Coalmine companies refuse to withdraw from Mong Kung
The Pyae Aung Hein and Hein Mitter
companies are continuing their coal-mining operations in Mong Kung, despite an agreement to move out of the area by May 13.
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| Signboard saying “No Entry Permission” at the Mong Kung coalmine entrance. |
On April 11, more than 4,000 Mong Kung’s residents staged a
protest against the coalmine operations. Two days later, company representatives
met with local community leaders and pledged to cease all mining activities.
“They didn’t keep to the agreement.
They are still there,” said Sao Ekka Sina, a Buddhist monk who was one of the
demonstration organizers. “They now have RCSS soldiers guarding the site.”
Speaking to Shan Herald
today by telephone, he said, “So, yesterday we went to meet their manager, Okka
Kyaw Thu, to discuss this issue. He simply told us that they will not move out.
“Now they have erected fences,
which have warnings written in both Shan and Burmese languages, saying: “Outsiders
may not enter.”
General Yawd Serk, the chairman of the
Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA), spoke out on the
matter during a Shan National Day speech on February 7, saying that for any such
operation to proceed, it needs the support of the local people.
Monk and protest organizer Sao Ekka
Sina said that if the two mining firms insist on continuing their operations,
the residents of Mong Kung will continue protesting and holding demonstrations.
He said that the next rally will be
“huge,” with youth groups from across Shan State invited to attend.
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| Coal-mining site in Mong Kung Township, southern Shan State |
“We will continue to protest,” he
said. “If we don’t, all our paddy fields near the mining site will be
destroyed.”
Sai Long, an MP from the Shan
Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) representing Mong Kung Township
Constituency No. 2, said he is following the situation closely.
“The monks are investigating the case, and if the order
[to continue mining operations] came from local
authorities, the protesters will talk with them,” he said. “If the order is
from [RCSS headquarters] Loi Tai Leng, they will go and talk to the leader
there.”
The Pyae Aung Hein and Hein Mitter
companies were granted permission by the central government in Naypyidaw in
2014 to launch coal-mining projects in Mong Kung Township, which is in Loilem
district, southern Shan State. But the mines were soon suspended after growing
opposition from local residents. They restarted operations again in January
this year.
The coal-mining operations would
cause irreparable damage to 2,000 acres of land, including conifer forests, mountains
and farmland, said local sources.
By Shan Herald Agency for News
(SHAN)
Tags: Environment, Human Rights, News
