Aung San Suu Kyi worried about violence in Myanmar
By DONNA BRYSON - Associated Press | AP – 48 mins ago
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Recent violence in Myanmar shows how difficult it will be to achieve unity and democracy in the southeast Asian country, democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi said Monday.
Suu Kyi used a video link to take questions from a small group at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa, where her longtime supporters include fellow Nobel peace laureates Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu.
"I think we should all be concerned about hostilities breaking out all over the country," she said, saying such violence underlines the challenge of bringing Myanmar's ethnic groups together.
But "we do intend to get to the position where we are a true union of hearts and minds," she said.
Suu Kyi has made a few such virtual appearances to audiences in Hong Kong and the United States since Myanmar's military leaders freed her from house arrest almost a year ago. She has not been expressly banned from foreign travel. But Sein Win, an overseas opposition leader and Suu Kyi's cousin, said she might not be allowed to return if she does venture abroad.
Sein Win, who was in South Africa to accept an honorary degree from the University of Johannesburg on Suu Kyi's behalf on Tuesday, said concern about what might happen if she were to leave shows how uncertain the situation is in his homeland. He said he would not return until democracy and rule of law are guaranteed in Myanmar.
Suu Kyi said she was inspired by South Africa's defeat of apartheid.
"We are determined to make a success of our struggle for democracy," she said. "We are not just going to sit. We are going to move to get to where we want to go."
In November, Suu Kyi's party boycotted Myanmar's first elections in 20 years, saying the vote was undemocratic. The new government is nominally civilian but remains dominated by the military, which has ruled since 1962.
Despite the elections, violence continues in parts of Myanmar. Rights groups and The Associated Press have interviewed victims who say the army is subjecting citizens to forced relocation, forced labor, gang-rape and extra-judicial killings. Amnesty International says troops have used civilians as human shields and minesweepers. Western nations are urging Myanmar to free its more than 2,000 political prisoners and reconcile with Suu Kyi.
Speaking Monday, Suu Kyi repeatedly called on the international community to closely follow events in Myanmar, and to criticize and reward as warranted. She called on South Africa to display more leadership, saying its government had not always been as forthright in its support as had individuals like Mandela and Tutu.
Those who had achieved freedom should "remember those who are still struggling to obtain theirs," she said.
In awarding her the Peace Prize in 1991, the Nobel committee called Suu Kyi's struggle "one of the most extraordinary examples of civil courage in Asia in recent decades."
Retired Archbishop Tutu, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his nonviolent campaign against white racist rule in South Africa, has called Suu Kyi "a global symbol of moral courage." Mandela, South Africa's first black president, made her an honorary Elder when he formed the group of global statesmen in 2007. Mandela shared the 1993 Nobel
with President F.W. de Klerk for their work in negotiating an end to apartheid.
Mandela's Elders, who champion peace and human rights around the world, have kept an empty chair representing Suu Kyi and Myanmar's thousands of political prisoners at their meetings.
Suu Kyi was released Nov. 13 after more than seven years under house arrest. She was first arrested in 1989 and at the time of her release had been detained for 15 of the past 21 years.
Suu Kyi was largely raised outside Myanmar, also known as Burma, and initially settled with her husband and sons in England. In 1988, she returned home to care for her ailing mother as mass demonstrations were breaking out against military rule. As the daughter of Aung San, the country's martyred founding father, she was thrust into a leadership role.
She led her party, the National League for Democracy, to victory in 1990 elections, but the junta refused to recognize the results. Suu Kyi's party said last year's vote, in which it refused to participate, was held under unfair and undemocratic conditions.
International human rights groups are calling for a U.N.-led international commission of inquiry into allegations of war crimes in Myanmar, where the military crushed mass protests for democracy led by Buddhist monks in September 2007. Several dozen people were believed killed and many more jailed.
Another Nobel peace laureate, Tibetan spiritual and political leader the Dalai Lama, has been invited to South Africa this week to help celebrate Tutu's 80th birthday on Friday.
Sonam Tenzing, the Dalai Lama's official representative in South Africa, said Monday he still had no word on whether South Africa would grant him a visa. South African officials have denied China, a major trading partner, is blocking the visit, saying only that the Dalai Lama's visa application is taking time to process.
The Nobel committee recognized the Dalai Lama in 1989 for his peaceful efforts to "preserve the historical and cultural heritage of his people." China accuses him of being a separatist. The Dalai Lama insists he is only seeking increased autonomy for Tibet, the homeland from which he has been exiled since 1959.
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Recent violence in Myanmar shows how difficult it will be to achieve unity and democracy in the southeast Asian country, democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi said Monday.
Suu Kyi used a video link to take questions from a small group at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa, where her longtime supporters include fellow Nobel peace laureates Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu.
"I think we should all be concerned about hostilities breaking out all over the country," she said, saying such violence underlines the challenge of bringing Myanmar's ethnic groups together.
But "we do intend to get to the position where we are a true union of hearts and minds," she said.
Suu Kyi has made a few such virtual appearances to audiences in Hong Kong and the United States since Myanmar's military leaders freed her from house arrest almost a year ago. She has not been expressly banned from foreign travel. But Sein Win, an overseas opposition leader and Suu Kyi's cousin, said she might not be allowed to return if she does venture abroad.
Sein Win, who was in South Africa to accept an honorary degree from the University of Johannesburg on Suu Kyi's behalf on Tuesday, said concern about what might happen if she were to leave shows how uncertain the situation is in his homeland. He said he would not return until democracy and rule of law are guaranteed in Myanmar.
Suu Kyi said she was inspired by South Africa's defeat of apartheid.
"We are determined to make a success of our struggle for democracy," she said. "We are not just going to sit. We are going to move to get to where we want to go."
In November, Suu Kyi's party boycotted Myanmar's first elections in 20 years, saying the vote was undemocratic. The new government is nominally civilian but remains dominated by the military, which has ruled since 1962.
Despite the elections, violence continues in parts of Myanmar. Rights groups and The Associated Press have interviewed victims who say the army is subjecting citizens to forced relocation, forced labor, gang-rape and extra-judicial killings. Amnesty International says troops have used civilians as human shields and minesweepers. Western nations are urging Myanmar to free its more than 2,000 political prisoners and reconcile with Suu Kyi.
Speaking Monday, Suu Kyi repeatedly called on the international community to closely follow events in Myanmar, and to criticize and reward as warranted. She called on South Africa to display more leadership, saying its government had not always been as forthright in its support as had individuals like Mandela and Tutu.
Those who had achieved freedom should "remember those who are still struggling to obtain theirs," she said.
In awarding her the Peace Prize in 1991, the Nobel committee called Suu Kyi's struggle "one of the most extraordinary examples of civil courage in Asia in recent decades."
Retired Archbishop Tutu, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his nonviolent campaign against white racist rule in South Africa, has called Suu Kyi "a global symbol of moral courage." Mandela, South Africa's first black president, made her an honorary Elder when he formed the group of global statesmen in 2007. Mandela shared the 1993 Nobel
with President F.W. de Klerk for their work in negotiating an end to apartheid.
Mandela's Elders, who champion peace and human rights around the world, have kept an empty chair representing Suu Kyi and Myanmar's thousands of political prisoners at their meetings.
Suu Kyi was released Nov. 13 after more than seven years under house arrest. She was first arrested in 1989 and at the time of her release had been detained for 15 of the past 21 years.
Suu Kyi was largely raised outside Myanmar, also known as Burma, and initially settled with her husband and sons in England. In 1988, she returned home to care for her ailing mother as mass demonstrations were breaking out against military rule. As the daughter of Aung San, the country's martyred founding father, she was thrust into a leadership role.
She led her party, the National League for Democracy, to victory in 1990 elections, but the junta refused to recognize the results. Suu Kyi's party said last year's vote, in which it refused to participate, was held under unfair and undemocratic conditions.
International human rights groups are calling for a U.N.-led international commission of inquiry into allegations of war crimes in Myanmar, where the military crushed mass protests for democracy led by Buddhist monks in September 2007. Several dozen people were believed killed and many more jailed.
Another Nobel peace laureate, Tibetan spiritual and political leader the Dalai Lama, has been invited to South Africa this week to help celebrate Tutu's 80th birthday on Friday.
Sonam Tenzing, the Dalai Lama's official representative in South Africa, said Monday he still had no word on whether South Africa would grant him a visa. South African officials have denied China, a major trading partner, is blocking the visit, saying only that the Dalai Lama's visa application is taking time to process.
The Nobel committee recognized the Dalai Lama in 1989 for his peaceful efforts to "preserve the historical and cultural heritage of his people." China accuses him of being a separatist. The Dalai Lama insists he is only seeking increased autonomy for Tibet, the homeland from which he has been exiled since 1959.
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3 October 2011 Last updated at 10:44 ET
BBC News - Aung San Suu Kyi cautious on Burma reform
By Rachel Harvey BBC South East Asia Correspondent
Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has urged the international community to monitor her country closely to see whether recent signs of possible reform are genuine.
Her comments came in a face-to-face interview with a reporter from the BBC's Burmese language service who was given rare official access to Burma.
Ms Suu Kyi said she believed President Thein Sein wanted to reform.
But she said she was not sure how far he was prepared to go.
'Wheels are moving'
There have been recent signs that the civilian-led, military-backed government of Burma is trying to soften its stance and improve its image at home and abroad.
Last week the president suspended work on a hydro-electric dam project, financed by China, to which public opposition had been growing.
Some previously blocked websites have been made available, and there have been a number of meetings between the government and Aung San Suu Kyi.
Some journalists based outside Burma have also been allowed in on official visas, including a reporter from the BBC Burmese service who managed to speak to the pro-democracy leader face to face.
How substantial, he asked her, were these recent moves?
"We are beginning to see the beginning of change," she said.
"And by that, I mean that I believe that the president wants to institute reforms, but how far these reforms will be able to go and how effective these will be, that still waits, still needs to be seen."
Aung San Suu Kyi urged the international community to work together and to monitor events in Burma closely to see whether there was real and sustainable progress.
"I've always said that the more co-ordinated the efforts of the international community are, the better it will be for democracy in Burma. If different countries are doing different things, then it detracts from the effectiveness of their actions."
When asked whether she thought the wheels of democracy were turning, Aung San Suu Kyi, replied cautiously: "I think I'd like to see a few more turns before I decide whether or not the wheels are moving along."
BBC News - Aung San Suu Kyi cautious on Burma reform
By Rachel Harvey BBC South East Asia Correspondent
Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has urged the international community to monitor her country closely to see whether recent signs of possible reform are genuine.
Her comments came in a face-to-face interview with a reporter from the BBC's Burmese language service who was given rare official access to Burma.
Ms Suu Kyi said she believed President Thein Sein wanted to reform.
But she said she was not sure how far he was prepared to go.
'Wheels are moving'
There have been recent signs that the civilian-led, military-backed government of Burma is trying to soften its stance and improve its image at home and abroad.
Last week the president suspended work on a hydro-electric dam project, financed by China, to which public opposition had been growing.
Some previously blocked websites have been made available, and there have been a number of meetings between the government and Aung San Suu Kyi.
Some journalists based outside Burma have also been allowed in on official visas, including a reporter from the BBC Burmese service who managed to speak to the pro-democracy leader face to face.
How substantial, he asked her, were these recent moves?
"We are beginning to see the beginning of change," she said.
"And by that, I mean that I believe that the president wants to institute reforms, but how far these reforms will be able to go and how effective these will be, that still waits, still needs to be seen."
Aung San Suu Kyi urged the international community to work together and to monitor events in Burma closely to see whether there was real and sustainable progress.
"I've always said that the more co-ordinated the efforts of the international community are, the better it will be for democracy in Burma. If different countries are doing different things, then it detracts from the effectiveness of their actions."
When asked whether she thought the wheels of democracy were turning, Aung San Suu Kyi, replied cautiously: "I think I'd like to see a few more turns before I decide whether or not the wheels are moving along."
***********************************************************
The Nation - Thailand eyes more gas from Burma
October 3, 2011 10:39 am
Energy Minister Pichai Naripthaphan will include negotiations to increase supplies of natural gas on the agenda of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's visit to Burma on Oct 5.
"Burma has rich resources of natural gas. These onshore fields notably require lower investment than offshore fields. This is an opportunity for joint development for the economic prosperity of both countries," he said yesterday.
Transmitting gas from Burma by pipeline costs less than hauling liquefied natural gas from the Middle East and Australia by sea, he added.
"Burma has rich resources of natural gas, These onshore fields notably require lower investment than offshore fields. This is an opportunity for joint development for economic prosperity of both countries," he said.
China, India, South Korea and Thailand are in stiff competition for gas supply from Burma. Thailand’s latest deal with Burma was struck in 2010, for the supply from Bloc M9.
October 3, 2011 10:39 am
Energy Minister Pichai Naripthaphan will include negotiations to increase supplies of natural gas on the agenda of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's visit to Burma on Oct 5.
"Burma has rich resources of natural gas. These onshore fields notably require lower investment than offshore fields. This is an opportunity for joint development for the economic prosperity of both countries," he said yesterday.
Transmitting gas from Burma by pipeline costs less than hauling liquefied natural gas from the Middle East and Australia by sea, he added.
"Burma has rich resources of natural gas, These onshore fields notably require lower investment than offshore fields. This is an opportunity for joint development for economic prosperity of both countries," he said.
China, India, South Korea and Thailand are in stiff competition for gas supply from Burma. Thailand’s latest deal with Burma was struck in 2010, for the supply from Bloc M9.
***********************************************************
Oct 4, 2011
Asia Times Online - Myanmar buys time with dam block
By Simon Roughneen
BANGKOK - China has reacted coolly to Myanmar's surprise suspension of a controversial US$3.6 billion hydropower dam project it backed in the country's war-torn Kachin state. Hitherto cautious observers have greeted the stoppage as the first tangible reform move undertaken by the Myanmar's six-month-old, nominally civilian government led by former general Thein Sein.
According to the government, work on the controversial Myitsone dam will be suspended "according to the desire of the people". The announcement followed an upsurge in popular opposition to the project, where certain members of the old military elite and Aung San Suu Kyi-led political opposition found rare common cause. The project threatened the headwaters of the Irrawaddy River, the cradle of Burmese civilization.
Benedict Rogers of the London-based advocacy group Christian Solidarity Worldwide and author of a 2010 biography on Myanmar's former military dictator Senior General Than Shwe - a man thought to still wield immense influence from behind the scenes - told Asia Times Online that "this is the first time I can recall that the regime has responded to popular opinion and therefore must be welcomed".
That approval will not extend to China, which was scheduled to receive an estimated 90% of the estimated 29,400 million kilowatt-hours of electricity which the dam would have generated after its 2019 completion date, according to the People's Daily, the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party.
After Friday's announcement, read out in Myanmar's army-dominated parliament on behalf of President Thein Sein, Beijing's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said that dealings around the mega-project should be "handled appropriately through bilateral friendly consultation".
China is jointly involved with Myanmar authorities and various Myanmar companies in six other dam projects upstream from the now-suspended Myitsone project. So far there has been no mention of these other projects being affected by the September 30 announcement.
Work is also going ahead as planned with a port and pipelines project scheduled to link the Shwe Gas fields in the Bay of Bengal to Kyaukpyu on Myanmar's west coast, and onward across Myanmar to Kunming in southwestern China. The project will enable China to send oil and gas imports across Myanmar and steer clear of the US Navy-dominated waters further south, notably the Malacca Straits, though which an estimated 80% of global oil supplies are currently shipped.
With all this in mind, Hong Lei's statement also called on the Myanmar government to protect the interests of Chinese companies in Myanmar. But the surprise announcement has prompted much speculation about the back-story behind the suspension of the project, which Myanmar environmental campaigners say could begin again anytime unless China confirms that it is suspending its involvement in the project. (Thein Sein said the project would be suspended for the term of his government, which ends in 2015)
In the days leading up to the suspension, fighting between the Myanmar Army, known as the Tatmadaw, and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) which has been ongoing since June 9, intensified greatly, according to reports filed by Myanmar exile media groups based in Thailand.
"The government had little choice," said KIA spokesman Colonel James Lum Dau, speaking to this correspondent. "Since the fighting started, it has been impossible for any construction materials or supplies to get through from China to Myitsone," he claimed.
Compared with its often vitriolic responses to recent actions by Vietnam and the Philippines over the disputed South China Sea, Beijing's response to Myanmar's Myitsone suspension has been relatively measured and diplomatic. Analysts believe that suggests China may have been forewarned about Thein Sein's announcement, which is striking a populist note in a country where anti-Chinese sentiment is growing, according to Myanmar economy expert Sean Turnell.
Significantly, the announcement came a day after Myanmar Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lin met in Washington with Derek Mitchell, the newly appointed US envoy to Myanmar, and Kurt Campbell, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. That meeting came after a discussion in New Delhi between Myanmar Commerce Minister Win Myint and Anand Sharma, India's commerce and industry minister. Campbell is scheduled to visit Asia next week, including a stopover in Myanmar's neighbor Thailand, as well as in China, where he might be asked awkward questions about the timing of Thein Sein's announcement last week.
A leaked diplomatic cable sent from the US Embassy in Rangoon on Jan 15, 2010 points to evidence of a direct US involvement in opposing the dam. "An unusual aspect of this case [referring to the Myitsone Dam] is the role grassroots organizations have played in opposing the dam, which speaks to the growing strength of civil society groups in Kachin State, including recipients of Embassy small grants", the document stated.
The US is holding out the carrot of relaxed economic and financial sanctions if the Myanmar government undertakes key reforms, including the release of 2,100 political prisoners. India, meanwhile, is hoping to boost its economic links with Myanmar. New Delhi has ceded significant commercial ground to China, as well as other neighbors of Myanmar such as Thailand. Both China and Thailand enjoy trade relations with Myanmar measured at an estimated six to seven times the size of the current $1.5 billion India-Myanmar trade.
The September 30 announcement has already raised questions about the viability of other foreign-invested mega-projects underway in Myanmar. For instance, Thailand's Italian-Thai Development Company is the lead investor in a multi-billion dollar mega-port facility scheduled to be built on the country's southwestern coast at Dawei/Tavoy.
As well as a proposed 250-square-kilometer industrial zone, the project includes a highway that will link Dawei/Tavoy to Kanchanaburi province in western Thailand, plugging Myanmar's laggard infrastructure and economy into that of its relatively-advanced neighbor.
The port facility is envisioned to give Thai industries what they hope will be a protest- and litigation-free zone to relocate some of their operations after Thai environmental activists and local residents suspended through litigation new investments at the mammoth Map Tha Phut industrial estate in Rayong province in 2009.
As with the Myitsone dam, which some analysts have cited as a factor in the intensified fighting between insurgents and government forces further north, the Dawei/Tavoy project has faced stiff opposition from ethnic rebels, in this case Karen. In mid-July, the insurgent Karen National Liberation Army/Karen National Union (KNLA/KNU) said that it had forced a halt to the port's related highway construction in territory where KNLA-Tatmadaw clashes have recently taken place.
That stand-off continues, says KNU secretary general Zipporah Sein, who told Asia Times Online that "we welcome the government decision to suspend the Myitsone dam, but want the same to happen in Karen regions, as there has been no consultation with Karen people and no assessment of the impact of this project".
Simon Roughneen is a foreign correspondent. His website is www.simonroughneen.com.
Asia Times Online - Myanmar buys time with dam block
By Simon Roughneen
BANGKOK - China has reacted coolly to Myanmar's surprise suspension of a controversial US$3.6 billion hydropower dam project it backed in the country's war-torn Kachin state. Hitherto cautious observers have greeted the stoppage as the first tangible reform move undertaken by the Myanmar's six-month-old, nominally civilian government led by former general Thein Sein.
According to the government, work on the controversial Myitsone dam will be suspended "according to the desire of the people". The announcement followed an upsurge in popular opposition to the project, where certain members of the old military elite and Aung San Suu Kyi-led political opposition found rare common cause. The project threatened the headwaters of the Irrawaddy River, the cradle of Burmese civilization.
Benedict Rogers of the London-based advocacy group Christian Solidarity Worldwide and author of a 2010 biography on Myanmar's former military dictator Senior General Than Shwe - a man thought to still wield immense influence from behind the scenes - told Asia Times Online that "this is the first time I can recall that the regime has responded to popular opinion and therefore must be welcomed".
That approval will not extend to China, which was scheduled to receive an estimated 90% of the estimated 29,400 million kilowatt-hours of electricity which the dam would have generated after its 2019 completion date, according to the People's Daily, the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party.
After Friday's announcement, read out in Myanmar's army-dominated parliament on behalf of President Thein Sein, Beijing's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said that dealings around the mega-project should be "handled appropriately through bilateral friendly consultation".
China is jointly involved with Myanmar authorities and various Myanmar companies in six other dam projects upstream from the now-suspended Myitsone project. So far there has been no mention of these other projects being affected by the September 30 announcement.
Work is also going ahead as planned with a port and pipelines project scheduled to link the Shwe Gas fields in the Bay of Bengal to Kyaukpyu on Myanmar's west coast, and onward across Myanmar to Kunming in southwestern China. The project will enable China to send oil and gas imports across Myanmar and steer clear of the US Navy-dominated waters further south, notably the Malacca Straits, though which an estimated 80% of global oil supplies are currently shipped.
With all this in mind, Hong Lei's statement also called on the Myanmar government to protect the interests of Chinese companies in Myanmar. But the surprise announcement has prompted much speculation about the back-story behind the suspension of the project, which Myanmar environmental campaigners say could begin again anytime unless China confirms that it is suspending its involvement in the project. (Thein Sein said the project would be suspended for the term of his government, which ends in 2015)
In the days leading up to the suspension, fighting between the Myanmar Army, known as the Tatmadaw, and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) which has been ongoing since June 9, intensified greatly, according to reports filed by Myanmar exile media groups based in Thailand.
"The government had little choice," said KIA spokesman Colonel James Lum Dau, speaking to this correspondent. "Since the fighting started, it has been impossible for any construction materials or supplies to get through from China to Myitsone," he claimed.
Compared with its often vitriolic responses to recent actions by Vietnam and the Philippines over the disputed South China Sea, Beijing's response to Myanmar's Myitsone suspension has been relatively measured and diplomatic. Analysts believe that suggests China may have been forewarned about Thein Sein's announcement, which is striking a populist note in a country where anti-Chinese sentiment is growing, according to Myanmar economy expert Sean Turnell.
Significantly, the announcement came a day after Myanmar Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lin met in Washington with Derek Mitchell, the newly appointed US envoy to Myanmar, and Kurt Campbell, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. That meeting came after a discussion in New Delhi between Myanmar Commerce Minister Win Myint and Anand Sharma, India's commerce and industry minister. Campbell is scheduled to visit Asia next week, including a stopover in Myanmar's neighbor Thailand, as well as in China, where he might be asked awkward questions about the timing of Thein Sein's announcement last week.
A leaked diplomatic cable sent from the US Embassy in Rangoon on Jan 15, 2010 points to evidence of a direct US involvement in opposing the dam. "An unusual aspect of this case [referring to the Myitsone Dam] is the role grassroots organizations have played in opposing the dam, which speaks to the growing strength of civil society groups in Kachin State, including recipients of Embassy small grants", the document stated.
The US is holding out the carrot of relaxed economic and financial sanctions if the Myanmar government undertakes key reforms, including the release of 2,100 political prisoners. India, meanwhile, is hoping to boost its economic links with Myanmar. New Delhi has ceded significant commercial ground to China, as well as other neighbors of Myanmar such as Thailand. Both China and Thailand enjoy trade relations with Myanmar measured at an estimated six to seven times the size of the current $1.5 billion India-Myanmar trade.
The September 30 announcement has already raised questions about the viability of other foreign-invested mega-projects underway in Myanmar. For instance, Thailand's Italian-Thai Development Company is the lead investor in a multi-billion dollar mega-port facility scheduled to be built on the country's southwestern coast at Dawei/Tavoy.
As well as a proposed 250-square-kilometer industrial zone, the project includes a highway that will link Dawei/Tavoy to Kanchanaburi province in western Thailand, plugging Myanmar's laggard infrastructure and economy into that of its relatively-advanced neighbor.
The port facility is envisioned to give Thai industries what they hope will be a protest- and litigation-free zone to relocate some of their operations after Thai environmental activists and local residents suspended through litigation new investments at the mammoth Map Tha Phut industrial estate in Rayong province in 2009.
As with the Myitsone dam, which some analysts have cited as a factor in the intensified fighting between insurgents and government forces further north, the Dawei/Tavoy project has faced stiff opposition from ethnic rebels, in this case Karen. In mid-July, the insurgent Karen National Liberation Army/Karen National Union (KNLA/KNU) said that it had forced a halt to the port's related highway construction in territory where KNLA-Tatmadaw clashes have recently taken place.
That stand-off continues, says KNU secretary general Zipporah Sein, who told Asia Times Online that "we welcome the government decision to suspend the Myitsone dam, but want the same to happen in Karen regions, as there has been no consultation with Karen people and no assessment of the impact of this project".
Simon Roughneen is a foreign correspondent. His website is www.simonroughneen.com.
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The Standard - Dam halt draws ire of Beijing
Monday, October 03, 2011
Beijing has urged Burma to protect the rights of Chinese companies after the government halted construction of a US$3.6 billion (HK$28.08 billion) China-backed mega dam following public opposition to the project.
Burmese President Thein Sein on Friday ordered work on the Myitsone Dam on the Irrawaddy River to stop, a decision hailed by the United States as a sign the military-backed leadership is listening to its people.
But Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei on Saturday urged "relevant countries to guarantee the lawful and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies."
Hong said: "The Myitsone power station is a jointly invested project between China and Burma" and it has been "rigorously examined by both sides."
He called for both sides to "properly handle" the matter through "friendly consultations."
China is Burma's second-largest trading partner and biggest foreign investor, and the comments are a rare public display of discord between them.
The dam in the northern state of Kachin was backed by energy giant China Power Investment Corp and has attracted opposition from democracy activists and environmentalists
testing the limits of their freedom under the new nominally civilian regime.
In March Burma's junta handed power to a new government whose ranks are filled with former generals.
Green groups have warned the dam project would inundate an area about the size of Singapore, submerging dozens of villages, displacing at least 10,000 people and irreversibly damaging one of the world's most biodiverse areas.
Activists have urged China Power Investment to remove workers and equipment from the site and to allow local villagers who were forced to relocate to go home.
The Burma Rivers Network, groups representing dam-affected communities, has also called for six other mega dams planned on the Irrawaddy's tributaries to be scrapped.
Monday, October 03, 2011
Beijing has urged Burma to protect the rights of Chinese companies after the government halted construction of a US$3.6 billion (HK$28.08 billion) China-backed mega dam following public opposition to the project.
Burmese President Thein Sein on Friday ordered work on the Myitsone Dam on the Irrawaddy River to stop, a decision hailed by the United States as a sign the military-backed leadership is listening to its people.
But Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei on Saturday urged "relevant countries to guarantee the lawful and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies."
Hong said: "The Myitsone power station is a jointly invested project between China and Burma" and it has been "rigorously examined by both sides."
He called for both sides to "properly handle" the matter through "friendly consultations."
China is Burma's second-largest trading partner and biggest foreign investor, and the comments are a rare public display of discord between them.
The dam in the northern state of Kachin was backed by energy giant China Power Investment Corp and has attracted opposition from democracy activists and environmentalists
testing the limits of their freedom under the new nominally civilian regime.
In March Burma's junta handed power to a new government whose ranks are filled with former generals.
Green groups have warned the dam project would inundate an area about the size of Singapore, submerging dozens of villages, displacing at least 10,000 people and irreversibly damaging one of the world's most biodiverse areas.
Activists have urged China Power Investment to remove workers and equipment from the site and to allow local villagers who were forced to relocate to go home.
The Burma Rivers Network, groups representing dam-affected communities, has also called for six other mega dams planned on the Irrawaddy's tributaries to be scrapped.
***********************************************************
Sydney Morning Herald - World leaders praise Tutu, showman and giant
Cape Town, October 4, 2011
A NEW biography to mark Desmond Tutu's 80th birthday on Friday celebrates the South African icon as a tireless activist and playful inspiration in tributes from world leaders to rock stars.
The book contains intimate accounts from a diverse collection of friends made during his globe-trotting campaigns to end apartheid in South Africa and then for peace and justice in the rest of Africa and worldwide.
''I believe that God is waiting for the archbishop. He is waiting to welcome Desmond Tutu with open arms,'' South Africa's first democratic president and fellow Nobel peace laureate Nelson Mandela said. ''If Desmond gets to heaven and is denied entry, then none of the rest of us will get in!''
The book traces the transformation of a clergyman to a global icon.
''Emotionally and mentally, Bishop Tutu and I are very close. I call him my spiritual older brother,'' Tibet's Dalai Lama said.
Copies of letters to apartheid rulers and handwritten extracts of his notes reveal his relentless fight for democracy.
A 1985 letter to F. W. de Klerk, South Africa's last apartheid president, demands a passport to replace a document listing Archbishop Tutu's nationality as ''undeterminable at present''.
The archbishop then goes on to blast the ''policy of apartheid as utterly evil, un-Christian and immoral'', before signing off with ''God bless you''.
''I developed tremendous respect for his fearlessness. It wasn't fearlessness of a wild kind. It was fearlessness anchored in his deep faith in God,'' Mr de Klerk said in the book.
Archbishop Tutu's trademark playfulness is dotted throughout the book, by his youngest daughter Mpho and veteran journalist Allister Sparks.
Mogul Richard Branson recalls teaching him how to swim and Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi calls him a ''sort of giggle-maker''. The book also recalls the archbishop asking for directions in 1960s Britain, just to be called ''sir'' by a white policeman.
Irish rocker Bono describes how Archbishop Tutu led his unsuspecting band on their first meeting from his Cape Town office to a packed hall before smiling and telling the crowd:
''Here are U2 to sing for you.''
Intimate peeks into the archbishop's life are offered in moments spent with wife Leah, with the couple kneeling to be blessed on their 25th wedding anniversary.
''It's a challenge,'' his wife said of living with a public figure. She admits to throwing clods of earth and fruit at tourists gawking over her fence in Soweto.
Bob Geldof calls him a showman and the ''smallest giant I've ever met''.
''For those in power, Arch is a complete pain in the arse,'' he says. ''He calls it as he sees it and he never shuts up.''
One of the most personal accounts is from Mr Mandela's current wife, Graca Machel, who speaks of sometimes becoming ''overwhelmed'' by her responsibilities.
''Sometimes I feel like I'm too small to know how to do the right thing. At these times, I will approach the Arch and he will give me the guidance I need to make me feel that everything is fine.''
Cape Town, October 4, 2011
A NEW biography to mark Desmond Tutu's 80th birthday on Friday celebrates the South African icon as a tireless activist and playful inspiration in tributes from world leaders to rock stars.
The book contains intimate accounts from a diverse collection of friends made during his globe-trotting campaigns to end apartheid in South Africa and then for peace and justice in the rest of Africa and worldwide.
''I believe that God is waiting for the archbishop. He is waiting to welcome Desmond Tutu with open arms,'' South Africa's first democratic president and fellow Nobel peace laureate Nelson Mandela said. ''If Desmond gets to heaven and is denied entry, then none of the rest of us will get in!''
The book traces the transformation of a clergyman to a global icon.
''Emotionally and mentally, Bishop Tutu and I are very close. I call him my spiritual older brother,'' Tibet's Dalai Lama said.
Copies of letters to apartheid rulers and handwritten extracts of his notes reveal his relentless fight for democracy.
A 1985 letter to F. W. de Klerk, South Africa's last apartheid president, demands a passport to replace a document listing Archbishop Tutu's nationality as ''undeterminable at present''.
The archbishop then goes on to blast the ''policy of apartheid as utterly evil, un-Christian and immoral'', before signing off with ''God bless you''.
''I developed tremendous respect for his fearlessness. It wasn't fearlessness of a wild kind. It was fearlessness anchored in his deep faith in God,'' Mr de Klerk said in the book.
Archbishop Tutu's trademark playfulness is dotted throughout the book, by his youngest daughter Mpho and veteran journalist Allister Sparks.
Mogul Richard Branson recalls teaching him how to swim and Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi calls him a ''sort of giggle-maker''. The book also recalls the archbishop asking for directions in 1960s Britain, just to be called ''sir'' by a white policeman.
Irish rocker Bono describes how Archbishop Tutu led his unsuspecting band on their first meeting from his Cape Town office to a packed hall before smiling and telling the crowd:
''Here are U2 to sing for you.''
Intimate peeks into the archbishop's life are offered in moments spent with wife Leah, with the couple kneeling to be blessed on their 25th wedding anniversary.
''It's a challenge,'' his wife said of living with a public figure. She admits to throwing clods of earth and fruit at tourists gawking over her fence in Soweto.
Bob Geldof calls him a showman and the ''smallest giant I've ever met''.
''For those in power, Arch is a complete pain in the arse,'' he says. ''He calls it as he sees it and he never shuts up.''
One of the most personal accounts is from Mr Mandela's current wife, Graca Machel, who speaks of sometimes becoming ''overwhelmed'' by her responsibilities.
''Sometimes I feel like I'm too small to know how to do the right thing. At these times, I will approach the Arch and he will give me the guidance I need to make me feel that everything is fine.''
***********************************************************
China Daily - CPI: Mutually Beneficial and Double Winning China-Myanmar Myitsone Hydropower Project
Updated: 2011-10-03 21:01
(chinadaily.com.cn)
On September 30, some media reported that the Myanmar government will suspend the construction of Myitsone Hydropower Project in upstream Ayeyawady River, which caused extensive attention from media both home and abroad. With many questions, we interviewed Mr. Lu Qizhou, President of China Power Investment Corporation.
Q: President Lu, lately we noticed in the media that the Myanmar government will suspend the on-going Myitsone Hydropower Project. As China Power Investment Corporation (CPI) is the main investor of this project, can you tell the public what really happened?
A: I also learnt about this through the media and I was totally astonished. Before this, the Myanmar side never communicated with us in any way about the "suspension". Ever since CPI and Myanmar Ministry of Electric Power No. 1 "MOEP (1)" signed the MOU in December 2006, CPI has always followed the principle of mutual respect, mutual benefit and win-win result and established a Joint Venture with the Myanmar side, strictly observed the Chinese and Myanmar laws and regulations, diligently fulfilled our duties and obligations, and proceeded according to the operation mode of international BOT project. In March 2009, the Chinese and Myanmar governments signed the Framework Agreement on Joint Development of Hydropower Resources in Myanmar, explicitly supporting CPI in developing the upstream-Ayeyawady hydropower project.
We hired topnotch hydropower design institutes, research institutes, consultancies and authoritative experts in China to carry out planning, design, specific study, consultation and supervision for the upstream-Ayeyawady hydropower project. Changjiang Institute of Survey, Planning, Design and Research is responsible for the planning of upstream-Ayeyawady basin and the design of Myitsone Hydropower Project. It is also the institute that designed China's Three Georges Project. When we proceeded with Myitsone Hydropower Project, technical documents were consulted and reviewed by authoritative organizations and experts, and passed review organized by MOEP (1). Therefore, all legal documents, including the application for approval, signing of Joint Venture agreement, business license of the Joint Venture, investment permit, concession rights and legal opinion of the Judge are all in strict compliance with procedures of Myanmar. So far, all legal supporting documents for Myitsone Hydropower Station are complete for both countries. This is to say that the upstream-Ayeyawady hydropower project including Myitsone Hydropower Station, for which CPI is responsible for development and construction, is a major project approved by Myanmar government and has strictly performed all legal procedures in China and Myanmar. In February this year, Myanmar's Prime Minister urged us to accelerate the construction when he inspected the project site, so the sudden proposal of suspension now is very bewildering. If suspension means construction halt, then it will lead to a series of legal issues.
Q: How did CPI participate in the construction and development of Myitsone Hydropower Station in the first place? What's the status quo of the project? If the project is suspended, what impacts will be caused?
A: Hydropower is the technologically most proven and most economic renewable energy today. The average development of hydropower in developed countries is already above 60%, 72% in America, 67% in Japan, 90% in France, 95% in Italy and over 60% in Norway. Hydropower development rate reaches 50% in China now, and is planned to reach about 75% in 2020. With a total hydropower resource of over 100GW, Myanmar is one of the few countries in the world that have abundant hydropower resources, but the current rate of development and utilization is only 2.45%, which is in extreme disproportion to the resources it possesses. In particular, as the upstream-Ayeyawady hydropower project is located near the China-Myanmar border, developing hydropower resources here not only can meet Myanmar's power demand for industrialization, but also can provide clean energy for China. It is based on this consideration that we decided to invest in this mutually beneficial and double winning hydropower project.
Myitsone Hydropower Station that people are concerned about is the largest station in the river basin and started construction in December 2009. Currently, resettlement in the dam area of Myitsone Hydropower Station has completed, site preparations (access road construction, water supply, electricity supply, communication and site leveling) have started on full scale, on-site facilities including access road, water treatment plant and oil warehouse have taken primary form, the cross-river bridge downstream of the dam is under construction, and excavation for the main spillway and diversion system has also begun.
Since the inauguration of the Myitsone Hydropower Project, huge sum of money has been invested. If the project were suspended, the loss would go far beyond direct investment and financial expenses. There would also be tremendous amount of default claims from contractors, serious inability of electricity generation of the Construction Power Plant, huge increase of basic investment spread to other cascade power stations, and so on. As a result, the goal of completing the upstream-Ayeyawady hydropower project in time will not be achieved, causing immeasurable losses to both China and Myanmar. At the beginning of this year, Myanmar and China reached an agreement and relevant banks of both countries signed a RMB loan agreement. To guarantee repayment, the Myanmar government has secured its shares in Myitsone Hydropower Station and taken its expectant revenues as the main source for loan repayment. If the construction of Myitsone Hydropower Station were suspended, that would seriously impact the implementation of loan agreement.
In my opinion, having undergone sufficient scientific proving and fulfilled stringent legal procedures of both countries, Myitsone Hydropower Station is sure to withstand the test of history. I strongly hope that with unremitting efforts of relevant parties, this project can smoothly move forward on schedule, and mutual benefit and win-win result will become a reality for China and Myanmar.
Q: Some reports pointed out that the project will only bring economic benefits for China. What's your comment on that?
A: This viewpoint is extremely wrong. People who hold such a wrong viewpoint either don't understand the situation or have ulterior motives. Regarding infrastructure, it is an international practice to implement BOT mode. According to our BOT agreement, upon completion of the upstream-Ayeyawady hydropower project, CPI will be responsible for operation for 50 years, after 50 years the project will be transferred to the Myanmar government free of charge.
Either in terms of direct economic benefit or indirect profit, the upstream-Ayeyawady hydropower project will significantly boost the fast development of economy and society in Myanmar. In terms of direct economic benefit, when the several hydropower stations in upstream-Ayeyawady basin, including Myitsone Hydropower Station, are completed, Myanmar government will gain economic benefits of USD54 billion via taxation, free electricity and share dividends, far more than CPI's return on investment during our operation period. In particular, as the design life of the project is over 100 years, when we transfer it after 50-year operation, the Myanmar government will have a fixed assets increase worth tens of billions US dollars, in addition to hundreds of billions US dollars of direct economic benefits. Of course, the premise is that US dollar is not depreciated.
In terms of indirect profits, first of all, the construction and operation of high-grade and large-capacity power station will rapidly improve the power equipment in Myanmar and cultivate a large group of professionals in power construction, operation and management. As a result, Myanmar's electric industry will realize leapfrog development, providing strong power ensurance for its economic and social development. Second, when Myitsone Hydropower Station is completed, it will effectively control and reduce the flood peak, raise the anti-flooding standard in downstream area, and reduce life and property losses caused by downstream flood on people living on both banks. The anti-flood capability of Myitkina will be enhanced from once in 5 years to once in 20 years. Third, 750km road and a large number of hydrological, meteorological and seismic observation stations will be built for upstream-Ayeyawady project accordingly. Those infrastructures will definitely create opportunities for the local area to attract business and capital and improve people's livelihood. Fourth, during the construction peak, more than 40,000 workers will be needed, considerably increasing local job opportunities. At present, there are altogether 2000 Myanmar workers on the construction site of upstream-Ayeyawady project, including 1400 Myanmar workers on the Myitsone Hydropower Project site. By directly participating in the construction of upstream-Ayeyawady project or providing relevant services for construction personnel, local residents have considerably improved their own economic and living conditions.
Q: Some people worry that construction of the dam will lead to such major hazards as flood and earthquake. Is there sufficient guarantee for dam safety?
A: As far as I know, in the more than 100-year history of hydropower development, no flood or destructive earthquake has ever been caused by dam construction. CPI is a responsible super-large energy enterprise with 18GW operating hydropower capacity in China. We are able to ensure the safety of dam construction. During the design and construction of Myitsone Hydropower Station, we involved topnotch experts and teams in China, who have designed more than 200 hydropower stations, including Shuibuya Hydropower Station with the world's highest concrete face rockfill dam and Malaysia's Bakun Hydropower Station. Repeated proving of the seismic safety evaluation of Myitsone proved the absolute safety and reliability of the project engineering scheme. The Myanmar government also organized famous consulting organizations and experts from Switzerland and Japan to prove that over and over. Both parties agreed that there was no seismic safety issue for Myitsone Hydropower Station.
The seismic design of the dam in Myitsone Hydropower Station follows the standard of fortification intensity 9, which is higher than fortification intensity 7 of Zipingbu Hydropower Station that has withstood the Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan. To further fortify the overall seismic performance of the dam, we applied reinforced concrete grating to the top of downstream dam slope and implemented other seismic fortifying measures. In case of emergency, the surface and middle discharge orifices on the spillway can be used to rapidly lower the reservoir water level and ensure dam and downstream safety. We will build 25 digital remote control seismic monitoring stations in the reservoir area and arrange more than 700 safety monitoring instruments all over the dam in accordance with the safety monitoring standard applied to the world's highest concrete face rockfill dam so as to keep a close eye on the dam's working conditions during operation.
The anti-flood standard of the Myitsone dam is designed as once in 1000 years and ratified with once in 10000 years to ensure safe operation.
Q: Environmental protection has been a hot topic in hydropower development. Few western NGOs criticized that the project would seriously damage the environment. How do you respond on this?
A: I would like to ask: Did these organizations ever help Myanmar to develop economy when the Myanmar people were in most difficult situation? But now, with the slogan of ‘protecting the benefits of the Myanmar people', these organizations are disturbing the Myanmar government to carry out economic project development to improve people's livelihood. I don't know what their real purposes are?!
Any human activity would cause some impacts on the environment, including power generating activities. Hydropower, thermal power, nuclear power, wind power and solar power generation would all impact the environment somehow. Striving to reduce the negative impacts caused by human activities on the environment is necessary for sustainable development. During the 100 years that the mankind develop hydropower, their awareness of environmental protection has been deepening, and their ability in that has also continuously improved with technological progress. It has become a common consensus that hydropower is the only renewable energy suitable for large-scale development now.
The Hoover Hydropower Station in America has been operating for 80 years now. It not only turns 700,000-hectare desert in western America into fertile farmland by providing reliable water source, but also creates the new city of Las Vegas. The Itaipu hydropower station jointly developed by Brazil and Paraguay has also played a significant role in the economic and social development of both countries. CPI's successful development of cascade hydropower stations in upstream Yellow River has not only provided a great deal of economic and reliable clean energies, but also ensured non-stop flow in the middle and lower reaches of Yellow River for the past 10 years. All these projects have impacted local environment in varying degrees, but their positive effects on local economic and social development is self-evident and indisputable.
CPI attaches great importance to environmental issues during project development, and started environmental impact assessment at the very beginning of project planning.
Regarding vegetation, we entrusted over 100 experts from China and Myanmar to conduct environmental impact assessment of the basin, some of them from Myanmar NGOs. According to site investigations, native vegetation only accounts for a small part in the flooded area, and the flooded land only accounts for 1.4% of the whole basin area. Besides, protected plants that are flooded are widely distributed outside of the reservoir area, so bio-diversity will not be impacted.
Regarding intrusion of seawater, after the reservoir begins storing water, average flow will be reduced by 3.5% in flood season and increased by 16% in dry season. Therefore, there is no possibility of seawater intrusion during flood season. Meanwhile, it can also help prevent seawater intrusion during the dry season. It is also good for navigation, flood control and irrigation in the downstream.
Q: Resettlement is also a hot topic in hydropower development. Resettlement work relates directly to the subsequent living quality of the migrants. What have you done in that regard?
A：The Myanmar government attaches significant importance to resettlement for the upstream-Ayeyawady hydropower project, and has effectively led and organized the planning, design and implementation of resettlement. They solicited migrants' opinions for several times regarding type of houses and subsidies for relocation, and eventually selected 2 resettlement locations with convenient traffic, good environment and favorable terrain for migrants from the Myitsone dam area. According to the agreement, we assisted in the resettlement work and proactively fulfilled our social responsibilities and obligations, while fully respecting local religion, ethnic customs and the wish of migrants.
The basin that upstream-Ayeyawady project is located features a typical terrain of high mountains and river valley. When the power stations are completed, flooded area only accounts for 1.4% of the whole basin area, and less than 20000 people have to be relocated because of the cascade hydropower stations in the basin.
There are 5 villages in the dam area of Myitsone Hydropower Station, totaling 2146 people of 410 households. The houses we provided for migrants are 2-storey wood-and-brick structure, and we provided each household with 100,000-Kyat living subsidy, a 21-inch color TV and other living necessities. We also reasonably subsidized migrants for their private orchids and economic forests. Compensations for the dam area amounted to billions of Myanmar Kyat and were all distributed into migrants' hands. In order to ensure the subsequent lives of migrants, we newly reclaimed 440 acres of land, and distributed money to every household for land leveling related expenses, rice for a year, 30 kilo rice seeds and 50 kilo fertilizers. At the same time, all infrastructures such as schools and hospitals are concrete structure, and all students are provided with textbooks, uniforms and stationery.
Auxiliary facilities including high-standard religious venues, police stations, firefighting and administration buildings, post offices and markets are set up, 20km concrete road is built, and steady water and electricity is supplied for communities. Resettlement has been completed now, and living standard of the migrants has been greatly improved compared with before, so they are satisfied with their current living conditions.
We will fully draw on our experience in resettlement of dam area for the resettlement in Myitsone reservoir area to make it more rational and feasible. Flooded roads and bridges in the reservoir area will be rebuilt on the principle of "equal or superior to former standard" so as to meet the traffic requirements of local residents.
We also attach great importance to long-term assistance to the migrants. We have set about planning and building animal breeding and vegetable growing bases in the basin, hire local people to provide logistic services for project construction, with the aim to create more and better jobs and ensure the sustainable development of migrants.
There are two old sayings in China. One is "seeing is believing" and the other "he is wise who is open to all opinions, but a fool who only believes what he wants". I believe all of you will come to a just and objective conclusion with awareness of the real situation.
Updated: 2011-10-03 21:01
(chinadaily.com.cn)
On September 30, some media reported that the Myanmar government will suspend the construction of Myitsone Hydropower Project in upstream Ayeyawady River, which caused extensive attention from media both home and abroad. With many questions, we interviewed Mr. Lu Qizhou, President of China Power Investment Corporation.
Q: President Lu, lately we noticed in the media that the Myanmar government will suspend the on-going Myitsone Hydropower Project. As China Power Investment Corporation (CPI) is the main investor of this project, can you tell the public what really happened?
A: I also learnt about this through the media and I was totally astonished. Before this, the Myanmar side never communicated with us in any way about the "suspension". Ever since CPI and Myanmar Ministry of Electric Power No. 1 "MOEP (1)" signed the MOU in December 2006, CPI has always followed the principle of mutual respect, mutual benefit and win-win result and established a Joint Venture with the Myanmar side, strictly observed the Chinese and Myanmar laws and regulations, diligently fulfilled our duties and obligations, and proceeded according to the operation mode of international BOT project. In March 2009, the Chinese and Myanmar governments signed the Framework Agreement on Joint Development of Hydropower Resources in Myanmar, explicitly supporting CPI in developing the upstream-Ayeyawady hydropower project.
We hired topnotch hydropower design institutes, research institutes, consultancies and authoritative experts in China to carry out planning, design, specific study, consultation and supervision for the upstream-Ayeyawady hydropower project. Changjiang Institute of Survey, Planning, Design and Research is responsible for the planning of upstream-Ayeyawady basin and the design of Myitsone Hydropower Project. It is also the institute that designed China's Three Georges Project. When we proceeded with Myitsone Hydropower Project, technical documents were consulted and reviewed by authoritative organizations and experts, and passed review organized by MOEP (1). Therefore, all legal documents, including the application for approval, signing of Joint Venture agreement, business license of the Joint Venture, investment permit, concession rights and legal opinion of the Judge are all in strict compliance with procedures of Myanmar. So far, all legal supporting documents for Myitsone Hydropower Station are complete for both countries. This is to say that the upstream-Ayeyawady hydropower project including Myitsone Hydropower Station, for which CPI is responsible for development and construction, is a major project approved by Myanmar government and has strictly performed all legal procedures in China and Myanmar. In February this year, Myanmar's Prime Minister urged us to accelerate the construction when he inspected the project site, so the sudden proposal of suspension now is very bewildering. If suspension means construction halt, then it will lead to a series of legal issues.
Q: How did CPI participate in the construction and development of Myitsone Hydropower Station in the first place? What's the status quo of the project? If the project is suspended, what impacts will be caused?
A: Hydropower is the technologically most proven and most economic renewable energy today. The average development of hydropower in developed countries is already above 60%, 72% in America, 67% in Japan, 90% in France, 95% in Italy and over 60% in Norway. Hydropower development rate reaches 50% in China now, and is planned to reach about 75% in 2020. With a total hydropower resource of over 100GW, Myanmar is one of the few countries in the world that have abundant hydropower resources, but the current rate of development and utilization is only 2.45%, which is in extreme disproportion to the resources it possesses. In particular, as the upstream-Ayeyawady hydropower project is located near the China-Myanmar border, developing hydropower resources here not only can meet Myanmar's power demand for industrialization, but also can provide clean energy for China. It is based on this consideration that we decided to invest in this mutually beneficial and double winning hydropower project.
Myitsone Hydropower Station that people are concerned about is the largest station in the river basin and started construction in December 2009. Currently, resettlement in the dam area of Myitsone Hydropower Station has completed, site preparations (access road construction, water supply, electricity supply, communication and site leveling) have started on full scale, on-site facilities including access road, water treatment plant and oil warehouse have taken primary form, the cross-river bridge downstream of the dam is under construction, and excavation for the main spillway and diversion system has also begun.
Since the inauguration of the Myitsone Hydropower Project, huge sum of money has been invested. If the project were suspended, the loss would go far beyond direct investment and financial expenses. There would also be tremendous amount of default claims from contractors, serious inability of electricity generation of the Construction Power Plant, huge increase of basic investment spread to other cascade power stations, and so on. As a result, the goal of completing the upstream-Ayeyawady hydropower project in time will not be achieved, causing immeasurable losses to both China and Myanmar. At the beginning of this year, Myanmar and China reached an agreement and relevant banks of both countries signed a RMB loan agreement. To guarantee repayment, the Myanmar government has secured its shares in Myitsone Hydropower Station and taken its expectant revenues as the main source for loan repayment. If the construction of Myitsone Hydropower Station were suspended, that would seriously impact the implementation of loan agreement.
In my opinion, having undergone sufficient scientific proving and fulfilled stringent legal procedures of both countries, Myitsone Hydropower Station is sure to withstand the test of history. I strongly hope that with unremitting efforts of relevant parties, this project can smoothly move forward on schedule, and mutual benefit and win-win result will become a reality for China and Myanmar.
Q: Some reports pointed out that the project will only bring economic benefits for China. What's your comment on that?
A: This viewpoint is extremely wrong. People who hold such a wrong viewpoint either don't understand the situation or have ulterior motives. Regarding infrastructure, it is an international practice to implement BOT mode. According to our BOT agreement, upon completion of the upstream-Ayeyawady hydropower project, CPI will be responsible for operation for 50 years, after 50 years the project will be transferred to the Myanmar government free of charge.
Either in terms of direct economic benefit or indirect profit, the upstream-Ayeyawady hydropower project will significantly boost the fast development of economy and society in Myanmar. In terms of direct economic benefit, when the several hydropower stations in upstream-Ayeyawady basin, including Myitsone Hydropower Station, are completed, Myanmar government will gain economic benefits of USD54 billion via taxation, free electricity and share dividends, far more than CPI's return on investment during our operation period. In particular, as the design life of the project is over 100 years, when we transfer it after 50-year operation, the Myanmar government will have a fixed assets increase worth tens of billions US dollars, in addition to hundreds of billions US dollars of direct economic benefits. Of course, the premise is that US dollar is not depreciated.
In terms of indirect profits, first of all, the construction and operation of high-grade and large-capacity power station will rapidly improve the power equipment in Myanmar and cultivate a large group of professionals in power construction, operation and management. As a result, Myanmar's electric industry will realize leapfrog development, providing strong power ensurance for its economic and social development. Second, when Myitsone Hydropower Station is completed, it will effectively control and reduce the flood peak, raise the anti-flooding standard in downstream area, and reduce life and property losses caused by downstream flood on people living on both banks. The anti-flood capability of Myitkina will be enhanced from once in 5 years to once in 20 years. Third, 750km road and a large number of hydrological, meteorological and seismic observation stations will be built for upstream-Ayeyawady project accordingly. Those infrastructures will definitely create opportunities for the local area to attract business and capital and improve people's livelihood. Fourth, during the construction peak, more than 40,000 workers will be needed, considerably increasing local job opportunities. At present, there are altogether 2000 Myanmar workers on the construction site of upstream-Ayeyawady project, including 1400 Myanmar workers on the Myitsone Hydropower Project site. By directly participating in the construction of upstream-Ayeyawady project or providing relevant services for construction personnel, local residents have considerably improved their own economic and living conditions.
Q: Some people worry that construction of the dam will lead to such major hazards as flood and earthquake. Is there sufficient guarantee for dam safety?
A: As far as I know, in the more than 100-year history of hydropower development, no flood or destructive earthquake has ever been caused by dam construction. CPI is a responsible super-large energy enterprise with 18GW operating hydropower capacity in China. We are able to ensure the safety of dam construction. During the design and construction of Myitsone Hydropower Station, we involved topnotch experts and teams in China, who have designed more than 200 hydropower stations, including Shuibuya Hydropower Station with the world's highest concrete face rockfill dam and Malaysia's Bakun Hydropower Station. Repeated proving of the seismic safety evaluation of Myitsone proved the absolute safety and reliability of the project engineering scheme. The Myanmar government also organized famous consulting organizations and experts from Switzerland and Japan to prove that over and over. Both parties agreed that there was no seismic safety issue for Myitsone Hydropower Station.
The seismic design of the dam in Myitsone Hydropower Station follows the standard of fortification intensity 9, which is higher than fortification intensity 7 of Zipingbu Hydropower Station that has withstood the Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan. To further fortify the overall seismic performance of the dam, we applied reinforced concrete grating to the top of downstream dam slope and implemented other seismic fortifying measures. In case of emergency, the surface and middle discharge orifices on the spillway can be used to rapidly lower the reservoir water level and ensure dam and downstream safety. We will build 25 digital remote control seismic monitoring stations in the reservoir area and arrange more than 700 safety monitoring instruments all over the dam in accordance with the safety monitoring standard applied to the world's highest concrete face rockfill dam so as to keep a close eye on the dam's working conditions during operation.
The anti-flood standard of the Myitsone dam is designed as once in 1000 years and ratified with once in 10000 years to ensure safe operation.
Q: Environmental protection has been a hot topic in hydropower development. Few western NGOs criticized that the project would seriously damage the environment. How do you respond on this?
A: I would like to ask: Did these organizations ever help Myanmar to develop economy when the Myanmar people were in most difficult situation? But now, with the slogan of ‘protecting the benefits of the Myanmar people', these organizations are disturbing the Myanmar government to carry out economic project development to improve people's livelihood. I don't know what their real purposes are?!
Any human activity would cause some impacts on the environment, including power generating activities. Hydropower, thermal power, nuclear power, wind power and solar power generation would all impact the environment somehow. Striving to reduce the negative impacts caused by human activities on the environment is necessary for sustainable development. During the 100 years that the mankind develop hydropower, their awareness of environmental protection has been deepening, and their ability in that has also continuously improved with technological progress. It has become a common consensus that hydropower is the only renewable energy suitable for large-scale development now.
The Hoover Hydropower Station in America has been operating for 80 years now. It not only turns 700,000-hectare desert in western America into fertile farmland by providing reliable water source, but also creates the new city of Las Vegas. The Itaipu hydropower station jointly developed by Brazil and Paraguay has also played a significant role in the economic and social development of both countries. CPI's successful development of cascade hydropower stations in upstream Yellow River has not only provided a great deal of economic and reliable clean energies, but also ensured non-stop flow in the middle and lower reaches of Yellow River for the past 10 years. All these projects have impacted local environment in varying degrees, but their positive effects on local economic and social development is self-evident and indisputable.
CPI attaches great importance to environmental issues during project development, and started environmental impact assessment at the very beginning of project planning.
Regarding vegetation, we entrusted over 100 experts from China and Myanmar to conduct environmental impact assessment of the basin, some of them from Myanmar NGOs. According to site investigations, native vegetation only accounts for a small part in the flooded area, and the flooded land only accounts for 1.4% of the whole basin area. Besides, protected plants that are flooded are widely distributed outside of the reservoir area, so bio-diversity will not be impacted.
Regarding intrusion of seawater, after the reservoir begins storing water, average flow will be reduced by 3.5% in flood season and increased by 16% in dry season. Therefore, there is no possibility of seawater intrusion during flood season. Meanwhile, it can also help prevent seawater intrusion during the dry season. It is also good for navigation, flood control and irrigation in the downstream.
Q: Resettlement is also a hot topic in hydropower development. Resettlement work relates directly to the subsequent living quality of the migrants. What have you done in that regard?
A：The Myanmar government attaches significant importance to resettlement for the upstream-Ayeyawady hydropower project, and has effectively led and organized the planning, design and implementation of resettlement. They solicited migrants' opinions for several times regarding type of houses and subsidies for relocation, and eventually selected 2 resettlement locations with convenient traffic, good environment and favorable terrain for migrants from the Myitsone dam area. According to the agreement, we assisted in the resettlement work and proactively fulfilled our social responsibilities and obligations, while fully respecting local religion, ethnic customs and the wish of migrants.
The basin that upstream-Ayeyawady project is located features a typical terrain of high mountains and river valley. When the power stations are completed, flooded area only accounts for 1.4% of the whole basin area, and less than 20000 people have to be relocated because of the cascade hydropower stations in the basin.
There are 5 villages in the dam area of Myitsone Hydropower Station, totaling 2146 people of 410 households. The houses we provided for migrants are 2-storey wood-and-brick structure, and we provided each household with 100,000-Kyat living subsidy, a 21-inch color TV and other living necessities. We also reasonably subsidized migrants for their private orchids and economic forests. Compensations for the dam area amounted to billions of Myanmar Kyat and were all distributed into migrants' hands. In order to ensure the subsequent lives of migrants, we newly reclaimed 440 acres of land, and distributed money to every household for land leveling related expenses, rice for a year, 30 kilo rice seeds and 50 kilo fertilizers. At the same time, all infrastructures such as schools and hospitals are concrete structure, and all students are provided with textbooks, uniforms and stationery.
Auxiliary facilities including high-standard religious venues, police stations, firefighting and administration buildings, post offices and markets are set up, 20km concrete road is built, and steady water and electricity is supplied for communities. Resettlement has been completed now, and living standard of the migrants has been greatly improved compared with before, so they are satisfied with their current living conditions.
We will fully draw on our experience in resettlement of dam area for the resettlement in Myitsone reservoir area to make it more rational and feasible. Flooded roads and bridges in the reservoir area will be rebuilt on the principle of "equal or superior to former standard" so as to meet the traffic requirements of local residents.
We also attach great importance to long-term assistance to the migrants. We have set about planning and building animal breeding and vegetable growing bases in the basin, hire local people to provide logistic services for project construction, with the aim to create more and better jobs and ensure the sustainable development of migrants.
There are two old sayings in China. One is "seeing is believing" and the other "he is wise who is open to all opinions, but a fool who only believes what he wants". I believe all of you will come to a just and objective conclusion with awareness of the real situation.
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Hindustan Times - China's polished exploitation of isolated Myanmar
Reshma Patil, Hindustan Times
Ruili/Jiegao (Yunnan, China), October 03, 2011
He was a man from Rangoon who 20 years ago had fled to the nearest Chinese city of Ruili. But he did not complain that his Chinese work and residence permit, which allowed him to sell jade mined from the mountains of Myanmar, still confined him to the Chinese province of Yunnan.
Chinese businessmen driving Porsches and Cadillacs buy his raw materials cheaply and ship expensive finished products to the world, including the US, which enforces sanctions limiting trade with Myanmar.
Ruili is in Yunnan, but hemmed on three sides by Myanmar. This is ground zero of Beijing's strategic and economic partnership with its unstable neighbour. Trade worth 4.4 billion dollars now connects the military pariah regime with China. In comparison, five years later, India's trade with Myanmar may double to 3 billion dollars.
"When I came to Ruili, it was a jungle," Phone Kyaw said, sitting in a tiny warehouse stacked with giant rocks.
Men wearing lungis and spitting betel juice stroll the potholed alleys lined with jade rocks being sold next to peddlers hawking biryani.
The Chinese government gives these Myanmarese migrants renewable three-month permits. They bring bundles of uncut gemstones and trucks of timber, raw materials that are now the mainstay of the local Chinese economy.
"In China, I have freedom," said Yong Shin, a jade trader who divides time in Ruili and Myanmar for the past eight years.
The Myanmarese don't have the capital or technology to carve their jade. The resulting opportunity lures Chinese businessmen into the town of less than 300,000 people.
While India has opened the Myanmar side of the border road, the thousands of Myanmarese flooding Yunnan can't trade directly with India.
Myanmar is leaning toward China politically in return for vast investments by Beijing.
An estimated 12 billion dollars worth in ports, highways, railroad, bridges and oil pipelines now connect northern Myanmar with Yunnan.
Last year, China began building a crude oil pipeline from Myanmar to Yunnan and Guangxi to provide itself an alternative route by 2013 to the ship borne oil and gas that comes through the vulnerable Malacca Straits.
Reshma Patil, Hindustan Times
Ruili/Jiegao (Yunnan, China), October 03, 2011
He was a man from Rangoon who 20 years ago had fled to the nearest Chinese city of Ruili. But he did not complain that his Chinese work and residence permit, which allowed him to sell jade mined from the mountains of Myanmar, still confined him to the Chinese province of Yunnan.
Chinese businessmen driving Porsches and Cadillacs buy his raw materials cheaply and ship expensive finished products to the world, including the US, which enforces sanctions limiting trade with Myanmar.
Ruili is in Yunnan, but hemmed on three sides by Myanmar. This is ground zero of Beijing's strategic and economic partnership with its unstable neighbour. Trade worth 4.4 billion dollars now connects the military pariah regime with China. In comparison, five years later, India's trade with Myanmar may double to 3 billion dollars.
"When I came to Ruili, it was a jungle," Phone Kyaw said, sitting in a tiny warehouse stacked with giant rocks.
Men wearing lungis and spitting betel juice stroll the potholed alleys lined with jade rocks being sold next to peddlers hawking biryani.
The Chinese government gives these Myanmarese migrants renewable three-month permits. They bring bundles of uncut gemstones and trucks of timber, raw materials that are now the mainstay of the local Chinese economy.
"In China, I have freedom," said Yong Shin, a jade trader who divides time in Ruili and Myanmar for the past eight years.
The Myanmarese don't have the capital or technology to carve their jade. The resulting opportunity lures Chinese businessmen into the town of less than 300,000 people.
While India has opened the Myanmar side of the border road, the thousands of Myanmarese flooding Yunnan can't trade directly with India.
Myanmar is leaning toward China politically in return for vast investments by Beijing.
An estimated 12 billion dollars worth in ports, highways, railroad, bridges and oil pipelines now connect northern Myanmar with Yunnan.
Last year, China began building a crude oil pipeline from Myanmar to Yunnan and Guangxi to provide itself an alternative route by 2013 to the ship borne oil and gas that comes through the vulnerable Malacca Straits.
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New Kerala - Chinese oil firm to build schools in Myanmar
Nay Pyi Taw (Myanmar), Oct 3,: The China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) Monday donated USD 1.32 million to build eight schools in Myanmar's four regions and states along the China-Myanmar oil and gas pipelines.
At the signing ceremony, which was attended by Myanmar and CNPC officials, contracts were signed by a CNPC delegate and the contractors to build the eight schools, Xinhua reported.
Since entering the market, the CNPC has always attached importance to Myanmar public welfare and social responsibility.
When cyclones or earthquakes occur in Myanmar, the CNPC always lends a helping hand to Myanmar, donates money and materials, the company said.
Nay Pyi Taw (Myanmar), Oct 3,: The China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) Monday donated USD 1.32 million to build eight schools in Myanmar's four regions and states along the China-Myanmar oil and gas pipelines.
At the signing ceremony, which was attended by Myanmar and CNPC officials, contracts were signed by a CNPC delegate and the contractors to build the eight schools, Xinhua reported.
Since entering the market, the CNPC has always attached importance to Myanmar public welfare and social responsibility.
When cyclones or earthquakes occur in Myanmar, the CNPC always lends a helping hand to Myanmar, donates money and materials, the company said.
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The Irrawaddy - Legal Moneychangers Set Up Shop, but Black Market Still Rules
By SAI ZOM HSENG Monday, October 3, 2011
Burma's first legal currency exchange centers opened for business on Saturday, but are likely to face stiff competition from black market moneychangers who don't ask questions about the sources of money or set limits on how much can be exchanged.
Recently licensed by Burma's Central Bank as part of an effort to reform the country's archaic financial system, the new bureaus de change operate under a raft of restrictions that could discourage customers, said operators of the new businesses.
According to a source at one currency exchange center, foreign customers are required to show their passports and provide personal information, while Burmese using their services must produce ID cards and other documentation. All customers are required to sign for every transaction.
To change large amounts of money, customers are also expected to explain how the money was acquired and provide additional documentation. Amounts exceeding the limit of US $10,000 or 100 million kyat ($123,000) must be reported to the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Foreign Exchange Certificates (FEC) are not subject to the same limits, however, and can be exchanged with any amount of US dollars, euros or Singapore dollars.
Some Rangoon-based businessmen said that the restrictions will ensure that unlicensed moneychangers continue to dominate the domestic foreign exchange market.
A source from the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that few people would be willing to provide their personal data or signatures to do business with licensed moneychangers unless they offered substantially better exchange rates than those available in the black market.
The licenses for exchanging foreign currencies were granted to banks closely linked to the military and government ministries, including Myawaddy Bank, which is owned by the Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd, known as the “economic backbone” of Burma's generals; Innwa Bank, owned by the Myanmar Economic Corporation; and the Myanmar Livestock and Fisheries Development Bank, which is connected to the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries.
The opening of the new currency exchange centers has also provided a business opportunity for brokers, who offer to handle transactions for customers who don't want to do it themselves. One Rangoon-based reporter said that at every currency exchange center she entered, she was immediately approached by people offering to assist her.
“The brokers are good for people who are confused by the way the exchange centers operate,” she said, adding that while there seemed to be little demand for their services at this stage, the brokers could be useful for those put off by red tape.
Meanwhile, some state-owned banks will open branches in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore—countries where large numbers of Burmese nationals live and work.
The move is expected to help Burmese people living in these countries to transfer money to their families in Burma, but some say the introduction of overseas branches of Burmese banks will not replace the informal cash transfer businesses known as hundis.
Nang Aye, who runs a hundi service in Tachilek, a town in Shan State on the Thai-Burmese border, said that he didn't expect to be affected by the new banks.
“Almost all of our clients are Shan people whose families are still living in Shan State. Some don’t have ID cards, which they would need to transfer money through a bank,” said Nang Aye, speaking to The Irrawaddy on Monday.
By SAI ZOM HSENG Monday, October 3, 2011
Burma's first legal currency exchange centers opened for business on Saturday, but are likely to face stiff competition from black market moneychangers who don't ask questions about the sources of money or set limits on how much can be exchanged.
Recently licensed by Burma's Central Bank as part of an effort to reform the country's archaic financial system, the new bureaus de change operate under a raft of restrictions that could discourage customers, said operators of the new businesses.
According to a source at one currency exchange center, foreign customers are required to show their passports and provide personal information, while Burmese using their services must produce ID cards and other documentation. All customers are required to sign for every transaction.
To change large amounts of money, customers are also expected to explain how the money was acquired and provide additional documentation. Amounts exceeding the limit of US $10,000 or 100 million kyat ($123,000) must be reported to the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Foreign Exchange Certificates (FEC) are not subject to the same limits, however, and can be exchanged with any amount of US dollars, euros or Singapore dollars.
Some Rangoon-based businessmen said that the restrictions will ensure that unlicensed moneychangers continue to dominate the domestic foreign exchange market.
A source from the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that few people would be willing to provide their personal data or signatures to do business with licensed moneychangers unless they offered substantially better exchange rates than those available in the black market.
The licenses for exchanging foreign currencies were granted to banks closely linked to the military and government ministries, including Myawaddy Bank, which is owned by the Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd, known as the “economic backbone” of Burma's generals; Innwa Bank, owned by the Myanmar Economic Corporation; and the Myanmar Livestock and Fisheries Development Bank, which is connected to the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries.
The opening of the new currency exchange centers has also provided a business opportunity for brokers, who offer to handle transactions for customers who don't want to do it themselves. One Rangoon-based reporter said that at every currency exchange center she entered, she was immediately approached by people offering to assist her.
“The brokers are good for people who are confused by the way the exchange centers operate,” she said, adding that while there seemed to be little demand for their services at this stage, the brokers could be useful for those put off by red tape.
Meanwhile, some state-owned banks will open branches in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore—countries where large numbers of Burmese nationals live and work.
The move is expected to help Burmese people living in these countries to transfer money to their families in Burma, but some say the introduction of overseas branches of Burmese banks will not replace the informal cash transfer businesses known as hundis.
Nang Aye, who runs a hundi service in Tachilek, a town in Shan State on the Thai-Burmese border, said that he didn't expect to be affected by the new banks.
“Almost all of our clients are Shan people whose families are still living in Shan State. Some don’t have ID cards, which they would need to transfer money through a bank,” said Nang Aye, speaking to The Irrawaddy on Monday.
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The Irrawaddy - China Will Not Give Up Easily over Myitsone Dam
By BA KAUNG Monday, October 3, 2011
China will not give up in its bid to construct a massive hydropower dam at Myitsone in Burma's northern Kachin State—that was the underlying message in Saturdays' statement by the country's foreign ministry in response to Burma's President Thein Sein announcing the suspension of this controversial project last week.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman called for “friendly” consultations with Naypyidaw over the US $3.6 billion project, while insisting that “the Myitsone hydropower plant is a China-Myanmar joint-investment project which has gone through scientific feasibility studies and strict examinations by both sides.”
To a large extent, Beijing's response was both controversial and brazen because it failed to mention the main concerns surrounding the megadam—its social and environmental impacts. Neither did the Chinese statement address or offer any sympathy toward the fear and anxiety that local Kachins might be feeling—the thousands of villagers who would inevitably have to be relocated and whose livelihoods would be lost if the hydropower project went ahead.
Instead, the Chinese government called for negotiations with Naypyidaw, signaling that it will not turn its back on the 6,000-megawatt hydro project—of which 90 percent of generated electricity is contracted for transfer to China over the next 50 years—and has instead offered to alter the geographical confluence that forms the Irrawaddy, Burma's largest river.
In further bilateral negotiations—which we can expect to be conducted in as secretive a manner as previous talks—there is every possibility that Beijing will exert pressure on its Burmese counterparts to re-conduct the environmental assessment work and resume the project once Thein Sein's presidential tenure expires in early 2015.
In referring to the fact that the Myitsone project has gone through “strict examinations” by both sides, the Chinese government are attempting to consolidate the findings of an environmental impact assessment report published last month by state-owned China Power Investment (CPI), the main investor in the scheme.
The report says that a majority of the Burmese population support the project, and goes on to claim that the social and environmental impact from the dam—which will submerge at least 40 villages and displace 10,000 local people—is limited and containable.
“According to the surveys, 80.4% of interviewees were [of] the opinion that the hydropower development could bring more job opportunities and higher incomes to local people, 62.8% of the interviewees were [of] the opinion that the hydropower implementation could significantly promote development of local economy, and most of the interviewees were supportive of the country’s development and the project construction,” the report said.
The CPI report indicated that although the original confluence of the the two rivers, the N'mai and the Mali, would be the site of the projected megadam, the company would divert the rivers to form a new confluence further upstream.
“After Myitsone dam is completed, the Myitsone confluence will be moved upward and a new confluence will be formed. The natural landscape combined with a human landscape and supported by the improved structure will boost the growth of tourism sector in the basin,” it said.
The report's conclusions appear to be in diametrical opposition to the findings of Burmese and international environmentalists who have publicly decried the project, saying it will destroy the cultural sites of Kachin State and the livelihood of locals living downstream.
Grace Mang from International Rivers Network, an independent environmental group based in Thailand, said that there is an inconsistency in the report itself, and that it downplays the dam's impact on local biodiversity.
“The report's assumptions have been that if the animal or plants can be moved from the reservoir area, then there will be no impact,” she said. “But biodiversity cannot be protected by simply transplanting different ecological systems into another area.”
She added that the latest pictures of the dam indicated that Stage 2 of the five stages of construction had been completed ahead of the announcement of the project's suspension.
On Monday, Dr. Nay Zin Latt, a political advisor for the Burmese president, suggested in an interview with BBC Burmese Radio that there had been a round of talks between Chinese and Burmese government officials before Thein Sein's announcement was made in parliament, and that a future government will have the responsibility of deciding whether to resume the project or not in early 2015 when Thein Sein's presidential term expires.
The Burmese president's decision has clearly wrought Beijing's anger, especially after both governments embraced their “strategic relationship” during Thein Sein's trip to China a few month ago.
At a meeting on the same visit, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao urged Thein Sein to oversee “the smooth implementation of infrastructure projects, including oil and gas pipelines, hydroelectric power and transportation.”
In light of its other investments across this poor but resource-rich Southeast Asian nation, including a major strategic oil pipeline from the Bay of Bengal to Yunnan through central Burma, observers expect China to maintain its close relationship with the Burmese government.
However, if Beijing chooses to pursue this controversial project in Burma, it will further inflame the already fervent anti-Chinese sentiment among the Burmese public.
“The Chinese government's position is a threat to the culture and traditions of our country,” said U Ohn, a veteran Burmese environmentalist in Rangoon. “We would never give up Myitsone—not even in exchange for the whole of China.”
By BA KAUNG Monday, October 3, 2011
China will not give up in its bid to construct a massive hydropower dam at Myitsone in Burma's northern Kachin State—that was the underlying message in Saturdays' statement by the country's foreign ministry in response to Burma's President Thein Sein announcing the suspension of this controversial project last week.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman called for “friendly” consultations with Naypyidaw over the US $3.6 billion project, while insisting that “the Myitsone hydropower plant is a China-Myanmar joint-investment project which has gone through scientific feasibility studies and strict examinations by both sides.”
To a large extent, Beijing's response was both controversial and brazen because it failed to mention the main concerns surrounding the megadam—its social and environmental impacts. Neither did the Chinese statement address or offer any sympathy toward the fear and anxiety that local Kachins might be feeling—the thousands of villagers who would inevitably have to be relocated and whose livelihoods would be lost if the hydropower project went ahead.
Instead, the Chinese government called for negotiations with Naypyidaw, signaling that it will not turn its back on the 6,000-megawatt hydro project—of which 90 percent of generated electricity is contracted for transfer to China over the next 50 years—and has instead offered to alter the geographical confluence that forms the Irrawaddy, Burma's largest river.
In further bilateral negotiations—which we can expect to be conducted in as secretive a manner as previous talks—there is every possibility that Beijing will exert pressure on its Burmese counterparts to re-conduct the environmental assessment work and resume the project once Thein Sein's presidential tenure expires in early 2015.
In referring to the fact that the Myitsone project has gone through “strict examinations” by both sides, the Chinese government are attempting to consolidate the findings of an environmental impact assessment report published last month by state-owned China Power Investment (CPI), the main investor in the scheme.
The report says that a majority of the Burmese population support the project, and goes on to claim that the social and environmental impact from the dam—which will submerge at least 40 villages and displace 10,000 local people—is limited and containable.
“According to the surveys, 80.4% of interviewees were [of] the opinion that the hydropower development could bring more job opportunities and higher incomes to local people, 62.8% of the interviewees were [of] the opinion that the hydropower implementation could significantly promote development of local economy, and most of the interviewees were supportive of the country’s development and the project construction,” the report said.
The CPI report indicated that although the original confluence of the the two rivers, the N'mai and the Mali, would be the site of the projected megadam, the company would divert the rivers to form a new confluence further upstream.
“After Myitsone dam is completed, the Myitsone confluence will be moved upward and a new confluence will be formed. The natural landscape combined with a human landscape and supported by the improved structure will boost the growth of tourism sector in the basin,” it said.
The report's conclusions appear to be in diametrical opposition to the findings of Burmese and international environmentalists who have publicly decried the project, saying it will destroy the cultural sites of Kachin State and the livelihood of locals living downstream.
Grace Mang from International Rivers Network, an independent environmental group based in Thailand, said that there is an inconsistency in the report itself, and that it downplays the dam's impact on local biodiversity.
“The report's assumptions have been that if the animal or plants can be moved from the reservoir area, then there will be no impact,” she said. “But biodiversity cannot be protected by simply transplanting different ecological systems into another area.”
She added that the latest pictures of the dam indicated that Stage 2 of the five stages of construction had been completed ahead of the announcement of the project's suspension.
On Monday, Dr. Nay Zin Latt, a political advisor for the Burmese president, suggested in an interview with BBC Burmese Radio that there had been a round of talks between Chinese and Burmese government officials before Thein Sein's announcement was made in parliament, and that a future government will have the responsibility of deciding whether to resume the project or not in early 2015 when Thein Sein's presidential term expires.
The Burmese president's decision has clearly wrought Beijing's anger, especially after both governments embraced their “strategic relationship” during Thein Sein's trip to China a few month ago.
At a meeting on the same visit, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao urged Thein Sein to oversee “the smooth implementation of infrastructure projects, including oil and gas pipelines, hydroelectric power and transportation.”
In light of its other investments across this poor but resource-rich Southeast Asian nation, including a major strategic oil pipeline from the Bay of Bengal to Yunnan through central Burma, observers expect China to maintain its close relationship with the Burmese government.
However, if Beijing chooses to pursue this controversial project in Burma, it will further inflame the already fervent anti-Chinese sentiment among the Burmese public.
“The Chinese government's position is a threat to the culture and traditions of our country,” said U Ohn, a veteran Burmese environmentalist in Rangoon. “We would never give up Myitsone—not even in exchange for the whole of China.”
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The Irrawaddy - From Outpost to Outpost
By SAI ZOM HSENG Monday, October 3, 2011
From our perch on top of Loi Pang Lone, a mountain in northern Shan State, Kyaw Kyaw and I could clearly see the red flag flying over the United Wa State Army (UWSA) outpost and the yellow, green and red flag flying over the Tatmadaw (Burmese armed forces) outpost, which were facing each other in the distance.
Kyaw Kyaw (not his real name) is a captain in the Burmese army. We studied together at the Defense Services Academy (DSA), Burma’s top training ground for military officers, and after graduation we were both deployed to northern Shan State and served in the same regional command, although in different battalions. From that point, however, our lives and career paths went in very different directions. Kyaw Kyaw continued along the route of a loyal military man, while I left both the army and Burma for a journalistic career in Thailand—from where it is possible to report freely and safely about events taking place inside Burma.
Today, Kyaw Kyaw is in charge of a Tatmadaw outpost that mans a checkpoint on the track to Pang Kham, formerly known as Panghsang, which is the site of the UWSA headquarters. Pang Kham, which is located about 170 miles from Lashio and is the capital of the Wa people, had been my intended destination. But when my car stopped at Kyaw Kyaw’s checkpoint, he recognized my face and invited me to visit his outpost.
As we toured the post and I observed the three dozen soldiers under Kyaw Kyaw’s command performing their duties, I felt nervous that somehow my secret professional identity would be revealed and the troops would move to snatch the journalist infiltrator. But Kyaw Kyaw told me that his troops were very loyal to him, so I shouldn’t worry.
He sent a couple of his soldiers out to find us some meat for dinner, and later we enjoyed a nice wild boar curry. Afterwards, we sat on a bamboo bench and recalled our time at the DSA, easily slipping back into the good-natured ribbing we used to give each other as cadets at the academy.
The early evening air was cool at mountaintop altitude, but our conversation became more heated when it shifted to Kyaw Kyaw’s daily life as an outpost commander. His militaristic passion rose to the surface as he told me that he believes both the checkpoint and his duty as its commander are very important. The checkpoint is run by a task force, Kyaw Kyaw said, which is composed of members of the military, police, forestry service and anti-drug agency. He is the head of the task force, whose job it is to filter out illegal migrants, block the flow of goods to and from China and block supplies to the UWSA.
As Kyaw Kyaw spoke, he looked out towards the mountainous area controlled by the UWSA, and even with daylight fading I could see the coffee mug in his hand shaking.
“They [the UWSA] are just separatists,” he said. “They want to break away from the union and depend on China. They should recognize the tolerance of the government. Even though they still want to hold arms, they should transform into part of the Border Guard Force (BGF).”
The BGF was initiated in 2009, but the main ethnic armed groups, such as the UWSA, the Kachin Independence Army, the Shan State Army and the New Mon State Party, have refused to join the government force, which is under the command of the Tatmadaw.
What is now the UWSA was previously part of the Communist Party of Burma (CPB), whose goal was to unseat the Burmese regime. But the Wa, who made up the rank and file of the CPB, mutinied against its ethnic Burman leadership in the late 1980s and then signed a cease-fire agreement with the government in 1989. The current UWSA, led by Bao Yu Xiang, is known as the strongest and wealthiest ethnic armed group in Burma. It controls an area in Shan State known as Special Region 2, and military observers say it has 20,000 troops and can add more if it desires.
But Kyaw Kyaw still believes that the Tatmadaw troops could attack and defeat the UWSA.
“They [the UWSA] built a strong line of defense with bunkers and connecting channels, and they cleared the trees and bushes on the hills where their bunkers are located. It’s not possible to get to the top of the hills because they dug up the ground with bulldozers, which makes it very difficult to walk on.
We also received information that their bunkers are equipped with 0.5 machine guns,” said Kyaw Kyaw.
As a result, Kyaw Kyaw said, if the Tatmadaw decided to attack the UWSA, it would be more effective to do so from the air.
“We’re just waiting for our orders,” he said.
As darkness fell, our serious conversation came to an end and Kyaw Kyaw retrieved his guitar and sent one of his sergeants for a bottle of rum. We drank and sang songs beside a big fire and later, when everyone lay down for the night, the only sounds on the mountain were the chirping of the crickets and the snoring of the two drunken sergeants.
The next day I met Kyaw Kyaw’s junior officer, a lieutenant commanding the security force assigned to the Takawek Bridge on the Salween River, who came to visit the post. Placing his MA-3 automatic assault rifle on the bamboo table that sat beside the bamboo bench, Min Min (also a pseudonym) called me “A Ko,” or “brother,” and treated me as if I were still serving in the military. He then spoke about his life guarding the bridge, telling me that his duty is not only to secure the road, but also to watch the Salween River because the transportation of illegal goods in the area is normally done by boat.
After two days and one night at Kyaw Kyaw’s outpost, I continued toward my destination of Pang Kham. Only a few minutes after my car left the outpost, we arrived at the first UWSA checkpoint where a UWSA soldier wearing an olive green uniform and white gloves signaled for us to stop, walked up to the car and saluted. Another soldier—who appeared to be in charge—then told us to step out of the car and said they were looking for drugs and weapons. After talking with him for a few minutes, I realized that he could speak Wa, Chinese, Shan, Burmese and Kachin.
We later stopped at Mang Xiang, the first town in the UWSA-controlled area, a dust-covered place where most travelers in the region take a break from their journey for food, water and petrol.
The US government has labeled the UWSA a narcotic trafficking organization since May 2003. It says the UWSA is the largest drug-producing organization in Southeast Asia and has placed several UWSA leaders on its Assets Control List. Despite this, local authorities in Mang Xiang had placed anti-narcotics posters around town that said, “Wa State has wiped out drugs and narcotics since June 26, 2005, and the Wa Police warn you that Wa State is not the place to produce and smuggle drugs.”
After another four hours in the car I arrived at Pang Kham, a small town located on the China-Burma border where the residents’ language, culture and daily lives are influenced more by China than by Burma proper. In fact, my driver told me that if I can’t speak Chinese, I would have difficulty in Pang Kham, and I soon found out what he was talking about—every person I met in town spoke Chinese, and very few spoke Burmese or even Shan. As a result, I often had to use body language to communicate.
The day after I arrived in Pang Kham, I met a UWSA captain named Nyi Kut, who invited me to lunch in the only restaurant in town where it’s possible to order in Burmese. Nyi Kut said that he joined the UWSA when he was 15 years old and is very proud to be a Wa soldier. Although the Wa people were formerly known as the “headhunters” and some people look down on them because of this label, Nyi Kut said this is meant to honor their bravery.
As we relaxed after our meal, Nyi Kut told me that he had been involved in battles with the Shan State Army (SSA) in 2001.
“When we attacked the SSA, we showed our courage. We also stood in front of the cowardly Burmese soldiers and hundreds of our troops sacrificed their lives to show the courage of our people. But later, our leaders realized that there is no benefit in fighting against other ethnic groups,” said Nyi Kut.
The UWSA has since assisted another ethnic armed group, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA). In late August 2009, UWSA forces became involved in fighting with the Tatmadaw following escalating clashes between the military and ethnic Kokang forces from the MNDAA.
On Aug 27, 2009, the UWSA, the MNDAA and the National Democratic Alliance Army, an allied ethnic armed group based in Mongla, seized the town of Laogai back from the Tatmadaw, who had taken the town days earlier. The combined forces also ambushed a nearby police patrol, reportedly killing one police officer, wounding another, taking 42 officers hostage and seizing 56 automatic assault rifles—mainly M-16s. Further details of the operations could not be confirmed due to media restrictions within Burma, but The New Light of Myanmar, a state-run-media newspaper, reported that 26 Tatmadaw troops were killed and 47 wounded during the attack on Laogai.
Nyi Kut said that the UWSA troops are ready to fight the Burmese army to gain autonomy for the Wa people, but they haven’t received the order from their leaders.
“Our ancestors were very aggressive and strong,” said Nyi Kut.
“We believe that the Wa people can defeat all of our enemies. But we have to stay silent to keep the peace between us and the Burmese army.”
Memorial Square in Pang Kham is a testament to the Wa bravery that Nyi Kut boasted about. The square is located on a hill from which the entire city can be seen, and people of all ages come there to walk and jog for exercise and relax and chat with friends. I sat in the square with Nyi Kut and his sister, E Hlwe Rhine, and while we watched some schoolchildren play nearby I asked her about the current state of life for the Wa people. She sighed and said that right now things are difficult because of Burmese government restrictions and blockades.
“In the current situation, we have to depend on the Chinese people who came to our region more than a decade ago. They pay us small wages and discriminate against us in our own home,” said E Hlwe Rhine.
She said that many Wa people work as housekeepers, servers and night guards for hotels, restaurants and wealthy business people.
“Wa people like us have to get jobs from the big bosses. Although they give us a small amount of money, we have no choice. Working at massage parlors is a good job and we can get a lot of money, but we can’t get jobs there because we have rough physical features. The owners just hire girls from China and Burma, who are better looking.”
E Hlwe Rhine said that a basic worker can earn from 60 yuan (US $8) a day, but sex workers in “massage parlor” brothels can earn 200 Yuan ($26) a day. She said she hopes the new government will soon open up more trading, employment and travel opportunities for her people so they can earn enough at normal jobs to improve their quality of life.
Given the fact that the UWSA and the Burmese military have for a long time been a hair-trigger away from armed conflict, not many people have visited the Wa territory in recent years unless they had to. But having sat down to dinner with friends on both sides, I’d like to return someday, and it would be nice if by that time there were peace and we could all dine together.
In that regard, there was an encouraging development after I returned to Thailand when in early September, Naypyidaw temporarily dropped its BGF proposal with respect to the UWSA and its ally, the MNDAA, prompting them to sign what Burma’s state media called “initial agreements for cooperation” with the government. The reports added that the government and the ethnic armed groups agreed to continue to hold peace talks with a Peace-Making Committee that would be formed by the government.
So if the future talks go well and a permanent cease-fire agreement is signed, then maybe Kyaw Kyaw and Nyi Kut will never receive the orders to attack that they are waiting for, and maybe we’ll be able to share a meal together after all.
By SAI ZOM HSENG Monday, October 3, 2011
From our perch on top of Loi Pang Lone, a mountain in northern Shan State, Kyaw Kyaw and I could clearly see the red flag flying over the United Wa State Army (UWSA) outpost and the yellow, green and red flag flying over the Tatmadaw (Burmese armed forces) outpost, which were facing each other in the distance.
Kyaw Kyaw (not his real name) is a captain in the Burmese army. We studied together at the Defense Services Academy (DSA), Burma’s top training ground for military officers, and after graduation we were both deployed to northern Shan State and served in the same regional command, although in different battalions. From that point, however, our lives and career paths went in very different directions. Kyaw Kyaw continued along the route of a loyal military man, while I left both the army and Burma for a journalistic career in Thailand—from where it is possible to report freely and safely about events taking place inside Burma.
Today, Kyaw Kyaw is in charge of a Tatmadaw outpost that mans a checkpoint on the track to Pang Kham, formerly known as Panghsang, which is the site of the UWSA headquarters. Pang Kham, which is located about 170 miles from Lashio and is the capital of the Wa people, had been my intended destination. But when my car stopped at Kyaw Kyaw’s checkpoint, he recognized my face and invited me to visit his outpost.
As we toured the post and I observed the three dozen soldiers under Kyaw Kyaw’s command performing their duties, I felt nervous that somehow my secret professional identity would be revealed and the troops would move to snatch the journalist infiltrator. But Kyaw Kyaw told me that his troops were very loyal to him, so I shouldn’t worry.
He sent a couple of his soldiers out to find us some meat for dinner, and later we enjoyed a nice wild boar curry. Afterwards, we sat on a bamboo bench and recalled our time at the DSA, easily slipping back into the good-natured ribbing we used to give each other as cadets at the academy.
The early evening air was cool at mountaintop altitude, but our conversation became more heated when it shifted to Kyaw Kyaw’s daily life as an outpost commander. His militaristic passion rose to the surface as he told me that he believes both the checkpoint and his duty as its commander are very important. The checkpoint is run by a task force, Kyaw Kyaw said, which is composed of members of the military, police, forestry service and anti-drug agency. He is the head of the task force, whose job it is to filter out illegal migrants, block the flow of goods to and from China and block supplies to the UWSA.
As Kyaw Kyaw spoke, he looked out towards the mountainous area controlled by the UWSA, and even with daylight fading I could see the coffee mug in his hand shaking.
“They [the UWSA] are just separatists,” he said. “They want to break away from the union and depend on China. They should recognize the tolerance of the government. Even though they still want to hold arms, they should transform into part of the Border Guard Force (BGF).”
The BGF was initiated in 2009, but the main ethnic armed groups, such as the UWSA, the Kachin Independence Army, the Shan State Army and the New Mon State Party, have refused to join the government force, which is under the command of the Tatmadaw.
What is now the UWSA was previously part of the Communist Party of Burma (CPB), whose goal was to unseat the Burmese regime. But the Wa, who made up the rank and file of the CPB, mutinied against its ethnic Burman leadership in the late 1980s and then signed a cease-fire agreement with the government in 1989. The current UWSA, led by Bao Yu Xiang, is known as the strongest and wealthiest ethnic armed group in Burma. It controls an area in Shan State known as Special Region 2, and military observers say it has 20,000 troops and can add more if it desires.
But Kyaw Kyaw still believes that the Tatmadaw troops could attack and defeat the UWSA.
“They [the UWSA] built a strong line of defense with bunkers and connecting channels, and they cleared the trees and bushes on the hills where their bunkers are located. It’s not possible to get to the top of the hills because they dug up the ground with bulldozers, which makes it very difficult to walk on.
We also received information that their bunkers are equipped with 0.5 machine guns,” said Kyaw Kyaw.
As a result, Kyaw Kyaw said, if the Tatmadaw decided to attack the UWSA, it would be more effective to do so from the air.
“We’re just waiting for our orders,” he said.
As darkness fell, our serious conversation came to an end and Kyaw Kyaw retrieved his guitar and sent one of his sergeants for a bottle of rum. We drank and sang songs beside a big fire and later, when everyone lay down for the night, the only sounds on the mountain were the chirping of the crickets and the snoring of the two drunken sergeants.
The next day I met Kyaw Kyaw’s junior officer, a lieutenant commanding the security force assigned to the Takawek Bridge on the Salween River, who came to visit the post. Placing his MA-3 automatic assault rifle on the bamboo table that sat beside the bamboo bench, Min Min (also a pseudonym) called me “A Ko,” or “brother,” and treated me as if I were still serving in the military. He then spoke about his life guarding the bridge, telling me that his duty is not only to secure the road, but also to watch the Salween River because the transportation of illegal goods in the area is normally done by boat.
After two days and one night at Kyaw Kyaw’s outpost, I continued toward my destination of Pang Kham. Only a few minutes after my car left the outpost, we arrived at the first UWSA checkpoint where a UWSA soldier wearing an olive green uniform and white gloves signaled for us to stop, walked up to the car and saluted. Another soldier—who appeared to be in charge—then told us to step out of the car and said they were looking for drugs and weapons. After talking with him for a few minutes, I realized that he could speak Wa, Chinese, Shan, Burmese and Kachin.
We later stopped at Mang Xiang, the first town in the UWSA-controlled area, a dust-covered place where most travelers in the region take a break from their journey for food, water and petrol.
The US government has labeled the UWSA a narcotic trafficking organization since May 2003. It says the UWSA is the largest drug-producing organization in Southeast Asia and has placed several UWSA leaders on its Assets Control List. Despite this, local authorities in Mang Xiang had placed anti-narcotics posters around town that said, “Wa State has wiped out drugs and narcotics since June 26, 2005, and the Wa Police warn you that Wa State is not the place to produce and smuggle drugs.”
After another four hours in the car I arrived at Pang Kham, a small town located on the China-Burma border where the residents’ language, culture and daily lives are influenced more by China than by Burma proper. In fact, my driver told me that if I can’t speak Chinese, I would have difficulty in Pang Kham, and I soon found out what he was talking about—every person I met in town spoke Chinese, and very few spoke Burmese or even Shan. As a result, I often had to use body language to communicate.
The day after I arrived in Pang Kham, I met a UWSA captain named Nyi Kut, who invited me to lunch in the only restaurant in town where it’s possible to order in Burmese. Nyi Kut said that he joined the UWSA when he was 15 years old and is very proud to be a Wa soldier. Although the Wa people were formerly known as the “headhunters” and some people look down on them because of this label, Nyi Kut said this is meant to honor their bravery.
As we relaxed after our meal, Nyi Kut told me that he had been involved in battles with the Shan State Army (SSA) in 2001.
“When we attacked the SSA, we showed our courage. We also stood in front of the cowardly Burmese soldiers and hundreds of our troops sacrificed their lives to show the courage of our people. But later, our leaders realized that there is no benefit in fighting against other ethnic groups,” said Nyi Kut.
The UWSA has since assisted another ethnic armed group, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA). In late August 2009, UWSA forces became involved in fighting with the Tatmadaw following escalating clashes between the military and ethnic Kokang forces from the MNDAA.
On Aug 27, 2009, the UWSA, the MNDAA and the National Democratic Alliance Army, an allied ethnic armed group based in Mongla, seized the town of Laogai back from the Tatmadaw, who had taken the town days earlier. The combined forces also ambushed a nearby police patrol, reportedly killing one police officer, wounding another, taking 42 officers hostage and seizing 56 automatic assault rifles—mainly M-16s. Further details of the operations could not be confirmed due to media restrictions within Burma, but The New Light of Myanmar, a state-run-media newspaper, reported that 26 Tatmadaw troops were killed and 47 wounded during the attack on Laogai.
Nyi Kut said that the UWSA troops are ready to fight the Burmese army to gain autonomy for the Wa people, but they haven’t received the order from their leaders.
“Our ancestors were very aggressive and strong,” said Nyi Kut.
“We believe that the Wa people can defeat all of our enemies. But we have to stay silent to keep the peace between us and the Burmese army.”
Memorial Square in Pang Kham is a testament to the Wa bravery that Nyi Kut boasted about. The square is located on a hill from which the entire city can be seen, and people of all ages come there to walk and jog for exercise and relax and chat with friends. I sat in the square with Nyi Kut and his sister, E Hlwe Rhine, and while we watched some schoolchildren play nearby I asked her about the current state of life for the Wa people. She sighed and said that right now things are difficult because of Burmese government restrictions and blockades.
“In the current situation, we have to depend on the Chinese people who came to our region more than a decade ago. They pay us small wages and discriminate against us in our own home,” said E Hlwe Rhine.
She said that many Wa people work as housekeepers, servers and night guards for hotels, restaurants and wealthy business people.
“Wa people like us have to get jobs from the big bosses. Although they give us a small amount of money, we have no choice. Working at massage parlors is a good job and we can get a lot of money, but we can’t get jobs there because we have rough physical features. The owners just hire girls from China and Burma, who are better looking.”
E Hlwe Rhine said that a basic worker can earn from 60 yuan (US $8) a day, but sex workers in “massage parlor” brothels can earn 200 Yuan ($26) a day. She said she hopes the new government will soon open up more trading, employment and travel opportunities for her people so they can earn enough at normal jobs to improve their quality of life.
Given the fact that the UWSA and the Burmese military have for a long time been a hair-trigger away from armed conflict, not many people have visited the Wa territory in recent years unless they had to. But having sat down to dinner with friends on both sides, I’d like to return someday, and it would be nice if by that time there were peace and we could all dine together.
In that regard, there was an encouraging development after I returned to Thailand when in early September, Naypyidaw temporarily dropped its BGF proposal with respect to the UWSA and its ally, the MNDAA, prompting them to sign what Burma’s state media called “initial agreements for cooperation” with the government. The reports added that the government and the ethnic armed groups agreed to continue to hold peace talks with a Peace-Making Committee that would be formed by the government.
So if the future talks go well and a permanent cease-fire agreement is signed, then maybe Kyaw Kyaw and Nyi Kut will never receive the orders to attack that they are waiting for, and maybe we’ll be able to share a meal together after all.
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Brotherhood Forum urges gov’t to add historians to peace committee
Monday, 03 October 2011 22:57 Ko Wild
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The Brotherhood Forum, a group of five ethnic political parties that won seats in the Burmese Parliament, on Sunday called for historians to be included on the Peace Committee formed by the Lower House.
The forum, made up of the Shan Nationalities Democratic Party, the All Mon Region Democratic Party, the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP), the Phalon-Sawaw Democratic Party and the Chin National Party, meeting in South Okkalapa Township in Rangoon, urged President Thein Sein to “add members who are respected people and scholars to the Peace Committee.”
Hla Saw, the RNDP general-secretary said, “Historians must be included. Because the affair is directly related with the history of Burma’s politics, we need to focus on historical backgrounds and facts. Former prominent politicians must also be included.”
On August 3, the group called on the government to form a peace committee and to hold peace forums. On August 18, the government issued an open invitation to ethnic armed groups, saying any groups that wished to talk about peace should contact the relevant state or regional governments concerned as a preliminary step.
Later, the Lower House formed the National Race Affairs and Local Peace-making Committee. USDP MP Thein Zaw of Myitkyina now leads the committee.
Earlier, the RNDP also called for opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to be named to the Peace Committee.
“There are signs that Thein Sein and Suu Kyi are building mutual understanding and are cooperating. She is a leader whom all can accept. If the government invites Aung San Suu Kyi, she should accept it, ” Hla Saw said.
Upper House MP Dr. Aye Maung, the chairman of the RNDP, made a motion to add Suu Kyi to the peace committee, but the house rejected it.
Hla Saw said, “Aung San Suu Kyi has not joined [the committee] because she is still discussing issues with the new government’s leaders. And she is still discussing whether her party will re-register or not. We hope that if those issues are handled successfully, she will be able to effectively lead the democratic transition.”
Meanwhile, according to sources close to the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Shan State Army-North (SSA-N), the government has accelerated its fighting against ethnic armed groups in Kachin State and Shan State while it claims it is seeking peace.
SSA-N spokesman Major Sai Hla said that there were 308 battles between government troops and the SSA-N in nine townships in Northern Shan State between March 13 and August 31. The townships are Mong Hsu, Mong Yai, Kyethi, Tangyang, Hsipaw, Kyaukme, Lashio, Namsan and Nanhkan.
Sai Hla said 33 SSA-N soldiers were killed and 44 injured, and more than 500 government soldiers were killed and 600 were injured. He said that SSA-N troops retreated from 10 military bases including the headquarters of SSA-N Brigade No. 36 at the Namlaung base, and the headquarters of SSA-N Brigade No. 1 at the Mong Yai and Naungcho base.
Monday, 03 October 2011 22:57 Ko Wild
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The Brotherhood Forum, a group of five ethnic political parties that won seats in the Burmese Parliament, on Sunday called for historians to be included on the Peace Committee formed by the Lower House.
The forum, made up of the Shan Nationalities Democratic Party, the All Mon Region Democratic Party, the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP), the Phalon-Sawaw Democratic Party and the Chin National Party, meeting in South Okkalapa Township in Rangoon, urged President Thein Sein to “add members who are respected people and scholars to the Peace Committee.”
Hla Saw, the RNDP general-secretary said, “Historians must be included. Because the affair is directly related with the history of Burma’s politics, we need to focus on historical backgrounds and facts. Former prominent politicians must also be included.”
On August 3, the group called on the government to form a peace committee and to hold peace forums. On August 18, the government issued an open invitation to ethnic armed groups, saying any groups that wished to talk about peace should contact the relevant state or regional governments concerned as a preliminary step.
Later, the Lower House formed the National Race Affairs and Local Peace-making Committee. USDP MP Thein Zaw of Myitkyina now leads the committee.
Earlier, the RNDP also called for opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to be named to the Peace Committee.
“There are signs that Thein Sein and Suu Kyi are building mutual understanding and are cooperating. She is a leader whom all can accept. If the government invites Aung San Suu Kyi, she should accept it, ” Hla Saw said.
Upper House MP Dr. Aye Maung, the chairman of the RNDP, made a motion to add Suu Kyi to the peace committee, but the house rejected it.
Hla Saw said, “Aung San Suu Kyi has not joined [the committee] because she is still discussing issues with the new government’s leaders. And she is still discussing whether her party will re-register or not. We hope that if those issues are handled successfully, she will be able to effectively lead the democratic transition.”
Meanwhile, according to sources close to the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Shan State Army-North (SSA-N), the government has accelerated its fighting against ethnic armed groups in Kachin State and Shan State while it claims it is seeking peace.
SSA-N spokesman Major Sai Hla said that there were 308 battles between government troops and the SSA-N in nine townships in Northern Shan State between March 13 and August 31. The townships are Mong Hsu, Mong Yai, Kyethi, Tangyang, Hsipaw, Kyaukme, Lashio, Namsan and Nanhkan.
Sai Hla said 33 SSA-N soldiers were killed and 44 injured, and more than 500 government soldiers were killed and 600 were injured. He said that SSA-N troops retreated from 10 military bases including the headquarters of SSA-N Brigade No. 36 at the Namlaung base, and the headquarters of SSA-N Brigade No. 1 at the Mong Yai and Naungcho base.
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Myanmar Insurance to offer protection for low-income bank deposits
Monday, 03 October 2011 22:18 Nyi Thit
Rangoon (Mizzima) – Burma’s state-owned Myanmar Insurance will offer an insurance plan to protect people’s money deposited in private and government banks should they fail.
The insurance will cover people who deposit between 100,000 kyat (about US$ 125) and 500,000 kyat in their bank accounts, and will not cover people who deposit more than 500,000 kyat, said sources close to the banking business.
The insurance plan is intended to make banking more systematic and ensure lower-income depositors that they can trust depositing their money in banks.
Myanmar Insurance has already informed all banks about the new plan, according to a senior official at a bank that is a joint venture with the Burmese government.
The insurance plan went into effect on Saturday. If a bank offers the service to its customers, a one-year insurance premium is 0.25 kyat per 100 kyat. If a bank fails within the one-year period, Myanmar Insurance will compensate customers who are insured.
“Although the insurance is not a must-buy, if a bank wants to provide better service to its customers, it can offer the insurance,” said a senior bank official.
Observers said the goal of the insurance coverage is to provide a service for lower income and middle class depositors to reassure them about the safety of putting their money in banks. The insurance premium compares to similar insurance in regional countries.
Bank insurance is among a number of Burmese banking reforms. Last week, Mizzima reported that the Central Bank has given a green light for banks to begin offering installment loans under a “hire-purchase system” to private citizens in cooperation with commercial companies and banks.
An official from the Central Bank in Naypyitaw told Mizzima: “The central bank has informed all state-owned banks and private banks that they can now do hire-purchase loans if they wish to do so.” The advisory was sent to all state-owned and private banks on September 15.
The banks will be provided a guarantee for the loan repayment by either an employer of the buyer or the sales company.
“This system is needed for the country. We will use a secure-guarantee system,” said Ye Min Oo. He said a bank would not incur losses under this system.
Commodities that may be purchased include furniture, home electrical appliances, electronic products, computers and other items.
Finance and Revenue Minister Hla Tun told Parliament in late August that the government was consulting the Union Attorney General on amending the Burma Central Bank Law and Burma Financial Institutions Law in order to update them according to current needs.
According to the Encyclopedia of Nations, all 78 foreign insurance companies registered in Burma were nationalized in March 1963. All forms of insurance, including life, fire, marine, automobile, workers' compensation, personal accident, and burglary, are handled by the Myanmar Insurance Corp. Life insurance coverage is compulsory for government employees.
Monday, 03 October 2011 22:18 Nyi Thit
Rangoon (Mizzima) – Burma’s state-owned Myanmar Insurance will offer an insurance plan to protect people’s money deposited in private and government banks should they fail.
The insurance will cover people who deposit between 100,000 kyat (about US$ 125) and 500,000 kyat in their bank accounts, and will not cover people who deposit more than 500,000 kyat, said sources close to the banking business.
The insurance plan is intended to make banking more systematic and ensure lower-income depositors that they can trust depositing their money in banks.
Myanmar Insurance has already informed all banks about the new plan, according to a senior official at a bank that is a joint venture with the Burmese government.
The insurance plan went into effect on Saturday. If a bank offers the service to its customers, a one-year insurance premium is 0.25 kyat per 100 kyat. If a bank fails within the one-year period, Myanmar Insurance will compensate customers who are insured.
“Although the insurance is not a must-buy, if a bank wants to provide better service to its customers, it can offer the insurance,” said a senior bank official.
Observers said the goal of the insurance coverage is to provide a service for lower income and middle class depositors to reassure them about the safety of putting their money in banks. The insurance premium compares to similar insurance in regional countries.
Bank insurance is among a number of Burmese banking reforms. Last week, Mizzima reported that the Central Bank has given a green light for banks to begin offering installment loans under a “hire-purchase system” to private citizens in cooperation with commercial companies and banks.
An official from the Central Bank in Naypyitaw told Mizzima: “The central bank has informed all state-owned banks and private banks that they can now do hire-purchase loans if they wish to do so.” The advisory was sent to all state-owned and private banks on September 15.
The banks will be provided a guarantee for the loan repayment by either an employer of the buyer or the sales company.
“This system is needed for the country. We will use a secure-guarantee system,” said Ye Min Oo. He said a bank would not incur losses under this system.
Commodities that may be purchased include furniture, home electrical appliances, electronic products, computers and other items.
Finance and Revenue Minister Hla Tun told Parliament in late August that the government was consulting the Union Attorney General on amending the Burma Central Bank Law and Burma Financial Institutions Law in order to update them according to current needs.
According to the Encyclopedia of Nations, all 78 foreign insurance companies registered in Burma were nationalized in March 1963. All forms of insurance, including life, fire, marine, automobile, workers' compensation, personal accident, and burglary, are handled by the Myanmar Insurance Corp. Life insurance coverage is compulsory for government employees.
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DVB News - Suu Kyi, govt discuss Myitsone decision
Published: 3 October 2011
Talks between Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the government’s labour minister on Friday last week covered a range of topics, including the shock decision to halt work on a lucrative China-backed dam.
Asked for her reaction on the announcement that work would cease on the Myitsone project in Burma’s north, Suu Kyi told a subsequent press conference that it suggested the government had begun to “listen to the voice of the people”.
It was the third time the Nobel laureate has met with Labour Minister Aung Kyi since the government came to power in March, and observers have flagged the meetings as a sign that Naypyidaw is beginning to open up to the opposition.
“In my point of view, listening to the voice of the people is very good,” she said. “That is what every government has to do. Listen to the voice of the people. Concerns of the people must be addressed in all seriousness. So, I welcome the decision.”
In a letter to parliament last week, President Thein Sein said the construction of the dam, financed by China, would not continue in his tenure. The move took observers by surprise, as it appeared he had made an unprecedented concession to demands from Burmese that it be stopped.
According to the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper, the two also discussed the rumoured amnesty of prisoners, which is expected to take place in the coming weeks.
Asked in the press conference whether her National League for Democracy (NLD) party would take up a position in parliament, as has been mooted by the government, Suu Kyi remained coy. The labour minister said however that the party would be “welcome” in parliament if it registered again “in accord with the law”.
The NLD was dissolved earlier this following its decision not to compete in the elections last November. Election laws stipulated that Suu Kyi could not take part on account of her status as a former prisoner.
Before her release late last year, the regime had kept her under house arrest for more than 15 years.
Published: 3 October 2011
Talks between Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the government’s labour minister on Friday last week covered a range of topics, including the shock decision to halt work on a lucrative China-backed dam.
Asked for her reaction on the announcement that work would cease on the Myitsone project in Burma’s north, Suu Kyi told a subsequent press conference that it suggested the government had begun to “listen to the voice of the people”.
It was the third time the Nobel laureate has met with Labour Minister Aung Kyi since the government came to power in March, and observers have flagged the meetings as a sign that Naypyidaw is beginning to open up to the opposition.
“In my point of view, listening to the voice of the people is very good,” she said. “That is what every government has to do. Listen to the voice of the people. Concerns of the people must be addressed in all seriousness. So, I welcome the decision.”
In a letter to parliament last week, President Thein Sein said the construction of the dam, financed by China, would not continue in his tenure. The move took observers by surprise, as it appeared he had made an unprecedented concession to demands from Burmese that it be stopped.
According to the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper, the two also discussed the rumoured amnesty of prisoners, which is expected to take place in the coming weeks.
Asked in the press conference whether her National League for Democracy (NLD) party would take up a position in parliament, as has been mooted by the government, Suu Kyi remained coy. The labour minister said however that the party would be “welcome” in parliament if it registered again “in accord with the law”.
The NLD was dissolved earlier this following its decision not to compete in the elections last November. Election laws stipulated that Suu Kyi could not take part on account of her status as a former prisoner.
Before her release late last year, the regime had kept her under house arrest for more than 15 years.
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DVB News - Thai PM eyes maiden trip to Burma
By FRANCIS WADE
Published: 3 October 2011
Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra will visit Burma in the “near future”, according to Burmese state media, as she pushes ahead with a tour of regional nations.
Few details have been released on the Burma trip. Dr Pavin Chachavalpongpun, from the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, said Yingluck may use the visit to “introduce herself” to the government in Burma in a bid to spur bilateral investment and ease tensions over the closure of a key border trade route near Mae Sot.
“The relationship between the two new governments is likely to be better than in recent years,” he said, particularly if Yingluck follows in the footsteps of her brother, former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and places an emphasis on business over political matters.
Moreover, with Burma’s shift to a nominally civilian government and recent signs that it is releasing its vice-like grip on the country’s economic and political arena, there would be “no inclination to implement a different agenda” from previous years.
Whether Yingluck will meet with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi remains up to the government. Despite an apparent shift towards more dialogue with the opposition, Naypyidaw remains wary of her influence on neighbouring states gaining in ground.
Nyo Ohn Myint, from the exiled National League for Democracy – Liberated Areas, told DVB that a meeting with Suu Kyi would most likely get permission from the Burmese government.
“Both Yingluck and the government need it to boost their own images,” he said. There would be little substance to the meeting, he believes, other than for both governments to project a sense that they are dealing with either side of Burma’s political spectrum.
As for Thailand pushing Naypyidaw on the vast array of areas it still needs to improve on, Nyo Ohn Myint was sceptical. “Human rights and environmental voices have always been very weak in Thailand’s foreign policy. I don’t think that will change with the new prime minister.”
But with strong support for Suu Kyi among Thailand’s ‘Red Shirt’ faction, who broadly supported Yingluck’s Puea Thai Party in the elections this year, a meeting between the two would be a PR coup for the prime minister, particularly if a relationship develops prior to Thailand’s next elections.
Following Yingluck’s ascendance to office in July, Suu Kyi said: “I like that she’s a woman but the most important thing is the relationship between the two nations and our people.
“We also have to welcome the government democratically elected by the people.”
During the mass Red Shirt protesters in Bangkok last year, Suu Kyi lamented that Thailand would remain unstable until its military constitution was redrawn.
By FRANCIS WADE
Published: 3 October 2011
Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra will visit Burma in the “near future”, according to Burmese state media, as she pushes ahead with a tour of regional nations.
Few details have been released on the Burma trip. Dr Pavin Chachavalpongpun, from the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, said Yingluck may use the visit to “introduce herself” to the government in Burma in a bid to spur bilateral investment and ease tensions over the closure of a key border trade route near Mae Sot.
“The relationship between the two new governments is likely to be better than in recent years,” he said, particularly if Yingluck follows in the footsteps of her brother, former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and places an emphasis on business over political matters.
Moreover, with Burma’s shift to a nominally civilian government and recent signs that it is releasing its vice-like grip on the country’s economic and political arena, there would be “no inclination to implement a different agenda” from previous years.
Whether Yingluck will meet with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi remains up to the government. Despite an apparent shift towards more dialogue with the opposition, Naypyidaw remains wary of her influence on neighbouring states gaining in ground.
Nyo Ohn Myint, from the exiled National League for Democracy – Liberated Areas, told DVB that a meeting with Suu Kyi would most likely get permission from the Burmese government.
“Both Yingluck and the government need it to boost their own images,” he said. There would be little substance to the meeting, he believes, other than for both governments to project a sense that they are dealing with either side of Burma’s political spectrum.
As for Thailand pushing Naypyidaw on the vast array of areas it still needs to improve on, Nyo Ohn Myint was sceptical. “Human rights and environmental voices have always been very weak in Thailand’s foreign policy. I don’t think that will change with the new prime minister.”
But with strong support for Suu Kyi among Thailand’s ‘Red Shirt’ faction, who broadly supported Yingluck’s Puea Thai Party in the elections this year, a meeting between the two would be a PR coup for the prime minister, particularly if a relationship develops prior to Thailand’s next elections.
Following Yingluck’s ascendance to office in July, Suu Kyi said: “I like that she’s a woman but the most important thing is the relationship between the two nations and our people.
“We also have to welcome the government democratically elected by the people.”
During the mass Red Shirt protesters in Bangkok last year, Suu Kyi lamented that Thailand would remain unstable until its military constitution was redrawn.
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DVB News - Burma smarting from 2018 World Cup ban
By AYE NAI
Published: 3 October 2011
The world’s top footballing body has penalised Burma with a fine of nearly $US30,000 and banned it from entering the 2018 World Cup qualifiers following violent scenes that brought a qualifying match against Oman in July to an early close.
One coach and several players from the Oman team were injured by flying stones and water bottles during rioting at the match. Burmese fans had gone berserk in the Rangoon stadium after a hotly disputed penalty decision, and the match was ended midway through the second half.
Oman, who were leading 2-0 at the time, were awarded the match, and Burma disqualified.
Burma’s national footballing body will make an appeal to FIFA over the ban, but has accepted the fine.
Soe Moe, spokesperson of Myanmar Football Federation, said the decision was damaging for the reputation of Burma and its sporting ambitions.
“It’s bad that we are being punished, whether with a fine or ban, when we were just starting to gain our momentum,” he said.
“I think Burmese football fans may now realised a little bit that their behaviour has led to our country’s reputation being damaged. A mistake has already been made so instead of blaming, we should prevent mistakes like this from happening again.”
By AYE NAI
Published: 3 October 2011
The world’s top footballing body has penalised Burma with a fine of nearly $US30,000 and banned it from entering the 2018 World Cup qualifiers following violent scenes that brought a qualifying match against Oman in July to an early close.
One coach and several players from the Oman team were injured by flying stones and water bottles during rioting at the match. Burmese fans had gone berserk in the Rangoon stadium after a hotly disputed penalty decision, and the match was ended midway through the second half.
Oman, who were leading 2-0 at the time, were awarded the match, and Burma disqualified.
Burma’s national footballing body will make an appeal to FIFA over the ban, but has accepted the fine.
Soe Moe, spokesperson of Myanmar Football Federation, said the decision was damaging for the reputation of Burma and its sporting ambitions.
“It’s bad that we are being punished, whether with a fine or ban, when we were just starting to gain our momentum,” he said.
“I think Burmese football fans may now realised a little bit that their behaviour has led to our country’s reputation being damaged. A mistake has already been made so instead of blaming, we should prevent mistakes like this from happening again.”
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