Stop All Mining Operations, Say Civic Groups
A coalition of 35 civil
society organizations in Burma has issued a statement calling for the National
League for Democracy-led government to suspend all mining operations in the
country.
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| Coal mining site located in Namma area in northern Shan State’s Hsipaw Township. |
The statement was released on
Thursday after representatives from Kachin, Kuki, Karen, Karenni, Chin, Ta’ang,
Mon, Arakan and Shan states and divisions concluded a three-day conference in
Kachin State capital Myitkyina.
“The current concessions on
mining and the new mining concessions must be suspended,” reads the statement.
Sai Khur Hseng of the Shan
Sapawa Environmental Organization and the spokesperson of the newly formed Myanmar
Mining Watch Network (MMWN) said that the ruling government, when it sets its
new policy, must not neglect people’s losses and damage caused
by mining operations.
“Civilians whose lands were
destroyed by mining activity have never been fully compensated,” he said. “In
response, civilians from every part of the country have formed this network to
demand the government stop mining operations.”
Sai Khur Hseng told Shan
Herald that many villagers’ lands had been forcibly confiscated and damaged
due to gold mining in Tar Lue, a village in eastern Shan State’s Tachileik
Township.
“Over 300 acres of
villagers’ lands have been destroyed by mining waste,” he explained. “One villager was even shot dead and several people
were injured.”
On 9 December 2015, SHAN
reported that
Burmese soldiers, who in October 2014 shot dead a villager named Loong Sarm,
had never been brought into justice.
“A process of justice must
be applied to solve the issues of those who have lost their lives or been
injured due to mining,” said Myanmar Mining Watch Network (MMWN).
According to Sai Hor Hseng, a
spokesperson for the Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF), mining activities have impacted both human beings and the environment. He said
that those people who live near mining operations are often afflicted with diseases
and ailments.
MMWN said it urges the state
government to recognize and follow the recommendations of the local civic community.
Numerous mining operations are
currently ongoing in Shan State, including: coal mining in Mong Kok, Hsipaw, Nam Zarng, Panglong and Mongkerng; and gold mines at Mong
Len in Tachileik, and Ti Gyit in Panglaung Township.
Burma’s unsafe mining practices were
highlighted last November when at least 116 people were killed in a landslide
at the Hpakant jade mine in northern Kachin State.
The new
Aung San Suu Kyi-led government has vowed to investigate that incident and
others where people’s lives and the environment have been affected.
BY: Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN)
Tags: Environment, News
