channelnewsasia.com
Pichayada Promchertchoo
November 8, 2015
For many residents of northern Kachin State, the silence of Myanmar’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi over the heavily-criticised Myitsone dam project has been “disappointing”.
MYITKYINA, Myanmar: Controversy surrounding the Myitsone dam in Kachin State has bred resentment among the ethnic locals against Myanmar’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whose party hopes to win a landslide in the Sunday (Nov 8) elections.
During her campaign for the National League for Democracy (NLD) in the northern state, the 70-year-old democracy icon stopped short of commenting about the dam project on the Irrawaddy River, a joint venture between the Myanmar government and Beijing-based China Power Investment Corporation (CPI).
“People asked Aung San Suu Kyi: ‘Hello mother, do you agree or support the Myitsone Dam construction?’. She said: ‘We’re not sure. We don’t know the details of the contract between China and the government’,” said Steven Tsa Ji, General Secretary of Kachin Development Networking Group (KDNG) – a civil society unit that monitors development projects in Kachin State and safeguards its natural resources.
In December 2006, the Myanmar government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with CPI for the construction of the Myitsone Hydroelectric Project, 37 km from the Kachin capital of Myitkyina. Scheduled for completion in 2017, the project features a 6,000-megawatt dam at the confluence of the Mali and Nmai rivers, which together form the country’s most important waterway, the Irrawaddy River.
The move drew strong opposition from the public and triggered a suspension order from President Thein Sein in 2011. “This confluence doesn’t only concern Kachins but also the whole population because it’s the riverbed for all Myanmar people,” said a local Catholic priest Father Stephen Sut Awng.
Since the project was born, more than 1,000 villagers living near the construction site have been relocated to a new settlement. Among them was Maran Naw Mai from Tang Hpre village, who had to leave his orange farm and fishing for a new home in Aung Min Thar, 16 km away.
“I couldn’t take care of my farm. That’s why I lost it. The government ordered us to move. They sent in trucks to move the villagers in Jul 2010,” said the father of four. “Their arrangement was good but buildings are bad. The materials they used aren’t good. Churches and hospital will collapse one day.”
In Tang Hpre, many villagers had lived and worked along the river for generations and most found it difficult to adapt to a new environment.
“I like my old village. Here, we only have a narrow space,” said 32-year-old La Nu. “I don’t like this dam project, nor does the whole country. People have rejected it.”
However, the issue of resettlement is not the main concern for residents living near the dam, who are mostly worried about their safety, given its proximity to the Sagaing fault line less than 100km away.
“Any earthquake around the fault line may cause the dam to break and three million people living downstream will be affected,” Steven said. “Moreover, 90 per cent of electricity from the Myitsone dam will go to China while people in Myanmar have to sacrifice for China’s benefits. They aren’t satisfied.”
For the likes of Steven, Aung San Suu Kyi’s silence on the issue is “disappointing”. “She didn’t answer directly, although people asked her a very easy question.”
During her four-day visit to Kachin in Sep, Aung San Suu Kyi faced several questions. Besides those related to the controversial dam was one about violence in the war-torn state, which, for many, she failed to answer.
“People said: ‘You’ve won the Nobel Peace Prize for (your actions) against human rights violation. But in Kachin State, there is a lot of violence, many rape cases and other crimes. How will you solve these problems?’,” Steven said. “She only replied that she doesn’t have the authority and that she’s just an MP.
“These two issues made Kachin people a little confused and disappointed.”
Perched between China and India, Kachin State lies in the northern tip of Myanmar. For decades, it has been trapped in a civil war between the Myanmar army and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), an ethnic armed group formed under the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) in 1961 to fight for local autonomy within a federal system.
For many Kachins, their biggest dream is the ability to govern their own state. “We want political freedom, financial freedom and administrative freedom. That means we’ll manage our own natural resources and area,” said Jaw San Naw from Myitkyina, a Kachin Democratic Party (KDP) candidate, who is running from Myitkyina for a seat in the upper house. “There is too much central control from Nay Pyi Taw and Yangon.”
The presence of the NLD, which is fielding more than 1,000 candidates nationwide, including in Kachin State, has upset many voters.
“We aren’t against Aung San Suu Kyi or the NLD. But in ethnic areas, they should form an alliance for democracy with ethnic parties. There is no need for them to compete in the ethnic areas,” said Steven. “But the NLD wants to control and occupy ethnic areas, just like the USDP (Union Solidarity and Development Party). That’s why people in Kachin State are disappointed.”
