Shan Herald Agency for News

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Aung San Suu Kyi urged to halt Norwegian backed dam in Shan State Posted: 27 May 2016 04:30 AM PDT On Thursday, a coalition of three Shan organizations sent an open letter to Burma's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, urging her to put a stop to a series of planned dams on northern Shan State's Namtu River. The Norwegian state owned company, Statkraft Norfund Power Invest or SN Power, concluded an MOU for a project known as the Middle Yeywa dam with the previous government in July 2014. This dam is set to be built in a location that has been identified as "seismically hazardous" because it is close to the Kyaukyan fault line. The three groups behind the statement, the Shan Human Rights Foundation, the Shan Sapawa Environmental Organisation and the Shan State Farmers' Network, say they are very concerned that a study conducted by SN Power failed to take into account the on-going conflict in northern Shan State and how the dam will affect the conflict and whether the conflict would affect the dam. "Fighting was raging in northern Shan State even while the pre-feasibility study was being conducted, but no mention was made of this. Particularly given the recent escalation of fighting in Kyaukme township (directly east of Nawng Khio), where the Burma Army has launched a large scale offensive, with airstrikes, against Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army positions just north of the Upper Yeywa dam site, we regard this as an inexcusable omission," the statement noted. In a report released earlier this year by the three groups the role of the Norwegian government and the state owned firm SN Power, in the controversial project was cited a proof that Oslo was pushing ahead without giving proper consideration to the situation on the ground.   The report claimed that Norway, who is a major donor to Burma's on-going peace process, is "opportunistically partnering with Naypyidaw to profit from ethnic conflict areas before peace has been reached." SN Power dam study overlooks dam impact say activists Sai Khur Hseng, a representative from the Shan Sapawa Environmental Organisation, one of the three groups that issued yesterday's statement, said that he and his team have frequently visited the area where the dam is set to be built and are very aware of the situation on the ground. "All the villages in those areas will be under the water when the dam is built," Sai Khur Hseng warned.  Sai Khur Hseng says that SN Power has a duty to disclose this information to villagers who will be affected by the project.  "If they did a survey, they should report it to the public. But, this has never been published," he explained. According to the statement the survey conducted by SN Power overlooked many of the impacts that the Yeywa dam and the other dams slated to be built on the Namtu River will have on the environment and the community.  The statement noted that the "Initial Environmental and Social Impact Assessment only focused on the section of the river where the Middle Yeywa dam and its reservoir are planned. There is no consideration of the cumulative impacts of the cascade of five dams on the river, which is going to drastically alter the ecology of the river, and all those living along it. It is thus very misleading that the study states that a baseline for "all key environmental aspects" has been established," and that the "River and inundated not a major source of food or resource." Reached for comment Sai Kheun Mai, of the Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF), told SHAN that many villages will likely be flooded by the dam.  In one village alone more than 100 homes and about 200 fields are expected to be entirely submerged when the Upper Yeywa Dam is completed. "There are 118 houses in Tarlong village and 472 residents will be affected by the dam," he said. "All of their fields will be damaged." The groups say they want the Upper Yeywa Dam and other dam projects on the Namtu River to immediately be halted. "Any future plans for hydropower development on the Namtu River must involve a transparent strategic impact assessment along the entire river," said the statement. The Middle Yeywa dam is one of four planned hydropower projects that are planned for the Namtu River. It is estimated that the Middle Yeywa dam will have the capacity to generate more than 700 megawatts of power. BY SAI AW / Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN)

Bold and decisive moves needed from the NLD Posted: 27 May 2016 01:28 AM PDT The now much talk about 21st Century Panglong Convention, initiated by Aung San Suu Kyi, is literally confronted with the military's notion of national  reconciliation, which is embedded in negotiated surrender and/or total annihilation of the ethnic resistance armies, coupled with continued Bamar supremacy tendency on one hand; and the hazy federalism promises of the NLD, which no one knows what it really has in store, for failing to spell out clearly on how the party envisioned federal union should look like, on the other hand. But her treatment of the ethnic nationalities armed and unarmed as not being so important or insignificant was viewed as a betrayal to the common cause and not taken lightly. Suu Kyi has only negotiated intensively with the military regarding national reconciliation, but not with ethnic nationalities so far, even it has all along been agreed that the three most important stakeholders – the military, NLD and the ethnic groups – should interact with each other. This dissatisfaction is compounded by the 8 States versus 14 States and Divisions/Regions controversy, as the NLD's top leadership have shown, on several occasions, that they were on the same page with the USDP-Military clique. This in turn lead to the suspicion of Suu Kyi and the NLD being on the same boat with the military, where policies related to the pursuing of Bamar ethnocentrism and denial of national equality for the ethnic nationalities are concerned. As such, it is not a wonder that the ethnic nationalities rank and file are so reluctant and even pessimistic of the Suu Kyi initiated Panglong-like convention that is supposed to take place in a month or two. Given such a backdrop, only a bold initiative of Suu Kyi would be able to dispel such  distrust. Firstly, it should make a declaration of NLD position on federal union, which is in line with the 1947 Panglong Agreement, 1947 Union of Burma Constitution and Ethnic Federal Proposal of 1961. Of course with necessary innovation to be in tune with the present political reality. Secondly, a unilateral ceasefire declaration of the government should follow, as it is the only way to create a level playing field, where non-signatory ethnic armed groups could participate, in an all-inclusive manner. But whether the military will cooperate or come on board for such decisive bold action will be totally dependent on how Suu Kyi would negotiate and handle the situation, as half-measure undertakings like those of the former Thein Sein regime would bring the country nowhere, but only continued warfare and heightened ethnic tension.

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