Land, Forests and the Struggle for Survival: A Three-Decade Journey in Ye Chaung Phya (Bee Ree)

Aug 18, 2026 | Kun Wood
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Land is vital in the struggle of the Mon people for survival, political freedom and human rights. Protection and ownership, however, have fallen victim to the cycles of conflict since Myanmar’s independence in 1948. In this eyewitness commentary, Kun Wood analyses the challenges and loss felt by Mon people, both farmers and those displaced by civil war, in the Bee Ree region since the 1995 ceasefire of the New Mon State Party with the military regime. New land policies and the adoption of restitution, redistribution and regeneration principles offer hope. But there is still a long way to go.