“Thilawa SEZ Holdout Hit With Trespassing”, 30 September 2014

The last holdout resident living in the Phase I area of the Thilawa special economic zone (SEZ) is facing trespassing charges after refusing to vacate his home on land designated for the project…Kyaw Win, together with his wife and two children, was briefly detained at the Thanlyin police station…and was later released on bail…Kyaw Win’s family is the last to refuse to move to Myaing Thar Yar village, a relocation site arranged by the Thilawa SEZ Management Committee…“I said I cannot move yet because the compensation to build a [new] house is not enough,” Kyaw Win told The Irrawaaddy. “I haven’t gotten extra land to keep my cows either.”…He accepted the first installment of compensation, nearly 5.5 million kyats (US$5,500), and says he was told to sign a contract acknowledging receipt of the payment, without understanding the details of the agreement…Kyaw Win said he would move only if those resettled to make way for Thilawa were provided with secure jobs, a more generous compensation package and a larger land allotment at the relocation site…