Council (1962-1974), the Burma Social- ist Programme Party (1974-1988), the State Law and Order Restoration

Land is the ultimate resource,for without it life on earth cannot be sustained. Land is both a physical commod-ity and an abstract concept in that the rights to own or use it are as much a part of the land as the objects rooted in its soil. Good stewardship of the land is essen-tial for present and future genera-tions. (United Nations 1996:3) Land is the major source of wealth and power and has been the focus of successive ruling bodies in Burma from the British colonial rulers (1931-1948), to the independent/democratic government (1948-62), to the various guises of military regimes: the Revolutionar