• Burmese
Sunday, June 22, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
28 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Burma

Rangoon Activists Send President Petition Against Property Project in Former Park

Nobel Zaw by Nobel Zaw
January 7, 2015
in Uncategorized
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0 0
A A
Rangoon Activists Send President Petition Against Property Project in Former Park

The ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) is promoting the construction of a condominium on land in Rangoon that activists say was seized illegally. (Photo: The Irrawaddy)

2.5k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

RANGOON — Activists from Rangoon’s South Okkalar Township said they have sent a signed petition to President Thein Sein urging him to restore a public park area that was seized by the ruling party and is being developed into a condominium complex.

Saw Naing, who is a member of the Public Park Restoration Committee, said some 200 signatures from community leaders and elders had been collected in support of a letter that asked to halt the construction of a condominium in South Okkalar Township’s Ward 9.

The letter was sent on Monday to Thein Sein, Union Parliament Speaker Shwe Mann, Rangoon Division Chief Minister Myint Swe and Rangoon Mayor Hla Myint, Saw Naing said, adding that the activists also planned to lodge a formal complaint with the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC).

RelatedPosts

/ The Irrawaddy

Ten Things to do in Yangon This Week

October 24, 2017
7.2k
/ The Irrawaddy

Ten Things to do in Yangon This Week

October 17, 2017
5.5k
/ The Irrawaddy

Ten Things to do in Yangon This Week

October 10, 2017
5.9k

The real estate project had been suspended in 2013 after the committee campaigned for restoration of the park, but resumed last November. “So we sent the petition again and hope to stop it again,” he said.

In the 1960s, the area in Ward 9 on the corner of Waizayanthar Road and Thit Sar Street was turned into a public park and playground. In the early 2000s, the then-military government forcibly seized the public property and gave it to the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), the political mass movement of the junta and predecessor of the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).

The party built a township office and a number of shop houses in the area, but recently planned a joint development project with Yan Naing Construction Company to construct a condominium complex on the site. Workers have begun putting down the foundation for the building.

Aung Thein Lin, the USDP chairman for Rangoon and a Lower House lawmaker, could not be reached for comment about the party’s property development.

The activists, joined by prominent 88 Generation Peace and Open Society activist Ko Ko Gyi, held an unauthorized protest march through Ward 9 against the project in December, even though police had only allowed for protests at Kyaikkasan, an old horse-racing track in Tamwe Township.

Saw Naing and three other activists were subsequently charged under Article 19 of the Peace Assembly Law, which stipulates punishment of three months’ imprisonment for violating a provision requiring protestors to remain within the area police have designated.

Ko Ko Gyi said he expected to be charged as well but added, “The police still haven’t informed me directly. I heard the other people who cooperated with me have officially been charged under Article 19.”

Ko Ko Gyi said the residents of Ward 9 were determined to stop the USDP from developing valuable, high-rise real estate on the former public area as they want it restored to its original function so that local families could have a recreational area.

“The older people remember how there used to be playgrounds where children could play on seesaws and slides, and people played badminton. They want to have this park back for the young generation,” he said.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: Rangoon (Yangon)
Nobel Zaw

Nobel Zaw

Similar Picks:

Obama’s Second Burma Visit Falls Flat
Stories That Shaped Us

Obama’s Second Burma Visit Falls Flat

by Kyaw Zwa Moe
November 14, 2014
16.2k

As US President Barack Obama concludes his second visit to Burma, many in the pro-democracy movement slam his ringing endorsement...

Read moreDetails
A Buddhist monastery.
Culture

Influential Artist Honored 70 Years After Death 

by Wei Yan Aung
July 27, 2017
10.5k

In a span of 15 years, U Ba Nyan was able to revolutionize Myanmar’s artistic sphere.

Read moreDetails
Burma

Rangoon Tea House Gives Haute Burmese Cuisine a Home

by Claudia Sosa
January 3, 2015
17.7k

An upscale teahouse in Rangoon is looking to bring a touch of class to a ubiquitous Burmese institution.

Read moreDetails
Actor Min Oak Soe Sentenced to Life for Employee’s Murder
Burma

Actor Min Oak Soe Sentenced to Life for Employee’s Murder

by Htun Htun
July 30, 2015
7.2k

Burmese actor and director Min Oak Soe is sentenced to life imprisonment for the brutal December murder of his former...

Read moreDetails
The House on an Island
Culture

The House on an Island

by Aung Zaw
July 14, 2015
8.5k

The century-old Chin Tsong Palace, known locally as “Kanbawza Yeiktha,” was designated as a cultural heritage site by Burma’s Ministry...

Read moreDetails
Big Losses Reported Following Rangoon Market Fire
Burma

Big Losses Reported Following Rangoon Market Fire

by Nang Seng Nom
January 11, 2016
4.7k

A massive fire at Rangoon’s Mingalar Market has caused more than 36.6 million kyats (US$2.7 million) in damages, affecting 1,636...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
USDP

USDP, NLD Deny Skirting Campaign Rules

First Phase of National Voter List Preparation Near Completion: UEC

First Phase of National Voter List Preparation Near Completion: UEC

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

Trade and Traffic from Thai Border Region Dwindle as Checkpoints Multiply

Trade and Traffic from Thai Border Region Dwindle as Checkpoints Multiply

3 days ago
934
The Lady Myanmar’s Generals Can’t Defeat

The Lady Myanmar’s Generals Can’t Defeat

3 days ago
675

Most Read

  • Myanmar Junta Moves to Seize Sagaing Roads

    Myanmar Junta Moves to Seize Sagaing Roads

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Certifying a Chinese Security Invasion; Boosting Ties With Nuclear North Korea; and More

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Changes Election Law Ahead of Polls

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Residents of Myanmar Ruby Hub Speak Out as TNLA Mining Takes Toll

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Trade and Traffic from Thai Border Region Dwindle as Checkpoints Multiply

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.