Myanmar: Termination of Myitsone Dam the Only Option, Say Local Kachin

Myanmar: Termination of Myitsone Dam the Only Option, Say Local Kachin

It has now been five years since the Myitsone Dam project was suspended, but
local ethnic Kachin Mung Ra is still not satisfied. He wishes that the
project had been entirely terminated.

He frequently laments the loss of his farm and bamboo plantation-he had to
leave these behind when he was forcefully relocated for the project.

Mung Ra used to live in Dawn Ban, one of over 20 villages that were
relocated to make space for the Myitsone Dam. He and his fellow villagers
had to leave Dawn Ban behind in 2011 because the village lies in an area
designated for a sluice gate.

Bamboo trees are not useful to urban residents, but to people like Mung
Ra-who live alongside the "Myitsone" confluence of the Mali and N'mai
rivers, which forms the Irrawaddy River 26 miles north of the Kachin State
capital Myitkyina-bamboo is a crucial source of income.

"Bamboo is the source of our livelihood. We sell bamboo in towns to
producers of bamboo matting. And we use this money for our household
expenses," said Mung Ra.

In 2011, locals were ordered to move as farmlands and bamboo trees were
cleared for the dam project. Each household only received 100,000 kyats
(about US$78) for moving expenses, and the authorities compensated villagers
5,000 kyats ($4) for each cluster of bamboo plants cleared. No compensation
was given for the actual farmland left behind.

"A bamboo plant is sold for at least 1,500 kyats [US$1.18] in town
[Myitkyina]. But the compensation we receive is only 5,000 kyats for the
entire cluster of bamboo plants. On my bamboo plantation, the smallest
cluster has at least 50 bamboo plants, and the largest cluster has about 300
plants," Mung Ra said.

Dawn Ban villagers were relocated to new homes in Mali Yang village, where
new spaces were created by clearing farms and bamboo plantations-which of
course had been a source of income and indeed livelihood for the villagers
of Mali Yang. Moreover, Mali Yang locals had to give up their farms in order
for roads, also part of the project, to be constructed.

Brang Mai of Mali Yang village recounted his experiences: "I'll never forget
the day when Chinese men came to check terrain conditions for road
construction in December 2011. We were drying paddy on the embankment, and
because they didn't want to walk in the mud, they stepped on the paddy with
their shoes."

Since then, Mali Yang residents have reclaimed bushes for farming, but even
so, those lands are not fertile enough.

Farms were previously close to the Mali Yang village, and it only took
approximately three months to farm for the year. But now, the new farming
site is some 10 miles away from the village, presenting a great
inconvenience to villagers.

This story is not unique. About 3,000 people from some 20 other villages
face hardships similar to those of Mung Ra and Brang Mai.

An agreement on the China-backed $3.6 billion-dollar Myitsone Dam was signed
under the military regime of former Snr-Gen Than Shwe, and construction of
the project started in 2009. The China Power Investment Corporation is the
developer. Under the agreement, China would receive about 90 percent of the
power generated.

Yet in the face of opposition from local ethnic Kachin and environmental and
political activists, former president Thein Sein suspended the project in
Sept. 2011.

The previous government, however, granted licenses to gold mining companies
along the confluence after the relocation process. The Irrawaddy visited
this area earlier this month and found that some companies are still digging
for gold, despite an official ban.

The previous government built two new villages in Waingmaw Township, east of
Myitkyina, for those 3,000 people who were relocated from over 20 villages.

They had no choice but to start new yet difficult lives with the small
houses given by the government-and without proper compensation. In some
cases, locals were even coerced by authorities to move.

Lu Ra, a villager from Tang Phare village who is now living in the newly
constructed Aungmyintha village, said: "We didn't want to move, and we
decided to stay, no matter what came. But police and Chinese men came and
said that even if we didn't move, we wouldn't be allowed to live in the
village, and that we wouldn't be given a new place. I have children and a
family, [so] I agreed to move."

Some Tang Phare villagers, because they could not immediately find a source
of income in the resettlement area, continued to grow crops on their farms
in their old village. But they were quickly arrested, though the authorities
later released them.

Locals who have been affected by the dam said that they voted for the
National League for Democracy (NLD) in the Nov. 2015 general election
because they believe that the party will listen to their voices and
ultimately terminate the project.

"If the dam breaks, it will sweep away the people to the south of it
[downstream of the Irrawaddy River]. This isn't a wild guess, but an actual
possibility," said Dr. Manam Tu Ja, chairman of the Kachin State Democracy
Party (KSDP).

Ethnic Kachin oppose the dam not only because it puts lives at risk, but
also because it endangers the historically valuable Irrawaddy River, the
KSDP chairman said.

"Weighing the pros and cons, the dam has more disadvantages than advantages.
That's why we're calling for its termination. Even President U Thein Sein's
government listened to the wishes of the people; the new government
shouldn't continue it," he added, saying that the NLD government should take
decisive steps toward terminating the project.

In March, China's Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin told the Chinese media
that the Myitsone Dam deal is still in force, and that the project is
crucial for China. China is upset that the project has been suspended and
has urged for its continuation.

At the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Burma's de facto leader,
State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, visited Beijing in August. In a joint
statement, the two leaders vowed to enhance cooperation between their
governments and promote neighborly ties.

The statement only mentioned cooperation in vague terms regarding the
economy, trade, agriculture, water resources, and power generation; it did
not touch on the Myitsone Dam.

However, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi told Chinese Premier Li Keqiang that she would
like to work out a solution to the project that is acceptable to both sides
without negatively affecting their mutual interests.

A 20-member commission was formed by presidential order in August, ahead of
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's visit to Beijing, to review proposed hydropower
projects on the Irrawaddy River, assessing the potential benefit to Burmese
citizens and making recommendations on whether they should proceed. The
first report is due by Nov. 11.

Promising to listen to locals, the commission conducted a field survey in
September.

The Irrawaddy made phone calls for three consecutive days to Kachin State
Chief Minister Dr. Khet Aung, who is a member of the commission, to ask
about the body's findings but was unable to obtain comment.

Dr. Manam Tu Ja of the KSDP said the commission should take the people's
opinions into serious consideration.

While conducting the survey, however, commission members only met with a few
locals and failed to meet most of the ethnic Kachin displaced by the dam
project, said La Awng of Hkan Bu village.

Mung Ra, Lu Ra, and La Awng were among those who voted for the NLD,
believing that it would not ignore their wishes. But now they are not so
sure.

"We'd like to tell [NLD] lawmakers what we face on the ground. But they no
longer come to us," said Mung Ra.

Lu Ra said that she, along with her fellow villagers, had asked to meet
Kachin State's chief minister in September to talk about the dam project-but
he refused their request, saying that he had no time.

Looking to the future, La Awng called the project "a big weapon that
threatens locals every day."

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Ref:
http://www.irrawaddy.com/news/termination-of-myitsone-dam-the-only-option-sa
y-local-kachin.html

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com