Hundreds of Ann residents forced to demolish their own homes and shops

By DMG 08 May 2022

DMG Newsroom
8 May 2022, Ann 

An order has been issued by the local police to remove homes and shops built in the airport area and former departmental office space in Ann, Arakan State, according to locals. 

About 200 homes and shops built in the airport area and former office space for the General Administration Department, a police station and a public hospital are being demolished, locals said. 

An unnamed source said her home was demolished after the order was issued to remove homes in the airport area. 

“Local police say homes in the airport area will be demolished with a backhoe and a lawsuit will be filed against the squatters. That is why we are demolishing our homes for fear of them,” the undisclosed source added. 

Homes and shops in the airport area and the former departmental office space in Ann were ordered to be removed by May 20. 

The Ann Township police have issued a notice that if the houses and shops are not removed by the deadline, their inhabitants and owners will be evicted in accordance with the 1955 Government Housing Act. 

The affected people have not been given replacement land or compensation, an evictee said. 

“We received no compensation and no one helped us. We are not rich people, so now we have to demolish our homes and we have no place to live. We are in a lot of trouble right now. I would like to ask the concerned officials to give us alternative land,” the evictee added. 

Locals in Ann town said they were being ordered to demolish the homes and shops or relocated them beyond the designated area. The evictees are currently facing various difficulties, said Ko Myo Lwin, a social activist in Ann Township. 

“I feel very sorry to see the demolition of homes and shops. The evictees are facing hardships and struggling to make ends meet. I think this is a human rights violation against the people,” he said. 

Meanwhile, dozens of 30 people have struggled to get by after they were evicted on April 18 from a plot of land that the Myanmar military claims ownership of in Ann Township.