Lao Woman Says Shots Were Fired in Land Dispute

Jun 29, 2016 | Radio Free Asia
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A Lao police officer and three men associated with country’s military, who are accused of squatting on a three-hectare parcel of land in Luang Prabang province, recently fired their weapons in an attempt to fend off a local woman who claims title to the land, the woman told RFA’s Lao service. Outhaivanh told RFA that she has been trying to move the men off the property located in Phonexay village, Luang Prabang district, for years, but she has been stymied as local officials have sat idly by as the men erected structures and even sold off plots of the land.

While the land dispute pits Outhaivanh against the men who now occupy the parcel, it is an example of the difficulty of enforcing property rights in Laos where all land formally belongs to the state. In actuality, land titles often change hands when administrations change, often leaving several people fighting over competing claims.