[Myanmar] Zay Kabar Launches Defamation Lawsuit

[News_Editor]

Lower House MP Khin Shwe is the chairman of Zay Kabar Company. (Photo: The Irrawaddy)

Zay Kabar, a Burmese company accused of illegal land confiscations, is suing Peace and Diversity Party Chairman Nay Myo Wai who has been helping alleged victims from Shwenanthar Village, Mingalardon Township, Rangoon.

Myint Zaw, the manager of Zay Kabar, filed a defamation lawsuit based upon of Nay Myo Wai’s claim that seized land has not yet been demarcated as industrial zone under section 39 of the Land and Ownership Act.

“[Zay Kabar] said that those lands are already demarcated as an industrial zone,†said Nay Myo Wai. “As I claimed that it is not yet fixed, they said this is affecting their dignity so they submitted a complaint to the court.â€

The township police station is beginning an investigation into the defamation complaint under the direct instruction of the court.

“I’m very upset and sad about this,†said Nay Myo Wai. “We are not completely opposed to land confiscations. Now we are like enemies, not friends. Even in the United States, land was seized for the needs of the development of the country.

“We are just pointing out how to do this humanely. We would like the tycoons and the businessmen of Burma to learn and understand this.â€

A total of 815 acres of land was reportedly confiscated from farmers in Shwenanthar and other nearby villages of Rangoon’s Mingaladon Township by Zay Kabar in 2010. The company is owned by Khin Shwe, an MP from the ruling military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party.

Earlier this year, the manager of Zay Kabar also told farmers living on the confiscated land that they had to move, leaving many with nowhere to live, said local farmer Tin Sein.

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