Pa-O authorities order 250 households off ancestral land in Southern Shan

Officials in Myanmar’s Pa-O Self-Administered Zone have ordered more than 250 households off 560 acres of ancestral land in southern Shan State, warning they will be forcibly removed if they do not leave Longhkoke village tract in Hopong Township by the end of February. North of Hopong, the 560-acre tract supports more than 400 ethnic Pa-O villagers who have farmed the land for generations. Farmers said that the area was among 18,000 acres seized by the military in 1992 under the SLORC and SPDC but later relinquished. The NLD government formally released the plots in 2018, they say. Sources claim the land was returned to the state—not directly to the original owners—allowing officials in the Pa-O Self-Administered Zone and members of the Pa-O National Organization (PNO), a pro-junta militia to seek control over it. A local farmer identified as Ko Htet, a pseudonym used for security reasons, told Myanmar Now that the Pa-O Self-Administered Zone administration has reclassified the land as unused state property, despite generations of continuous farming. He said officials are invoking land laws typically applied to idle or undeveloped plots in order to strip residents of their claims and label them as illegal occupants, paving the way for their eviction."We do not agree with the re-application of the land,” the farmer said. “These are lands that have already been relinquished. And these lands have belonged to farmers since the time of our ancestors.” Ko Htet added that there are over 250 houses on the land—ranging from brick buildings to bamboo structures—indicating permanent settlement. He argued that the Pa-O SAZ administration's move to categorize the area as VFV land is “unacceptable.”"The way we see it, this is a case of Pa-O people bullying their own Pa-O people,” he said. “We want our current location to be made legal.”Ko Htet also mentioned that the residents are ready to pay the required fees to apply for official land ownership.Southern Shan State has long been a patchwork of ethnic armed control, military deployments and contested authority, with land rights, militia influence and extractive industries shaping local power. Areas such as Hopong Township sit at the crossroads of trade routes and agricultural zones, making them strategically and economically significant in a region historically marked by conflict, shifting alliances and disputes over territory. Although families have held and managed the land for generations under customary systems, they lack formal titles. Residents are now seeking official recognition of their ownership rights.Li Li, spokesperson for the Pa-O Youth Organization, said the land’s proximity to Hopong and its strategic location have driven up its market value, prompting those with legal knowledge to seek VFV designation in order to take control. She pointed out that in 2025, the Hopong General Administration Department sent three notices to the original owners to vacate the area, accompanied by threats to dismantle the houses by force. After the residents are evicted, they are often offered "replacement" plots on the same land, but must pay 1 million kyat (250 USD) for a 30x40 foot plot and 2 million kyat (500 USD) for a 40x50 foot plot. A February 5 notice from the Hopong Pa-O SAZ Administration said officials had secured VFV permits for the land and would “resettle” current residents as squatters. Authorities are demarcating plots, building roads and installing electrical systems ahead of the move, and ordered all homes cleared by February 27. The Pa-O Youth Organization has demanded the return of seized lands, an immediate end to the eviction and threats against farmers, and compensation for the losses suffered by the farmers due to the land seizure."The areas where the farmers currently live and where the houses are already built are strategic and very convenient for living,” Li Li said.“The land is highly valuable. This is why they want to force them out to take it from them.”

Pa-O authorities order 250 households off ancestral land in Southern Shan

Farmers say land returned by the Pa-O in 2018 is being reclaimed through reclassification schemes that label residents as squatters

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