosecution. Bauk Ja has vowed to fight on and appeal the decision.

She will contest next month's election in Phakant Township in Kachin State as a candidate for the National Democratic Force (NDF), a political party founded by former leaders of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD).

Irrawaddy reporter Ko Htwe recently interviewed Bauk Ja and spoke about about the ongoing court case and the forces they are fighting against.

Question: What is the latest news about the lawsuit?

Answer: on Oct. 12, the court in Myitkyina threw out our lawsuit against the Yuzana Company chairman. It said, however, that it would allow a case to be filed against the director of the company. But we cannot omit the chairman of the company from our lawsuit because he is responsible for everything related to his company. The director is below the chairman on the company ladder. So, we will continue to sue him personally in our lawsuit at the Division Court in Mandalay.

Q: What response have you had from the local authorities?

A: First, a group of 148 farmers filed a lawsuit in August to claim adequate compensation from the Yuzana Company because the company had confiscated the farmers' land and razed it [for sugar cane and tapioca cultivation]. Yuzana reacted to the lawsuit by convincing individual farmers to drop the case in return for payments of 80,000 kyat [US $80] per acre.

The local authorities said they would mediate the case, so we agreed. However, it turned out that 'mediation' involved intimidation and physical abuse. We asked for adequate compensation, but the authorities said they would only pay 80,000 kyat per acre, and the farmers who accepted had to sign an agreement that they would not participate in the lawsuit. However, when they handed over the money, it was less than they had agreed so many farmers refused to take it.

As for those who want their land back, they were displaced to an area with rocky land where they couldn't grow anything. Many refused to accept it. As a result, many farmers were interrogated by the police; they were taken in around midnight and accused of being criminals. Some were so physically abused that they relented and signed the agreement.

Because of the intimidation—including prison sentences—and physical abuses, there are now only 17 of us left who have not accepted either the money or the rocky land. But we will fight on with our lawsuit.

Two more groups of farmers have already filed lawsuits claiming compensation. A third group, representing 46 farmers, filed a lawsuit last Thursday. The court is due to reconvene on Oct. 20.

We have submitted a written complaint to various offices since the land confiscations began. We have submitted it to the township level, the state level and to Naypyidaw. Finally, we sent it to the International Labour Organization (ILO). Then we filed a lawsuit at the State Court.

Q: Do you think farmers will be given their land back?

A: We farmers depend on our land for agriculture. It is our livelihood and our life. Without land, we have nothing. That's why we referred the matter to court.