Press release from Kachin Development Networking Group
For Immediate Release
October 21, 2011

Burma’s mining ministry ignores public call to save the Irrawaddy, seals off Myitsone for gold excavation

Just days after Burma’s president announced the suspension of the Irrawaddy Myitsone dam due to the “will of the people,” authorities ordered the eviction of local residents to make way for the expansion of a massive government-led gold mining operation at the dam site.

The Kachin Development Networking Group (KDNG) has obtained an order issued by the Myitkyina Township office on October 5 which demands all residents, private miners, and shopkeepers in Tang Hpre village located at the confluence to move out within five days or face “punishment in accordance with existing laws.”  
Hka Ka Bo Mining Co.Ltd. and the government’s No (2) Mining Ministry have a joint venture to mine for gold at the Myitsone
The order clears the way for a joint venture between Mining Ministry No. 2 and the Kha Ka Bo Mining Company to blast river banks, gouge out the terrain, and dredge the Irrawaddy in search of precious gold deposits. According to the order, only personnel from the Kha Ka Bo Company are allowed to operate at the Myitsone.

Unregulated gold mining, often using mercury and cyanide, has been ravaging lands and rivers across Kachin State for several years, causing serious erosion, alteration of river flows, and toxic pollution. The operation at the Myitsone will destroy the beauty of the confluence and directly pollute the Irrawaddy ecosystem, impacting communities living downstream.

“On the one hand the government says it loves the Irrawaddy but on the other hand they’re poisoning the river at its source” said Ah Nan from KDNG.

The people of Tang Hpre village at the confluence have been resisting destruction of the Myitsone since the seven mega dams project at the Irrawaddy source was announced in 2006.

The efforts of local people’s resistance against the dams is documented in the report Resisting the Flood which can be seen at www.kdng.org

Contact: Ah Nan (+66-848854154)
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

To download: English | Burmese

To download government order letters: Burmese | English