Friday, April 29, 2016

Shan Herald Agency for News

Shan Herald Agency for News

Northern Shan State’s Namtu dams project marred by controversy

Posted: 29 Apr 2016 03:01 AM PDT

A series of dams slated to be built in northern Shan State on the Namtu (Myitnge or Dokhtawaddy) River have been the subject of strong opposition from environmentalists and activists. Of the four new dams, three are set to be built in areas that are located in conflicted zones in northern Shan State.

The Namtu River (courtesy SHRF)
A recent report released jointly by the Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF), the Shan Sapawa Environmental Organisation and the Shan State Farmers' Network, titled "Save the Namtu River," argues that that there has been a complete lack of transparency around plans to construct the dams.
Combined with the existing Yeywa dam, the four new dams will obstruct more than half of the Namtu river which the report says will have an effect that will be "irreversibly impacting" for the Namtu river's ecology.
"For Naypyidaw to push ahead with large dams in conflict zones, against the wishes of local ethnic communities, is thumbing their noses at the peace process," said Sai Khur Hseng of Shan Sapawa in a press release accompanying the reports release.
"If the new NLD-led government wants to build peace, they must immediately halt the dams on the Namtu and other rivers in ethnic conflict zones," he said. Shortly after the report was released Aung San Suu Kyi's opted to relinquish the role of Minister of Energy and Electric Power. A position that was instead given to Pe Zin Tun, an ex military officer and a former employee at the state owned Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE). It remains unclear if the longtime government official will be more responsive to the concerns of community groups than his predecessor.
Of the four dams slated for the Namtu, the Upper Yeywa Dam in Nawngkhio Township, which began in 2008, is the furthest along. The dam is slated for completion in 2018, when finished it will create a reservoir that will be at least 60 kilometers long and according to the report wholly submerge Ta Long, a Shan village that is home to 500 people. Parts of Hsipaw town may also be affected.
According to the report residents of Ta Long "were never informed or consulted before the dam began, and have insisted they do not want to move". The report suggests that both the environmental and social impacts of the dam were a complete afterthought for the firm's involved as the dam's Environment and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) was controversially completed in 2014, some six years after construction of the dam had already begun.
The dam which is being funded by China's state backed Exim Bank is being built by China's Zhejiang Orient Engineering Co., Ltd. who serve as the engineering, procurement, and construction
(EPC) contractor which means the firm has the overall responsibility for the dam's construction and is overseeing the entire project including design, procurement, construction, commissioning and then the handover of the project to the end user which in this case will be the state run Myanmar Electric Power Enterprise (MEPE).
Other firms involved in the project as subcontractors are the Chinese firm Yunnan Machinery Import and Export Co. Ltd, Lahmeyer International GmbH of Germany and the Swiss company Stucky SA. A Chinese subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Toshiba called Toshiba Hydro Power (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd will provide the generators and related equipment for the dam.
Norwegian firm going ahead with middle Yeywa dam despite quake risk
Another of the Namtu dams known as the middle Yeywa dam is set to be built in a location identified by the report as "seismically hazardous" because it is close to the Kyaukyan fault line. According to the report this was the location of the biggest earthquake known to have taken place in the country's history in 1912. The quake which struck Nawngkhio is estimated have been an 8 on the Richter scale.
A state owned Norwegian power firm, known as Statkraft Norfund Power Invest or SN Power, is going ahead with plans to build the 700 megawatt dam. The MOU for this dam was signed with the previous government in July 2014. A pre-feasibility study for the dam began in April 2015.
The involvement of a Norwegian state owned firm with such a controversial project has drawn the ire of the groups behind the report. The report notes that Norway, who are a significant donor to Burma's ongoing peace process, is "opportunistically partnering with Naypyidaw to profit from ethnic conflict areas before peace has been reached." Similarly Japan and Switzerland, who are also significant donors to the peace process, have firms from their country involved with the Namtu dams.

Army Reinforces Troops near SSPP/SSA’s Loi Say-Loi Leng Base

Posted: 29 Apr 2016 02:59 AM PDT

The Burma Army has dispatched reinforcements to the Loi Say-Loi Leng area in northern Shan State's Tangyan Township, where a Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA) base is located, according to an SSPP/SSA information officer.


He said that over ten vehicles from the Burma Army were heading towards Tangyan on 24 April. Last week, the Burma Army's North Eastern Command ordered the SSPP/SSA to withdraw from the Loi Say-Loi Leng ridge in Tangyan Township by 22 April. This ridge is located to the west of the Salween River near territory controlled by the United Wa State Army (UWSA).
On 22 April the commander of the North Eastern Command ordered the SSPP/SSA to allow joint field inspections to be conducted on 27 April.
SSPP/SSA spokesperson's Colonel Sai La said: "We haven't replied to their demands yet. We haven't even held a central committee meeting yet. We have no place to stay. We won't withdraw. They said the same thing in the past and attacked us. Now, we have to make ourselves ready for combat. The military wants us to stay only in Wan Hai [the SSPP/SSA headquarters]. Nobody has finalized who should stay where yet. We have been living here for more than 50 years now."
When S.H.A.N. contacted the Pyidaungsu Institute's U Khun Sai he said: "The Burmese military seems to want to secure as much land as it can before political dialogue starts with the new government. These kind of acts affect trust."
According to the SSPP/SSA since 2012 the Burma Army has made similar requests to visit and inspect their bases before launching attacks on SSPP/SSA positions.
The Burma Army previously requested to visit the vicinity of Tar Phar Saung Bridge, which is located between Ke See and Hsipaw, before attacking it in 2014.
Although the SSPP/SSA has not participated in the signing of the nationwide ceasefire agreement the group participated in the drafting of the ceasefire agreement. It also signed a union-level and state-level ceasefire agreement with the Thein Sein administration.

My book 'Myanmar: A Political History'

Posted: 28 Apr 2016 08:28 PM PDT

My new book titled 'Myanmar: A Political History' has just been published by the Oxford University Press (OUP). A formal book launch event will be organized probably sometime in July or August, with the Vice President of India expected to be in attendance. Below is a brief summary of the book and potential readership as carried by OUP Canada website.
Myanmar: A Political History examines the politico-historical antecedents of contemporary Myanmar: from colonial rule to the establishment of its first civilian government; the subsequent fall into military dictatorship; and the transition from an authoritarian regime to a democratic government. Kipgen weaves in its relations with the United States, Myanmar's political, economic, and military connect with China; India-Myanmar relations in the context of India's Look East policy; and Myanmar's cooperation problems on human rights within the ASEAN. Lucid and well researched, this book is a valuable guide to those interested in the future of Myanmar as well as South and Southeast Asia, to understand the historical knowledge as to how different political actors played differing roles in the country's transition across governments.
Readership: Scholars and libraries of departments of Political Science, International Relations, History and Area Studies. Journalists, think-tanks, administrators, policy-makers interested in Myanmar.
Thanks
--
Nehginpao Kipgen, PhD
Assistant Professor
Executive Director, Centre for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS)
Jindal School of International Affairs
O.P. Jindal Global University
E-mail: nkipgen@jgu.edu.in
nehginpao@gmail.com
Phone: +91 1304091709 (office)
+91 8396907457 (mobile)
Faculty Page: http://www.jsia.edu.in/content/nehginpao-kipgen
CSEAS Page: http://www.jsia.edu.in/content/centre-southeast-asian-studies-cseas
My Books:
1. Myanmar: A Political History: http://www.oupcanada.com/catalog/9780199466306.html
2. Democratisation of Myanmar (a revised PhD dissertation): https://www.routledge.com/products/9781138119710
3. Democracy Movement in Myanmar: Problems and Challenges: http://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B00XENZ1IG?keywords=Nehginpao&qid=1454749854&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1
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