Opponents call for cancellation of Hat Gyi Dam in Myanmar

Opponents call for cancellation of Hat Gyi Dam in Myanmar

Representatives of 150 communities in Shan and Karen states voiced
opposition to the Hat Gyi Dam construction during a seminar in Chiang Mai.

The People's Network of the Salween River has called for an immediate halt
to construction of the Hat Gyi Dam in Karen State, Myanmar.
Representatives from 150 concerned communities in Shan and Karen states
attended a seminar at Chiang Mai University on Sunday where Sunnee Chiros, a
former Thai human rights commissioner, presented a study she had done, which
found that the dam's environmental impact assessment process was flawed.

The group statement said the Myanmar government should abandon all dam
projects on the Salween and pursue sincere peace talks in the region. It
said the Hat Gyi Dam would destroy the environment, harm people's
livelihoods and threaten regional peace, and urged people to campaign for
power generated by environmentally friendly technologies.

The group also called for the Thai government to set an example as a
regional leader to protect and preserve nature by ceasing all investment in
dam projects.

The Bt100-billion dam has been commissioned by the Energy Generating
Authority of Thailand International (EGATi), China's Sinohydro Corp,
Myanmar's Ministry of Electric Power and the International Group of
Entrepreneurs. But the project has been criticised for a lack of
transparency, damaging the environment, human-rights abuses and affecting
local indigenous communities.

The Hat Gyi Dam is expected to produce 1,360 megawatts of electricity, 90
per cent of which will be relayed to Thailand. It will also be part of a
scheme to fill Thailand's Bhumibol Dam for drought relief.

Currently, Thailand primarily relies on power from natural gas, with
reserves expected to last only another 30 years.

The Myanmar government's Border Guard Force has been cracking down on the
Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) and communities living in the area
near the dam since September 2014. At least 60 people have been killed in
the fighting, with another 170 injured and at least 3,000 resettled due to
BGF forces clearing the area for the dam.

Critics have said construction of the dam has caused a humanitarian crisis
in Karen state, that stems from conflict and an inability to deliver
much-needed aid. At least 1,000 refugees have been trapped in small villages
near the Thai border with a lack of housing and food leaving them heavily
dependent on volunteer groups.

The dam would be the largest in Southeast Asia, located in an ecologically
diverse area within the Kahilu Wildlife Sanctuary.

More than 10 million people from many indigenous communities rely on the
Salween River for their livelihoods. Groups represented at the Chiang Mai
seminar also said that indigenous cultures would be endangered.

Critics have further warned that the Hat Gyi Dam would put large areas in
Myanmar and Thailand at risk flooding.

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Link to Original Article: http://www.elevenmyanmar.com/local/6723

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com