A Foreseeable Disaster in Burma: Forced Displacement in the Thilawa Special Economic Zone

Executive Summary

Recent liberalization of some governmental policies in Burma (officially the Union of Myanmar) has led to the lifting of a number of bilateral sanctions and increases in foreign aid and investment. Both governments and corporations are entering into partnerships with Burmese companies to undertake major development projects, including building special economic zones (SEZ), developing hydroelectric dams, signing concession agreements for mining operations, and building pipelines. Despite their potential to create opportunities for economic advancement, such development projects are causing widespread forced displacement throughout the country, undermining the human rights of the people living in affected areas.

Forced displacement threatens people on every continent. Environmental degradation, conflict, the race for scarce resources, development projects, and land grabs have caused a significant number of these illegal displacements. People living in marginalized communities, including ethnic minorities and indigenous groups, are particularly vulnerable to forced displacement. […]

Forced Displacement Leaves Burmese Families Living in Substandard Conditions, with Higher Rates of Hunger and Sickness

The Burmese government violated international standards when forcibly displacing families from the Thilawa Special Economic Zone (SEZ) by threatening many residents with court appearances and imprisonment, giving them inadequate compensation for land lost, and failing to provide training or other means of income to those who lost their jobs, according to a new report by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR). […]

Karen Civil Society Rallies Around Japan’s Harmful Plans for Eastern Burma

Japan’s lofty development plans for eastern Burma were very publicly rejected by the Karen Peace Support Network (KPSN) at a press conference in Rangoon, citing lack of consultation with communities and the potential for such plans to fuel conflict. Based on a blueprint for extensive development projects produced by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the overseas development arm of the Japanese government, 28 Karen civil society organizations that form the KPSN, released a report to outline their concerns and recommendations. JICA’s blueprint, in which its main goal is to support the return of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs), contains four main components; economic corridors, free trade zones and industrial estates, industrial clusters, and urban development. The Japanese government has been working closely with both the Union level and State level Burmese Government in the development of this plan.

For Karen civil society, however, there are many concerns, as outlined in the report released on 9 September. Although the blueprint aims to “promote peace through development,” JICA has not conducted a conflict analysis on what is an extremely complicated and fragile context. In fact the plans could serve to exacerbate conflict by facilitating land confiscation, one of the loci of tension in the ceasefire process. Also, improving transport and road access to areas traditionally held by ethnic armed groups such as the Karen National Union (KNU), allows easy access for Burma Army soldiers to the heart of Karen areas. We must not forget the abusive nature of the Burma Army that has been terrorizing civilians for decades and continues to do so, despite a ceasefire in place. Will exposing more communities, who are already vulnerable to abuses, to the unreformed Burma Army really aid peace […]

Critique of Japan International Cooperation Agency’s Blueprint for Development in Southeastern Burma/Myanmar

Executive Summary

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has recently issued a blueprint that proposes industrial development in Southeast Burma/Myanmar, purportedly to aid in the return and settlement of refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Karen and Mon States. However, the Karen Peace Support Network (KPSN), a network of nearly 30 ethnic Karen organizations, cautions JICA that its blueprint for infrastructure development such as roads and industrial estates in the war-torn southeast is premature and flawed, potentially exacerbating conflict in the region.

The KPSN (formerly KCBPSN) is the largest network of Karen civil society organizations in Burma/Myanmar. These organizations have been providing support for vulnerable people in this conflict-torn region for decades, striving to empower local communities, build transparent and accountable institutions, and help create a sustainable peace in Burma/Myanmar. KPSN and its member organizations are important stakeholders which must be included in any development planning process in the Karen areas of the southeast […]

New Report: Japan – Burma Plan Could Fuel Conflict in Ethnic Areas

Japan’s new development plans for Southeast Burma could fuel conflict rather than promote peace, warns the largest network of ethnic Karen organizations in the country in a report it will release today in Yangon.

The Karen Peace Support Network (KPSN) launches its report today – Critique of Japan International Cooperation Agency’s Blueprint for Development in South-Eastern Burma/Myanmar – at the Myanmar Journalist Network (MJN) office in Yangon […]

Displaced Villagers File Complaint Regarding Japan’s Investment in Myanmar’s Thilawa Special Economic Zone

Tokyo, Japan – Three residents from the Thilawa Special Economic Zone (SEZ) area near Yangon, Myanmar, delivered an Objection to the Examiner for the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) today in Tokyo. It is the first known formal complaint filed under JICA’s Objection Procedures since the restructuring of JICA in 2008. One of the examiners, Dr. Sachihiko Harashina met the villagers in person to receive the complaint […]

Experts Urge Transparency in Burma’s Businesses

Most companies operating in Burma and Southeast Asia fail to meet international standards for transparency, according to a survey by the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC).

The London-based organisation, with offices and research fellows in 180 countries, deals with about 5,000 companies with both positive and negative images on human rights. One of its main goals is to obtain responses about misconduct allegations made by civil-society groups […]

Will Japan Become a Model of Irresponsible Development in Burma?

As the Thilawa Special Economic Zone Project (Thilawa SEZ) forges ahead, anger over the treatment of the local communities who are being displaced is growing. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), who just signed a deal that formalizes the financing of Thilawa SEZ is treating the communities currently living on the site area with undisguised disdain, drawing ire from local and international organizations, including on their home turf.

Covering around 2,400 hectares of land, the Thilawa SEZ is located 20km outside Rangoon and will include factories, a deep sea port, housing developments and other infrastructure for transport and communications. The project is a joint effort between Japan and Burma, with the Burma government and domestic businesses holding a 51% stake and the Japan government and Japanese businesses owning a 49% stake with funding being channelled through JICA as part of Japan’s overseas development assistance. Yet in order for these components to go ahead thousands of local people will be displaced. Phase One of the project, which has already started, has seen the relocation of 300 villagers yet the relocation site consists of inadequate housing, no alternative farmland, a lack of a clean water supply and very few livelihood opportunities, leaving people in debt just a few months after moving […]

JICA Continues to Ignore People Affected by Thilawa Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Burma (Myanmar)

Mekong Watch appalled by JICA decision to provide Investment Financing for SEZ and calls for improved relocation and compensation measures to prevent deterioration of villagers’ living conditions […]

Press Release: Japan Must Postpone Thilawa SEZ Financing Until Forced Displacement Reviewed

Development project near Rangoon funded by Japanese government and Japanese auto manufacturers built on forced displacement and land confiscation

(Washington, D.C., April 1, 2014) – The U.S. Campaign for Burma (USCB) strongly condemns the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for failing to responsibly manage its investment in the Thilawa Special Economic Zone (SEZ) outside Rangoon. JICA should not proceed with loan disbursement on April 10 as planned until proper due diligence is performed and impacted communities are provided with resettlement agreements that meet international standards […]