6 Kyaukpadaung (Burmese: , pronounced [tau b du mjo]) is a town in Mandalay Region in Central Myanmar. It lies just southwest of Mount Popa.

Popa. It is the administrative seat for Kyaukpadaung Township. [edit] History The name of Kyaukpadaung is derived from Kyauk (; Rock) + Pann (; Flower) + Taung (; Basket). Kyaukpadaung is also known as the city of Jaggery () [edit] Geography Since the name of this town is related to rock. There are some rocky-hills nearby and in town. The extinct Vocalno Mount Popa is about 10 miles from town. [edit] Transportation Rail transport has been established since World War II, on the Pyinmana-Kyini Link. Buses and cars operate to and fro nearby townships. Kyaukpadaung is situated on the link road of Yangon-Myingyan-Mandalay road and Yangon-Meiktila-Mandalay. [edit] Communication In 1994, telephone system was upgraded, from Manual Switching Exchange to Auto Telephone System. Local Area Code is 061, it was same as Chauk. [edit] Weather Kyaukpadaung is located in Hot & Dry zone, and rain measure getting about 40 inch and below. Temperature during Summer: High=36~39'C, Low= 25~28'C, and Winter: High=30~31'C, Low=19~23'C. Popa region is an oasis in central Myanmar.

Ceremony held for controversial pipeline Share Comments (3) Tweet A Chinese worker welds on a Chinese gas pipeline (Reuters) By DVB Published: 22 August 2011 The China National Petroleum Company (CNPC) has held ceremony in the city of Mandalay last week to celebrate the commencement of welding on the Burmese section of the Shwe gas pipeline as locals continue to complain of land confiscations. The pipeline will run from Kyaukphyu township in Arakan State on Burmas west-coast to southern Chinas Yunnan province. A local in Mandalays Kyaukpadaung township, through which the pipeline will pass, told DVB that farmlands and toddy plantations owned by local villagers are likely to be destroyed to make way for the pipelines construction; The pipeline is passing across our farmlands and toddy plantations so we are likely to lose them. Now we have been informed [by the authorities] which areas will be affected by the constructions. They said to call a meeting with farm owners, said the Kyaukpadaung local. He said the CNPC are negotiating with farm owners but it is not clear yet whether they would be paid compensations or not. The Chinese are here for the construction and they are currently negotiating and yet to specify the [compensation] apparently they are also looking to build roads. The pipeline will carry natural gas from off shore Burmese blocks for nearly 800 kms in Burma and also take Middle Eastern oil into South West China as the Chinese look to diversify supply routes away from the crowded Malacca straits. The impact of the pipeline has been questioned along its entire length where activists have claimed that livelihoods are being destroyed with only vague promises of compensation to the affected. With a report by the environmental group Earth Rights International (ERI) earlier alleging; numerous instances of land confiscation without adequate compensation. Whilst the same report also spoke to locals who alleged torture for merely expressing opposition to its construction. The pipeline puts huge Chinese strategic imperative on Burmese soil as the value of planned oil imports from Saudi Arabia alone will be in the region of US$ 20 million per day.

Such imperatives will be tested by the volatile north of Burma where fighting has been raging between ethnic armed groups, such as the Shan State Army and the Burmese military. With some suggesting that the recent fighting is a Burmese attempt to pacify these areas specifically for such Chinese infrastructure projects. It was earlier reported that as a result of the fighting there was a month long break in work on the pipeline, with work resuming at the end of June. Large numbers of pipes were seen being delivered to Burma from China. Tags: CNPC, mandalay, Shwe gas Author: DVB Category: Economics, News, Politics

Comments

1. leo says:
August 22, 2011 at 10:11 am What are you doing Ban-Ki-Moon? You just wait and see how the Burmese military Backed government killing its own people? or you have no Idea to stop the Burmese regimes bad behavior? Why you are so helpless for the people of Burma? You are from Asia and why did not help Asian people? How come with your job?

2. htwe htwe tin says:

August 22, 2011 at 10:59 am No body will agree for doing such tyrant behavior (i.e Aye Yar Waddy Dam scheme and above mentioned pipeline)

3. Prozac says:
August 23, 2011 at 2:56 am the pipeline is an extremely valuable project. After it is finished, there will be many Chinese communities sent out to live alongside the pipeline dressed in civilian clothes but fully capable of paramilitary action. So Burma will be cut off into two parts like North and South Korea, and the pipeline will be in the Northern half. Mandalay will be capital of N. Burma, a colony of China. SPDC really means Sinister Puppet Dictatorship of China.

August Updates Shwe Gas Project Developments

Published September 26, 2011 | By ARN Following a month of inactivity on the construction of the Shwe Gas Pipeline, due to a flare up of violence, The China National Petroleum Company (CNPC), conducted a ceremony as the commencement of welding began on the Burmese section of the pipeline (all previous construction had to date been conducted on the Chinese side of the border). (Ceremony Held for Controversial Pipeline, August 22, 2011, Democratic Voice of Burma). The commencement of construction of the Shwe Pipeline inside Burma has coincided with a rise of complaints by local residents about forced land confiscation and human rights abuses. Speaking to a reporter from The Democratic Voice of Burma, a resident of Kyaukpadaung Township in Mandalay detailed the confiscation of his farmland, where the pipeline will pass through: The pipeline is passing across our farmlands and toddy plantations so we are likely to lose them. Now we have been informed [by the authorities] which areas will be affected by the constructions (Ceremony Held for Controversial Pipeline, August 22, 2011, Democratic Voice of Burma). In a separate report from the Irrawaddy, details are emerging on the practice of land confiscation along the pipeline route. A local resident of Hsipaw Township explained that while he was not forced to confiscate his land, he was obligated to rent it to an unknown entity (speculated to be The Asia World Co. Ltd.) at a far lower rate than the market value. Following the loss of this farmers land, he will become jobless. The continuation of largescale forced land confiscation has the potential to severely disrupt stability in the fragile ethnically controlled border lands (Human Rights Abuses at Gas Pipeline, August 18, 2011, The Irrawaddy). The Shwe Gas Movement has announced a press conference in September to highlight the extent which China has continued construction of the Shwe Pipeline despite wide-scale documentation of human rights abuses (Media Advisory: new report to highlight disturbing extent to which China has advanced construction of Trans-Burma oil and gas pipeline projects despite raging conflict in the project area and associated human rights abuses, August 31, 2011, Shwe Gas Movement). Plans for the Shwe Gas Pipeline route to carry, not only the projected US$20 million of oil per day, but a Chinese high speed rail track are expected to begin by the end of 2011 (Work on Sino-Burma Railway Could Start in December, August 29, 2011, Democratic Voice of Burma) Burma gas campaigners hit brick wall Share Comments (3)

Tweet By NAW NOREEN Published: 7 October 2011 Map shows route of Shwe pipeline zones [in through grey] to conflict China

(Shwe Gas Movement) The Korean company behind a major pipeline project in Burma says it has completed drilling and production tests and will move to the next phase of development, despite continuing calls from campaigners that the project be shelved. The Shwe pipeline venture is estimate to be worth $US30 billion for the Burmese government, but environmental and human rights groups claim it will come at great human and ecological cost. Burmese are also angry that the countrys vast natural gas resources, largely located off its western coast, are being sold to China, despite a shortage of energy in the country. But the countrys democracy movement scored a point recently after Naypyidaw halted work on a massive China-backed dam in the north following months of protest, spurring campaigners to demand it shelves other environmentally destructive projects. The [pipeline] project could destroy the future for peoples social life, businesses and their livelihood, so the [government] needs to listen to the peoples voice, said Wong Aung, from the Shwe Gas Movement (SGM). This is a Chinese project run by China and when its completed, all the resources and future business opportunities will be sold to China. So everyone should stand against it. But the likelihood of the pipeline venture also being stopped is slim: Daewoo, the lead construction company in the project, announced this week that it had begun infrastructure work following successful early testing. Along with Hyundai Heavy Industries, Daewoo will develop seabed platforms and onshore terminals in Burmas impoverished Arakan state, as well as the 2,600 kilometre pipeline that will run from the town of Kyaukphyu across Burma to Chinas southern Yunnan province. The company is expected to net more than $US320 million in profit each year once the gas starts flowing.

In a statement this week, SGM said Burmese will see little of the capital made from the pipeline, which will provide for around six percent of Chinas total oil and gas needs. The revenues will disappear into a fiscal black hole that omits gas revenues from the national budget, clearly to the benefit of the regime and investors. The main Chinese company involved, the state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation, has made various efforts at placating criticism of the project and offering sweeteners to its opponents, including a recent pledge that it will finance the construction of schools and hospitals along the pipeline route. The Shwe Gas Project and its Impacts on the People of Arakan State and Burma Published October 10, 2009 | By ARN Arakan State is situated by the Bay of Bengal in western Burma. The state is blessed with an abundance of natural resources; however in recent years, its bountiful supply of oil and gas has become more of a curse than a blessing for the local people. Arakans potential natural gas reserves became the object of major foreign interest in August 2000, when a Production Sharing Contract (PSC) was agreed by Daewoo International Corporation and Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) to explore, produce and market underwater gas reserves from just off the Arakan coast. Today, the oil and gas sector attracts more foreign investment in Arakan State, and in Burma, than any other industry. However, far from being used to address Arakan States acute lack of power, which means that 97% of the states population currently does not have consistent access to electricity, one hundred percent of the gas extracted from the Shwe gas fields discovered by Daewoo will be sold to China, generating billions of dollars of revenue for the Burmese military regime. This transaction will also require the construction of a 4,000 km pipeline across Burma to Chinas Yunnan Province. A parallel oil pipeline will also be built to transport oil from the region and from the Middle East and Africa to China. Approximately 85% of the population of Arakan lives in rural areas and generally below the poverty line. According to Aung Marm Oo, the general secretary of the All Arakan Students and Youths Congress (AASYC), the founding organization of the Shwe Gas Movement, Over 80% of the entire population of the state rely heavily on agriculture and fishing to eke out a living, due to the regions underdevelopment as a consequence of long-term military misrule in Burma. These civilians can not participate in local or state-level decisions and policies; this is especially true when it comes to deciding what happens to their natural resources.

Due to the lucrative construction of gas platforms, and gas and oil pipelines, local authorities have heavily restricted the rights of Arakanese people to fish in their own waters in order to achieve tighter security in the production and transport areas. In addition to such restrictions on one of their primary sources of food and income, civilians are also in danger of being forced off of their land, the other major source of livelihoods. Aung Marm Oo noted that Many areas of farmland will be confiscated and sometimes destroyed to facilitate the construction of the pipelines. This will severely devastate small businesses and damage local economies across Burma, as these are the main local businesses. The current Burmese Military Government has demarcated a total of 9 offshore and inland blocks that are considered to be highly favorable for hydrocarbon finds. 7 of these blocks, the A-1 to A-7 blocks, are offshore and the remaining two are inland, namely the L and M blocks. Today, Daewoo hold a 51 % share in the Shwe Gas Project, the name of which is taken from the Burmese word for gold, Shwe. The remaining 49% is owned by South Korean, Indian, and state-run Burmese companies, who all stand to make substantial profits from the project. The biggest gains will accrue to the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), which stands to make at least US $24 billion over a 30 year period. The Gas and Oil sector is already the juntas biggest earner, bringing in almost US $3.5 billion annually. This figure is likely to rise by approximately US $1-2 billion after 2013, once the pipeline is complete. This has raised concern among those opposed to the project, who claim that the majority of profits will then be spent on expanding and modernizing Burmas already excessively powerful military. According to Aung Marm Oo, If we look at current gas sales to Thailand from the Yadana/Yetagun Gas Pipeline Project, we can see that the majority of revenue has been used to expand the military and fill the generals pockets. They never use their funds for the benefits of Burmas population on the whole. It is clear that the income from the Shwe Gas Project also will not be used for the betterment of Burmese civilians lives; rather it will be spent on defence and the continued and deepened oppression the people of Arakan and Burma. Exact figures are hard to come by, but it is widely believed that the junta currently spends 40% of its budget on defence, despite having no external enemies. Burma is sandwiched between two of the worlds largest and most energy-hungry countries, India and China. These states rely on crude oil imports for 70% and 40% of their

energy needs respectively, and are engaged in a competitive global search for gas and oil. Of late, China has often come out on top, with Indias Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) losing out to Chinese companies in Kazakhstan, Ecuador, Angola, and most recently Nigeria. Until 2007, the Shwe Gas Project significantly raised the stakes in this diplomatic game. According to Kim from the Shwe Gas Campaign in India, who has been campaigning against the project since the creation of the Shwe Gas Movement in 2004: Indias foreign policy on Burma is based upon its Look East Policy, which is essentially a realist policy. This policy emphasizes Indias own economic and security interests by neglecting human rights and democratic principles. A significant fact is that India invested US $ 150 million for the exploration of gas in Arakan state at the same time that the Burmese junta brutally cracked down on peaceful protesters, who were demanding reductions in fuel prices in September 2007. The demonstrations were in response to a 500% increase in fuel prices due to the regimes decision to remove subsidies, he added. Discovery of the Shwe gas reserves has made Burma the venue of yet another competitive scramble between the two Asian giants; andonce again, China has come out on top. In addition to the energy resources at stake, regional power politics are a key factor at play in the states decision to invest in their internationally isolated neighbour, as neither China nor India wants the other to exert too much influence in Burma. Underlying Indias economic and political interests in Burma is a desire to counter Chinas growing influence on the country. In some ways, the gas can be seen as microcosm of the contest for global resources and political clout in the region between the two rising Asian powers. Another major threat this project has imposed on the people of Burma is that of excessive militarisation in the development regions. Since 1988, the number of infantry battalions based in the Western Command, an area that includes Arakan State and Paletwa Township of Chin State, has increased from 3 to 43 battalions. Furthermore, figures from 2006 show there are at least ten specialized battalions (such as engineering and communications), three tactical command centres, and three naval bases. The Western Commander, headquartered in the town of Ann in Arakan State, controls many of the lucrative businesses in the state as his permission is needed for any licensing and administrative procedures. This increase in militarisation has led to human rights abuses including forced labour, confiscation of land and other property, extortion, and violence. More than 53,000 acres of civilian-owned land in Arakan has been confiscated in the past to make way military infrastructure. According to Aung Marm Oo, these abuses will surely be exacerbated by a further increase of troop levels to secure the pipelines in the central part of Burma.

Indeed, the effects of the project are already being felt by local fishermen. In April 2004, soldiers of the Burmese navy on the Arakan coast in the Bay of Bengal arrested fishermen inside an exclusion zone around exploratory rigs in the gas fields. The men were not aware of the restrictions, as they had previously fished that area regularly. Regardless of this, they were beaten and thrown in jail. The two pipelines are also expected to destroy vast areas of forests, which will disrupt the migration patterns of important local species, and cause droughts and floods. Further environmental dangers also are also inherent in the commercial production and transport of natural gas, such as chemical leakage into the sea and gas blowouts. This is of grave concern to communities that will benefit very little from the project itself, yet are disproportionately at risk from the dangers the project entails. As construction proceeds, promising the junta a massive boost in its revenue, the people of Arakan continue to be neglected and indeed actively oppressed, without being given any choice about what happens to their natural resources. Aung Marm Oo has urged that: All corporations involved in the Shwe Gas Project must freeze all current business with the Burmese military regime and refrain from further investment until the affected people of Burma, through a democratically elected government, can decide on the use of their natural resources without fearing persecution. Opinion: Burma selling out its future to China By Zin Linn Sep 06, 2011 10:08PM UTC The Shwe Gas Movement and The Palaung Womens Organization held a press conference today at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand in Bangkok. During the press conference, a new report entitled SOLD OUT was released by the Shwe Gas Movement. The report details the expending construction of a deep seaport, gas terminal and oil transfer point in Burmas Arakan State as well as the building of a 800 kilometer pipeline. China pipeline projects have become a major cause of human rights abuses across the country. 6,600 government soldiers have been deployed to guard a corridor for the pipelines from the western coastline of Burma to north-eastern Sino-Burma border. The deployment risks growing abuses and ethnic instability, according to the report. Wong Aung of the Shwe Gas Movement said that thousands of acres of farm lands have been confiscated in Arakan and Shan states, as well as the Magwe and Mandalay divisions, to clear areas for the pipeline and associated infrastructure. Fields have also been made unreachable. On Ramree Island the amount of land classified as restricted access by local authorities has recently increased in the areas around

Sichoun, Sittaw and Ngagamaw villages. Construction equipment and trucks have ridden roughshod over fields, destroying crops and damaging soil. Some farmers have been prevented from harvesting crops in fields adjacent to construction areas. Companies have also dumped waste materials on paddy lands, the report says. Companies are ignoring widespread abuses and worsening civil war, said Wong Aung. Lway Aye Nang of the Palaung Womens Organization highlighted the impact of the civil war along the Chinese pipeline areas where Burmese soldiers committed rape, murder, looting and forced labor. The investors should pull out now before the project blows up in their faces, Wong Aung said. According to the Shwe Gas Movement group, the natural gas should be used domestically to transform the deteriorating economy of the country. Due to fuel shortages and transportation prices increasing, a protest grew into the Saffron Revolution in 2007, the report said. Burmas Special Economic Zone Law was enacted in 2011 with the aim of encouraging more foreign direct investment and offers special concessions and tax incentives to companies investing in these zones. The law specifies that investors have a duty to increase the number of skilled locals to 25% 10 years into the project, the report points out. However local is defined as national, as a result there is no guarantee for local people to enjoy job opportunities. Land speculation and confiscation pushes out locals. As corrupt officials and businessmen compete for major real-estate near special economic zones and land prices skyrocket, local people are forced off their land by a market-based forced relocation. At the same time outright confiscation of lands in the zone by military authorities is ongoing in the Kyauk Phyu Special Economic Zone. The report urged corporations such as China National Petroleum Corp and South Koreas Daewoo International to withdraw from the projects, which will ship natural gas from Burma and oil from the Middle East and Africa to China. As a final point, the Shwe gas movement accused the Burmese government of selling out the countrys economic future to China. The use of countrys natural gas domestically could change Burma into an economically healthy nation.

ARN Says Kaladan Project Threatens Livelihoods, Environment and Human Rights

Published November 12, 2009 | By ARN Nov 10, 2009 A preliminary report released today by the Arakan Rivers Network (ARN) argues that a planned transport facility on the Kaladan River in western Burmas Arakan State will wreak environmental devastation on the river, and negatively impact the lives of many of the approximately one million civilians living along it.

ARN Director Aung Marm Oo speaks at Kaladan Report press conference The Indian government sought approval from the Burmese military regime for nearly a decade for the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Facility (Kaladan Project), as a means of providing a seaport and thus access to international trade to the landlocked and restive northeast of India. The facility aims to move goods in three stages: by sea between the port of Kolkata in eastern India and Site-tway (Sittwe) in Arakan State; by river transport along 225 kilometres of the Kaladan between Site-tway and Kaletwa, in Burmas northwestern Chin State; and by road via a 62 kilometre highway that will be constructed between Kaletwa and the Burmese border with Indias Mizoram province. Goods would also be shipped in the opposite direction, and from Site-tway to other locations in southeast Asia. The governments of India and Burma signed a Framework Agreement for the Project in April 2008, and December 2009 is the target for work to get underway. Under the terms of the Agreement, the Indian government (through the Ministry of External Affairs) will finance the US $120 million Project and the state-run Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) will oversee the redevelopment of Site-tway port, dredging operations around Site-tway and along 225km of the Kaladan, and construction of an Inland Waterway Terminal (IWT) in Kaletwa. The Burmese regime will provide for free all of the land required for the project, as well as security for all personnel, materials, equipment, work sites, and the facility itself. The regime will also be responsible for the construction of the highway to the IndoBurma border. The ARN report outlines three primary areas of concern for the civilians inhabiting areas around the Kaladan: the environmental impact of such large-scale development on one of the worlds few remaining untouched rivers; the human rights implications of a significantly increased military presence along the river; and the devastating effects on individual livelihoods of both environmental degradation and the abuses stemming from militarisation of the area. The environmental concerns centre on the fact that the Kaladan has remained unpolluted and unaffected by development over thousands of years, so its ecosystems may be too fragile to cope with the impacts of dredging, including changes in river flow and turbidity, as well as increased traffic and pollution on the river. The Kaladan and its watershed are

also home to numerous rare or endangered species. The Framework Agreement makes no mention of environmental impact surveys or standards for the development; rather the only reference to the environment occurs in the article binding the Burmese regime to provide for free any permissions from the local authorities on account of environment. Environmental damage also bears serious consequences for the livelihoods of the individuals and communities living along the Kaladan. The report predicts that millions of people could see rapid depletion of their food supplies as the coast near Site-tway and 225 kilometres of the Kaladan River are dredged of almost 2.5 million cubic metres of material. The river, lined with the homes of approximately one million people, is for many a key source of water, fish and crabs, and is surrounded by paddy fields. Food security is of particular concern now due to a famine affecting Arakan and Chin States, which has steadily worsened since 2007, and has caused many to leave their homes. According to ARNs director, Aung Marm Oo, Arakanese people rely heavily on rivers for fishing and farming; rivers are crucial arteries for regional trade in fish and agriculture, as well as the transportation of local people, since the state lacks good roads. If developments on the Kaladan go forward, local businesses will be severely harmed and hundreds of acres of cultivated land along the rivers will have to be abandoned. The human rights concerns highlighted in the report include land confiscation, forced labour, as well as sexual crimes and a general increase in violence against civilians. These have been well-documented elements of both development projects and the deployment of units of the Burma army to civilian areas, and particularly so in Burmas ethnic regions. The ARN report notes several instances of such abuses along the Kaladan River in the past few months associated with the massive surge in the military presence in Arakan State. The ARN intends to document ongoing abuses as the project gets underway. The report also points out the ways in which the increased military presence impedes the ability of civilians to secure their livelihoods, and strains their usually limited personal and communal resources. Nearly 30 new military checkpoints have been established along the Kaladan since 2006, and merchants plying the waterway have complained of extortion from soldiers. This has meant serious restrictions on local business, especially in Kyauk Taw and Paletwa townships, as well as around the upper part of the river. According to Lunn Htein, an Arakanese youth living near the Indian-Burma border, The soldiers at the checkpoints demand money from merchants selling things like dried fish and domestic products. Three years ago they made good profits along this waterway but now this is impossible and they have lost a lot, especially in 2009. The regimes self-reliance policy, which forces each military battalion to support itself independently, has also led to high rates of extortion. Most of the soldiers there are staying in the villages, not in their camps, Lunn Htein explained. Therefore, local villagers

must support them with water and chickens. They give six chicken cages per village once a month. The impact on local economies and individual livelihoods of restrictions on access to the river, and freedom of movement on it, must not be underestimated. For thousands of years the people of Arakan and Chin states have depended on rivers as their primary means of travel; today, the absence of good roads means that traders of rice, fish, meat, firewood, and other staple products continue to rely entirely on their waterways to keep their businesses afloat and to feed their families. In light of these concerns, Aung Marm Oo today urged state governments and multinational corporations to refrain from doing business in Burma, and to discontinue all planned developments until a democratically-elected government was in place that could be accountable to the individuals affected by projects such as the Kaladan facility. He suggested that India bears a special responsibility to the disenfranchised people of Burma: As the largest democratic country in the world, India has a responsibility to defend democratic principles and not support the Burmese military regime. The government must freeze investment in this and all other river development projects in Burma and refrain from further investment until the affected people of Burma can decide on the use of their natural resources through a democratically-elected government without fearing persecution.

Human Rights Abuses at Gas Pipeline By SAI ZOM HSENG Thursday, August 18, 2011

A gas pipeline construction site in Hispaw Township in Shan State. (Photo: Shwe Gas Movement) Land confiscations and other human rights violations have been reported in northern Shan State during the last few weeks since the start of the Shwe pipeline project to export gas and oil to China. Problems have mainly occurred in Kyaukme and Hsipaw townships where the pipeline passes on its way to Kunming, China. Two other affected areas of northern Shan State are Kutkhai and Pang Hsai townships. A local resident from Hsipaw Township, who gave his name as Sai Tun, said that although the local authorities did not confiscate his land, they forced him to rent it to them at much lower than the market value. However, he did not know the money actually came from a private company involved in the pipeline project. The authorities said that they want to use my land and would give me 500,000 kyats (US $665) for one acre per month as a fee. But they didnt tell me why they wanted my land and what they are going to do with it, said Sai Tun. Sai Tun explained that hiring out land makes the landowner jobless. Other landowners from my village also face the same situation as me but with different rental fees. But 500,000 kyats is the minimum price that they gave us, he added. I dont think the price is enough for our land because I have seen that they are digging everywhere. When they return my land back, what am I supposed to do with that destroyed land? asked Sai Tun.

He explained that the pipeline passes five or six miles away from Hsipaw, and that there are at least a dozen landowners who have been forced by the authorities to rent their land. The Asia World Co. Ltd.owned by Steven Law (aka Tun Myint Naing)is the main constructor of the pipeline projects in northern Shan State. Htoo Trading Co. Ltd.owned by Burmese business tycoon Tay Za who has close links to former junta membersis also approaching Burmese leaders to obtain pipeline building projects. The Memorandum of Understanding of the Shwe Gas Project was signed by the former military regimes second leader, Vice Sen-Gen Maung Aye, during a trip to China in 2009 where he met Chinese VicePresident Xi Jingping. China is the only nation currently buying natural gas from Burma, netting the Burmese government at least US $1 billion per year. The former Burmese regime has not only agreed to sell China natural gas, but also to build a transit oil pipeline to move fuel from the Middle East to China through the Southeast Asian nation. Thailand-based Shwe Gas Movement (SGM)a pressure group opposed to the Burmese governments Shwe Gas projectsaid that Burma will get at least $30 million every year from over 4,000 kms of transit oil pipeline. Wong Aung, a global coordinator of SGM, told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday: This project will negatively affect local people living near to the pipeline site. They will face human rights violations including losing their jobs and land. This project is very important for China in political, military and economic fields, and so it always protects the Burmese government in the international community. Thats why the Burmese government cannot refuse what China desires. He added that the pipeline could even cause a civil war because it would go through ethnic areas, and could cause even more human rights violations such as land confiscation, forced labor and illegal detentions. The Shan State Army (SSA) is currently operating in Kyaukme and Hsipaw townships. SSA spokesman Maj Sai Hla said that they have no plans to start attacking the pipeline project, but would do if they think it has been harming local people and the Shan community. The Shwe Gas Project and its Impacts on the People of Arakan State and Burma Published October 10, 2009 | By ARN Arakan State is situated by the Bay of Bengal in western Burma. The state is blessed with an abundance of natural resources; however in recent years, its bountiful supply of oil and gas has become more of a curse than a blessing for the local people.

Arakans potential natural gas reserves became the object of major foreign interest in August 2000, when a Production Sharing Contract (PSC) was agreed by Daewoo International Corporation and Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) to explore, produce and market underwater gas reserves from just off the Arakan coast. Today, the oil and gas sector attracts more foreign investment in Arakan State, and in Burma, than any other industry. However, far from being used to address Arakan States acute lack of power, which means that 97% of the states population currently does not have consistent access to electricity, one hundred percent of the gas extracted from the Shwe gas fields discovered by Daewoo will be sold to China, generating billions of dollars of revenue for the Burmese military regime. This transaction will also require the construction of a 4,000 km pipeline across Burma to Chinas Yunnan Province. A parallel oil pipeline will also be built to transport oil from the region and from the Middle East and Africa to China. Approximately 85% of the population of Arakan lives in rural areas and generally below the poverty line. According to Aung Marm Oo, the general secretary of the All Arakan Students and Youths Congress (AASYC), the founding organization of the Shwe Gas Movement, Over 80% of the entire population of the state rely heavily on agriculture and fishing to eke out a living, due to the regions underdevelopment as a consequence of long-term military misrule in Burma. These civilians can not participate in local or state-level decisions and policies; this is especially true when it comes to deciding what happens to their natural resources. Due to the lucrative construction of gas platforms, and gas and oil pipelines, local authorities have heavily restricted the rights of Arakanese people to fish in their own waters in order to achieve tighter security in the production and transport areas. In addition to such restrictions on one of their primary sources of food and income, civilians are also in danger of being forced off of their land, the other major source of livelihoods. Aung Marm Oo noted that Many areas of farmland will be confiscated and sometimes destroyed to facilitate the construction of the pipelines. This will severely devastate small businesses and damage local economies across Burma, as these are the main local businesses. The current Burmese Military Government has demarcated a total of 9 offshore and inland blocks that are considered to be highly favorable for hydrocarbon finds. 7 of these blocks, the A-1 to A-7 blocks, are offshore and the remaining two are inland, namely the L and M blocks. Today, Daewoo hold a 51 % share in the Shwe Gas Project, the name of which is taken from the Burmese word for gold, Shwe. The remaining 49% is owned by South Korean, Indian,

and state-run Burmese companies, who all stand to make substantial profits from the project. The biggest gains will accrue to the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), which stands to make at least US $24 billion over a 30 year period. The Gas and Oil sector is already the juntas biggest earner, bringing in almost US $3.5 billion annually. This figure is likely to rise by approximately US $1-2 billion after 2013, once the pipeline is complete. This has raised concern among those opposed to the project, who claim that the majority of profits will then be spent on expanding and modernizing Burmas already excessively powerful military. According to Aung Marm Oo, If we look at current gas sales to Thailand from the Yadana/Yetagun Gas Pipeline Project, we can see that the majority of revenue has been used to expand the military and fill the generals pockets. They never use their funds for the benefits of Burmas population on the whole. It is clear that the income from the Shwe Gas Project also will not be used for the betterment of Burmese civilians lives; rather it will be spent on defence and the continued and deepened oppression the people of Arakan and Burma. Exact figures are hard to come by, but it is widely believed that the junta currently spends 40% of its budget on defence, despite having no external enemies. Burma is sandwiched between two of the worlds largest and most energy-hungry countries, India and China. These states rely on crude oil imports for 70% and 40% of their energy needs respectively, and are engaged in a competitive global search for gas and oil. Of late, China has often come out on top, with Indias Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) losing out to Chinese companies in Kazakhstan, Ecuador, Angola, and most recently Nigeria. Until 2007, the Shwe Gas Project significantly raised the stakes in this diplomatic game. According to Kim from the Shwe Gas Campaign in India, who has been campaigning against the project since the creation of the Shwe Gas Movement in 2004: Indias foreign policy on Burma is based upon its Look East Policy, which is essentially a realist policy. This policy emphasizes Indias own economic and security interests by neglecting human rights and democratic principles. A significant fact is that India invested US $ 150 million for the exploration of gas in Arakan state at the same time that the Burmese junta brutally cracked down on peaceful protesters, who were demanding reductions in fuel prices in September 2007. The demonstrations were in response to a 500% increase in fuel prices due to the regimes decision to remove subsidies, he added.

Discovery of the Shwe gas reserves has made Burma the venue of yet another competitive scramble between the two Asian giants; andonce again, China has come out on top. In addition to the energy resources at stake, regional power politics are a key factor at play in the states decision to invest in their internationally isolated neighbour, as neither China nor India wants the other to exert too much influence in Burma. Underlying Indias economic and political interests in Burma is a desire to counter Chinas growing influence on the country. In some ways, the gas can be seen as microcosm of the contest for global resources and political clout in the region between the two rising Asian powers. Another major threat this project has imposed on the people of Burma is that of excessive militarisation in the development regions. Since 1988, the number of infantry battalions based in the Western Command, an area that includes Arakan State and Paletwa Township of Chin State, has increased from 3 to 43 battalions. Furthermore, figures from 2006 show there are at least ten specialized battalions (such as engineering and communications), three tactical command centres, and three naval bases. The Western Commander, headquartered in the town of Ann in Arakan State, controls many of the lucrative businesses in the state as his permission is needed for any licensing and administrative procedures. This increase in militarisation has led to human rights abuses including forced labour, confiscation of land and other property, extortion, and violence. More than 53,000 acres of civilian-owned land in Arakan has been confiscated in the past to make way military infrastructure. According to Aung Marm Oo, these abuses will surely be exacerbated by a further increase of troop levels to secure the pipelines in the central part of Burma. Indeed, the effects of the project are already being felt by local fishermen. In April 2004, soldiers of the Burmese navy on the Arakan coast in the Bay of Bengal arrested fishermen inside an exclusion zone around exploratory rigs in the gas fields. The men were not aware of the restrictions, as they had previously fished that area regularly. Regardless of this, they were beaten and thrown in jail. The two pipelines are also expected to destroy vast areas of forests, which will disrupt the migration patterns of important local species, and cause droughts and floods. Further environmental dangers also are also inherent in the commercial production and transport of natural gas, such as chemical leakage into the sea and gas blowouts. This is of grave concern to communities that will benefit very little from the project itself, yet are disproportionately at risk from the dangers the project entails. As construction proceeds, promising the junta a massive boost in its revenue, the people of Arakan continue to be neglected and indeed actively oppressed, without being given any choice about what happens to their natural resources. Aung Marm Oo has urged that: All corporations involved in the Shwe Gas Project must freeze all current business with the Burmese military regime and refrain from further

investment until the affected people of Burma, through a democratically elected government, can decide on the use of their natural resources without fearing persecution. Rating 3.00 out of 5 [?]

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October 14, 2010 at 2:54 pm Since seeking for a short time for just a suitable read on the subject of this one field . Researching in Search engines I finally uncovered this great site. Seeing this post So i am thrilled to pronounce that Ive got a really good uncanny feeling I found everything that I was looking for. I most certainly will make certain to dont forget this website and look it over consistently. Work on Sino-Burma railway could start in December Share Comments (2) Tweet A high speed Chinese train (Reuters) By Joseph Allchin Published: 29 August 2011 Work on an ambitious high speed railway line between China and Burma could begin as early as December, according to the railways minister; We will start the construction of Muse-Kyauk Phyu railway in the coming December if detailed discussions on the agreement are completed, Minister for rail transportation, Aung Min told Deutscher Press-Agentur. The rail link will follow the route of the Shwe gas pipeline, that will take Burmese gas and imported oil through Burma to the capital of Chinas Yunnan state through the Muse-Ruli border crossing in Shan state to the port town of Kyauk Phyu in western Arakan State, a distance of 1950 kms. The trains will reportedly be capable of travelling up to 200 kms per hour. The whole project will take five years and cost about US $20 billion. China will bear the cost and the agreement will be based on BOT (build, operate and transfer) for 50 years, Aung Min told DPA. China has undertaken the major infrastructure project as it has sought to invigorate its western states and by pass the congested Malacca straits by Singapore. It is also desperate to bolster its energy security. Chinese high speed rail has grown at an incredible rate with some reports hinting at a desire to build a railway from Beijing to London. The building spree lead some to suggest that China alone would soon have more high speed rail track than the rest of the world put together.

Concerns over Chinas high speed rail ambition were raised in June after two trains collided in Zhejiang province killing at least 35 people and injuring around 200. However in March the Chinese commerce minister, Chen Deming expressed frustration at the slow pace of the project in Burma, telling Reuters that China had; wanted to start as soon as possible but because the [new] Myanmar [Burma] government has just been formed and because of their internal problems, we have had to wait. As a result, Aung Mins recent statement could be in part to placate the governments primary patrons in Beijing. Despite the fears of pervasive Chinese influence the connectivity that the project offers could be a boon for Burmese industry particularly in sectors such as manufacturing which are facing a difficult period owing to the strength of the kyat. Whilst the the pipelines will carry Chinas liquid assets, with some US$ 20 million worth of Saudi oil traversing the country per day, the rail line will likely carry a large quantity of harder commodities, placing ever increasing Chinese strategic imperative in Burma. Activists decry Shwe pipeline abuses Share Comments (0) Tweet By AFP Published: 6 September 2011 Pipelines believed to be destined for areas along the Shwe pipeline route are seen in storage in the Chinese town of Jegao in June (DVB) Huge energy projects to transport oil and gas across Burma to China are fuelling human rights abuses, including forced labour, violence, evictions and land confiscation, activists warned Tuesday.

The deployment of 6,600 government troops to guard a corridor for the pipelines, being laid from Burmas western coast to its north-eastern border with China, risks increasing abuses and ethnic unrest, according to a report by the Shwe Gas Movement. The community-based campaign organisation said that pipeline-related infrastructure is being built with forced labour and land has been confiscated to make way for project roads and military camps. It urged firms such as China National Petroleum Corp and South Koreas Daewoo International to withdraw from the projects, which will transport natural gas from Burma and oil from the Middle East and Africa to China. Govt minister promises full compensation for rail line Share Comments (0) Tweet A high speed Chinese train (Reuters) By Joseph Allchin Published: 5 September 2011 A government Minister has pledged that those displaced by a planned high speed rail line running the length of the country to China will receive full compensation. Railways Minister, Aung Min told the Myanmar Times that; We are negotiating in detail with the Chinese side on all issues, including compensation for the land needed to construct the line. The 800 kilometre line will run along side the Shwe Gas pipeline from Kyauk Phyu in western Arakan state to the China border crossing in Shan states Muse. Rights groups have highlighted a lack of compensation as a serious concern with large scale infrastructure projects, such as the Shwe gas pipeline and the Myitsone dam, both of which are Chinese lead. Perhaps more significant for the government however is serious anti Chinese feeling in the country, with the scale of investments and influence causing resentment. If the land is privately owned, we will evaluate the value with the local authorities and the Chinese company will pay that price to the ownersAung Min told the Myanmar Times, adding that; We are doing everything to protect our people so they are not cheated.

A report into the adjacent pipeline by rights group Earth Rights International (ERI) suggested that compensation was inadequate and subject to corrupt practices on the ground, causing serious problems for subsistence communities, who rely on the land. With land ownership often tenuous or ill defined critics claim that many poorer agriculturalists lose out in such instances. The line will reportedly be Burmas first high speed rail line and will take approximately 5 years to complete. Aung Min stated it would cost the Chinese state owned rail company some US $20 billion. As with many large scale projects the line would be constructed on a build operate transfer (BOT) system where by the line would be paid for in full by the Chinese, giving them exclusive use and ownership for a designated time; We might give China Railways Engineering Corporation the right to operate the line for 50 years, Aung Min told the Myanmar Times. It was earlier reported that work on the line could start as early as December, adding to Chinas high speed network, already the largest in the world. The Burma line would form part of a strategic network that China is allegedly pursuing as part of a south-south corridor that looks not only to improve connectivity and cut costs for industry but also to open up its western states. Russian gas giant eyeing Burma Share Comments (1) Tweet Russian President Dimitry Medvedev with gas executives from E.ON and Gazprom By Joseph Allchin Published: 31 August 2011 Officials from Russian state run gas company, Gazprom visited Burmas capital Naypyidaw earlier this month, according to the International Oil Daily. The company is interested in becoming involved in gas projects in Burma as it looks to expand its Asian presence. Russia has the largest proven reserves of gas in the world and as result the company is the largest extractor of natural gas in the world as well as the largest Russian company.

Its revenues in 2010 alone were in the region of US$ 17.2 billion, which is equivalent to roughly a third of Burmas total estimated GDP. The officials who visited however were from Gazproms international up stream branch, Gazprom EP International, which is registered in the Netherlands, an EU member state which is party to EU sanctions on the country. The German company E.ON also has a small stake in Gazprom. The Burmese government for their part are interested in the expertise that the company can offer in terms of equipment, storage facilities, pipelines and fior the company to conduct geological surveys. The company is reportedly looking to diversify its market away from the sluggish EU economies, as Chinas growing appetite for energy looks set to over take demand from the European block in 2030. China however is busy acquiring sources of gas in its neighbourhood in both central Asia and Burma. The Burmese government has also been looking to acquire more domestic know how in the oil & gas sector. They have been insisting that Burmese companies form joint ventures with foreign companies in the on shore gas sector. Investment in the gas & oil sector has remained buoyant, so much so that it has caused a massive appreciation of the Burmese kyat as it has increased in value by over 20% over the last year. Tags: gas, gazprom, Russia Author: Joseph Allchin Category: Economics, News

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1. ghettodog says:
September 1, 2011 at 5:18 pm Given the opportunity they would do business with the Devil himself. Pipelines to China Become New Target For Burmese Activists By BA KAUNG Thursday, October 6, 2011

Construction taking place on the China-Burma pipeline from Burma's western coast to Yunnan Province, China. (Photo: Xinhua) Chinese-backed strategic oil and natural gas pipelines under construction in Burma have become the new target for Burmese activists following President Thein Seins suspension last weekunder heavy public pressureof the controversial Chinese-backed Myitsone Dam hydropower project in Kachin State. Citing human rights violations, activists on Thursday called for the similar suspension of the US $ 2.5 billion oil and natural gas pipelines being constructed by state-owned China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC). The pipelines are to start at the Bay of Bengal in Arakan State on Burma's western coast, travel through central and northeastern Burma, and end in Yunnan Province, China. Widespread land confiscation to make way for the pipeline corridor has already left countless people landless and jobless, while others along the pipeline are facing human rights violations and exploitation, said a group of Burmese activists from the Shwe Gas Movement, a campaign group opposing the exploitation of Burmas natural gas reserves, in a statement on Thursday. The oil pipeline, which CNPC was granted exclusive rights to build

Map showing the route to be followed by the China-Burma oil and gas pipelines. (Photo: Shwe Gas Movement)

and operate, is even more economically and strategically important to China than the $ 3.6 billion Myitsone Dam, which was expected to generate 6,000-megawatts of electricity that would be sent mostly to China. The pipeline, with an estimated capacity of 20 million tons of crude oil per year that will enjoy tax concessions and customs clearance rights from the Burmese government, will enable China to bypass the Strait of Malacca when importing crude oil from the Middle East and Africa, saving an estimated 1,200 km shipping distance. As part of the oil pipeline project, China is also constructing a deep-water crude oil unloading port and oil storage facilities on Burmas Maday Island off the coast of Arakan Statean investment that will provide China with crucial access to the geopolitically strategic Indian Ocean, where the US is poised to increase its navy presence in the coming decade. The gas pipeline, scheduled to be completed in 2013, will be used to transport Burmese natural gas from the Shwe Natural Gas Fields located off the Arakan coast to Yunnan Province. The pipeline projects have angered the people and politicians in Arakan State, which is rich with Burmas largest oil and natural gas reserves but has a poor electricity supply. On Sept 27, Ba Shin, an opposition MP representing Kyaukphyu Island off the Arakan coast, submitted a question to the national Parliament in Naypyidaw, asking whether his constituency would receive a share of the natural gas extracted from the Shwe Natural Gas Fields for the purpose of improving the islands electricity supply. In response, Energy Minister Than Htay reminded Ba Shin that the previous military government awarded China the right to purchase and export the natural gas generated by the Shwe Natural Gas Fields for the next 30 years, and therefore the gas was unavailable for local use. People opposed the Myitsone Dam because they don't want their natural resources being used to line the pockets of the regime and corporations with atrocious reputations, all at the expense of local people. The Shwe Gas Project must be stopped, recognizing that like the dam, it will be destructive socially and economically, said Wong Aung, an Arakan activist with the Shwe Gas Movement. On Monday, China's Xinhua news agency reported that construction of the pipeline was "proceeding smoothly" and that CNPC said it gave $1.3 million to Burma this week to help build eight schools in the country, as part of an agreement signed in April to provide $6 million of aid. "Construction of the fourth stage of the oil and gas pipeline [within Burma] commenced on October 1, which is being built by CNPC Chuanqing Drilling Engineering Co. The pipeline project will continue after the rainy season in Myanmar [Burma]," Xinhua said. Any major obstacle to pipeline construction, such as the broad-based public movement which prompted the Burmese president to suspend the Myitsone Dam project, could be a devastating blow to ChinaBurma relations.

Napyidaw's decision to suspend construction of the Myitsone Dam has already angered Beijing, which has called for the protection of the legal rights of the Chinese companies that have invested in the project. Arakan Suffering for China's Pipeline By KHIN OO THAR Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Workers building the Kyaukpru deep seaport project (Photo:The Irrawaddy) We can't go to school on rainy days as the road condition is not good, said Aung Aung, a sixth grade student, while walking carefully to avoid the many muddy ponds along the street.

Holding sandals in hand as they are useless on the squelching surface, Aung Aung and his classmates trundle home wearing faded school uniforms and bags across their shoulders. The school-friends live in New Leikkamaw and have to walk for more than an hour down this sodden stretch to reach their school in Gonchain, near Kyaukpru Township, in Arakan State. Even though the road has never been sealed with tar it was still even and so considered of good quality for the area. People from nearby villages could use it all year, and around 400 middle and high school students from New and Old Leikkamaw, Malakyun and Pyinshay villages would walk back and forth to lessons everyday. The road condition, however, has deteriorated ever since a deep seaport project began on Maday Island in Kyaukpru. The smooth surface became churned up by trucks taking building materials to the construction site. Every day trucks weighing 20-30 tonnes use this road, and it has been destroyed as it can only handle around five tonnes. As a result, children can't go to school when heavy rain falls, a villager from Gonchain explained. He added that the local authorities and company officials have been informed about its dire condition, but no one has yet taken any action. But it is not just the education of children that has suffered. A farmer from Kyaukpru's Ohndaw Village told The Irrawaddy that farmlands adjacent to the project site became like ponds as more earth gets piled onto them, blocking the flow of water into paddy fields. Around 30 farmers and their families will find it difficult to support themselves next year as they cannot cultivate rice this season, he said. Apart from the deep seaport, other construction works currently underway in Kyaukpru include oil and gas reservoirs, a gas refinery and pipelines. These projects have been implemented by China National Petroleum Corporation, one of the biggest companies in China, other Chinese energy firms as well as South Korea's Daewoo and Hyundai, and domestic companies including Asia World, Myanmar Golden Crown and 7-Star and Petroleum Services Consultancy (PSC). Meanwhile, Htoo Company owned by Tay Za, one of Burma's wealthiest businessmen, is reported to have been taking care of pipeline transportation. Companies from India, Malaysia, the Philippines and Korea are reportedly involved in the project to extend the pipelines. A number of local people employed to perform menial work in these projects say that they have been exploited by Chinese supervisors and other Burmese coming from the cities. We had to sign for 8,000 kyat [US $10] wages per day but were actually given only 2,500 kyat [$3]. Around 100 employees have been dismissed from their jobs because they complained about it, said a

worker from Kyarkpru's Pikeseik Ward, who collects meagre daily wages helping to build a gas refinery near Gangawdaw Pagoda in town. Those who were fired from one project are reportedly blacklisted from future employment and have their names on noticeboards at other work sites. I have applied for another job five times after being fired by the PSC but none of the companies have accepted me as I am on the blacklist, said Maung Than. He said that he was promised a salary of 120,000 kyat [$154] but received only 75,000 kyat [$96] at the end of the month. He therefore reported the matter to the local authorities, but was dismissed and threatened with jail by his boss, a man called Zaw Moe, if he complained again. According to some employees, they had to spend 20,000 kyat [$26] just to fill out application forms and gain workers' identification cards. Some people say they are seeking legal help to submit their complaints to the International Labour Organization regarding the abuses. And Kyaukpru residents told The Irrawaddy that many people in Maday and Malar Islands are facing disaster as their villages and farmlands, which they have worked on for generations, have been confiscated and destroyed with minimal compensation. A villager from Kyauktan Village on Maday Island said that he had five acres of farmland and a garden but everything has been confiscated. I no longer have any farmland to cultivate rice. My garden was also confiscated for the project so I am now working as a brick carrier for survival. I am paid 2,000 kyat [$2.5] a day, he explained. Kyaukpru is located in the far north of Ramree Island at the base of the Bay of Bengal. Deep-sea Port, Pipelines Have 'Devastating Impact': Shwe Gas By SAW YAN NAING Tuesday, September 6, 2011

BANGKOKThe construction of China's deep-sea port off the Arakan coast, and the laying of gas and oil pipelines across Burma is having a devastating impact on thousands of people and the environment, according to a report released on Tuesday. The report by the Shwe Gas Movement, titled Sold Out, said the ongoing projects, which involve Chinese, Korean and Burmese cooperation, have directly affected 80,000 people displaced along the 800-km (500 mi) pipeline route. The dual pipelines will pump Burmas natural gas reserves as well as oil transported from the Middle East and Africa across the country to feed Chinas energy needs. The regime is selling our economic future to China, said Wong Aung of the Shwe Gas Movement at a press conference in Bangkok on Tuesday. While China takes energy from Burma, some 79 percent of Burmese people live without electricity, said Wong Aung, quoting regional energy research.

The report stated that widespread land confiscationto make way for the pipeline corridoris leaving farmers jobless while fishing grounds are now off limits, contributing to rising migration. Local people are able to secure only low-wage, temporary and unsafe jobs on the project. They are banned from demanding fair wages. To date, 60 workers at the onshore Gas Terminal site alone have been fired for demanding fair wages, said the report. Wong Aung said that 33 Burmese army battalions are currently deployed along the pipeline corridor in Arakan and Shan states. Naval patrols guard offshore construction, and a missile complex is also being built next to the deep-sea port. The Burmese government has ordered its troops to launch offensives to clear ethnic armed groups out of resource-rich areas in northern Kachin and Shan States since March 2011, leaving thousands of people displaced, according to the report. Wong Aung said that lands have been confiscated along the pipeline route and 80,000 people in 21 townships have been directly affected. From a human rights perspective, Lway Aye Nang of the Palaung Womens Organization said that local villagers have already experienced forced labor, forced relocation and land confiscations in the Palaung area of Shan State. Some plantations were seized even though the owners didnt know, said Lway Aye Nang, adding that the new government takes no responsibility for the affected people. The report also tackled environmental issues. The clearing of forest areas and animal corridors for the pipeline route and the potential for explosions and leaks could impact areas across the country, it said. Shwe Gas Movement said oil spills and refuse disposal off the coast endanger the entire catchment area of the Bay of Bengal, while fuel discharge as well as oil leaks and spills from the tankers offloading at the deep-sea port would have devastating impacts on the coastal ecosystem, particularly mangrove forests. The development of large-scale petrochemical facilities on Remree and Maday islands increases the likelihood of deadly spills or the outright dumping of toxic materials into the sea and local waterways. The construction project incorporating the deep-sea port, the gas terminal and oil transfers involves the China National Petroleum Corporation and companies from South Korea and Burma. Despite the outbreak of armed conflicts, the companies, however, have speeded up the construction. The report said the natural gas, if used domestically, would transform Burmas failing economy, addressing chronic energy shortages and unaffordable petrol prices that led to uprisings in 2007. The gas will instead be exported and revenues from the sale of gasestimated at US $29 billionwill be swallowed up by a fiscal black hole that omits gas revenues from the national budget. The investors should pull out now before the project blows up in their faces, said Wong Aung.

14 Die, Hundreds Injured in Pipeline Fire By THE IRRAWADDY Monday, October 25, 2010

More than a dozen people die and nearly 100 are injured in a explosion and fire near an oil pipeline near a village in Pakoku Township in central Burma on Sunday, according to local residents. The blaze took place when local villagers were collecting oil leaking from the pipeline. While the villagers were skimming the oil, the fire broke out. Eight people were killed and about 70 were injured, said a local resident. Accounts of the number of dead and injured varied. A doctor at told a local The

hospital

Irrawaddy that he knew of two people dead and 21 people injured in the accident who were are being treated at the hospital. Many of the injured were from Kyaunchaung and Myit Chaykyar villages in Pakoku, said local Flames reach into the sky on Sunday night after a fire in which more than a dozen people died and scores were injured. (Photo: AFP) hospital because of fear the authorities would take action against them. The Agency France Presse news agency reported that 14 people died and more than 100 were injured in the fire. About 200 villagers were collecting oil from the leaking state-owned pipeline when someone lit a flame to see in the dark, said a local resident. Authorities shut down the 20-mile long pipeline after the fire ignited. The Politics of Building a Gas Pipeline By J J KIM Tuesday, September 8, 2009 sources, who added that many of the injured refused to go to a

While the Western world continues to debate whether economic sanctions can make change in Burma, the sale of gas to China from the offshore Shwe gas fields in Arakan State threatens to raise the juntas revenue from foreign investment to new heights and strengthen business ties throughout Asia. Furthermore, the parallel gas and oil pipelines, which are reportedly starting construction this month from Arakan State to Yunnan Province, China, via Magwe Division, Mandalay Division and Shan State, have been criticised by human rights groups as a major contributing factor to the recent conflict in northern Shan State. According to a report titled Corridor of Power released by the Shwe Gas Movement (SGM), the pipeline will make the junta at least US $29 billion over the next 30 years. Much of this is expected to be spent on military expansion, despite the current famine in Arakan State and poverty across the country.

Source: Shwe Gas Movement

Moreover, the report claims, construction of the pipelines, which are being built primarily by the China National Petroleum Company (CNPC), is likely to lead to human rights abuse across the country and a re-ignition of fighting between the regime and ceasefire armies stationed along the pipeline. According to Khur Hseng from Shan Sapawa, who has been researching the impact of the pipeline in Shan State since 2007, these fears were confirmed during the armed confrontation between the military government and the ethnic Kokang Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) in late August. The fighting took place just 50 km from the proposed pipeline route, killing 200 people and leading to a mass exodus of up to 30,000 civilians to China.

The main objective of the SPDC is to clear all opposing forces from the area for development projects, including the Shwe Gas pipeline, said Khur Hseng. They are trying to clear the people who will be against the plans and control the area so the true information about the project cant get out. China needs this as well because they limit their media too. According to Wong Aung, the international coordinator of SGM, despite reports from the Chinese media about the projects commencement, in fact the risk of local opposition and conflict is too great for the project to make much progress this year. It is impossible to start now; maybe just some foundations in Arakan State or Magwe. Before they start they will have to clear out all political, ethnic and conflict issues on the border. They will have to deploy propagation in so many places along the pipeline first, to ensure security. The sale of gas and oil is currently the juntas biggest earner, bringing in almost US $3.5 billion annually. According to the report, from 2013 onwards the Shwe Gas Project, which is headed by the South Korean company Daewoo International, will bring in close to another US $1 billion. This has raised concerns among pro-democracy campaigners and analysts, who say the deal will entrench military rule in the country by financing the regime and strengthening their political clout in the region. Wong Aung said It will harm the democratic process if the regime continues to receive the revenue from this sector . The regime is receiving that money and creating conflicts in the ethnic areas. Basically, institutional investors and companies who are supporting the regime's projects are damaging the stability of the region. According to Larry Jagan, a long-term observer of Sino-Burmese relations, One of China's main concerns is natural resources, so any major project is important to them from an economic point of view. This is of particular significance with the pipeline agreement as it offers China an alternative trade route for oil and gas from Africa and the Middle East too. Until now, such imports have had to pass through the US-Navy controlled Malacca Strait taking seven days longer than they would through Burma. One thing that is apparent [from the recent conflict in northern Shan State] is that Burma holds the cards. Burmas new assertiveness is not an economic game-changer Share Comments (7) Tweet By BRIAN MCCARTAN Published: 11 November 2011

President Thein Sein stands alongside Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao during a visit to Beijing in May (Reuters) The suspension of the Myitsone dam project could signal a shift in how business is done in Burma in the future. The greater awareness of development projects of national importance by both the parliament and the public calls into question whether the backroom deals between foreign investors and military cronies will continue to be tolerated. President Thein Sein announced that construction on the Myitsone hydropower dam would be suspended for the term of his presidency on 30 September. The announcement came as a shock to the state-owned China Power Investment Corporation (CPI), which soon after threatened a series of legal issues. Beijing followed up by calling for respect for the rights of Chinese companies and friendly talks to discuss the issue. The $US3.6 billion project had been agreed to in 2005 during the previous military junta of Senior General Than Shwe. Following the 2010 elections a growing grassroots campaign in Kachin state to stop the project out of environmental and social concerns gathered speed. It began to be discussed on a national level by intellectuals, artists, parliamentarians and opposition figures including Aung San Suu Kyi. The dam became a symbol of Chinas growing economic and financial influence in Burma. The project was described as having little benefit for Burma, but 90 percent of the electricity was earmarked for China. Many were aware that the deal was done with hardliners in the military junta, some of whom are members of the current government. Numerous hypotheses have been extended to explain Thein Seins actions. They range from a newfound responsiveness to the will of the people, to a power struggle between reformers and hardliners in the government. Others see it as a move to appease the US and Europe, while some claim it is an attempt to stave off a destabilising split in the military leadership over growing Chinese economic and financial influence. Thein Sein may or may not have had the concerns of the people at heart when he made his decision, and it may have been part of a power struggle between reformers and hardliners, but he certainly could not ignore the scrutiny being placed on a project of national importance by members of both the public and military. It was apparent that

certain generals and businessmen and certainly China were going to make a healthy profit on the deal at the expense of the country. The new democratic system in Burma and calls for reform by Thein Sein and others in the government have played into feelings of nationalism on the part of the public and certain members of the parliament and most importantly elements of the military. At least on this point some senior officers, former members of the military junta and the average Burmese citizen found common ground. What this may mean for future foreign investment in Burma is that projects will be under much more scrutiny. Investors may no longer be able to secure a deal by meeting with a well-connected businessman, gaining an audience with a general, and providing a few presents. In the future they will have to take into account the mood of the public, and certainly more importantly, the nationalist frame of reference of the military. Already some members of parliament have called for parliamentary oversight of projects that potentially affect national interests. Chinese companies, in particular, may have to take on a much lower profile to avoid fueling popular anger over Chinese commercial dominance and ownership of local land. Chinese companies are involved in some of the highest profile investment projects, including the Kyaukphyu deep-sea port project and a 790-kilometre dual oil and gas pipeline that will run the length of the country to Chinas southwestern Yunnan province. Documentation from human rights and civil society groups alleges widespread confiscation of land and forced relocation of villages. Additionally, the projects are being built with substantial Chinese labour with most of the direct benefit going to China. Payments received for the projects go directly to the government with little apparent benefit for the local populations near the projects. It remains to be seen, however, whether the intersection of public and military interests and nationalist sentiment will result in a public debate on these projects as well. There is unlikely to be a large-scale review of Chinese investment projects in the country, nor a pullout by Chinese companies. China remains Burmas preeminent patron in terms of foreign direct investment and aid. Beijing also continues to act as a buffer from foreign criticism in international forums, particularly at the UN Security Council. China, likewise, needs Burma for its strategic geographical location as a link to the Indian Ocean, as a provider of natural resources, and a source of energy in terms of electricity and oil and gas. Most analysts agree that neither side can make moves that would truly jeopardise their close, if wary, relationship. In the immediate aftermath of the suspension, Thein Sein made it clear that talks would continue between Naypyidaw and Beijing to bolster their strong bilateral relations. Burmese Foreign Minster U Wunna Maung Lwin was dispatched to Beijing on 10 October

where he held talks with Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping and Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi. It is presumed that the dam project was the main topic of discussion. China became Burmas largest foreign investor last this year. Burmese-language magazine, Weekly Eleven, wrote in September that over $US3 billion in investments was made by China between November 2010 and January 2011. Chinese official statistics indicate Chinas investment reached $US12.3 billion in 2010 with bilateral trade amounting to $US5.3 billion during the fiscal year 2010-2011. Chinese state-owned and private companies are heavily invested in hydropower, natural resources extraction, commercial agriculture and infrastructure development. During a visit by Thein Sein to Beijing in May, 36 agreements and Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) were signed, including $US4.2 billion worth of interest-free loans to help fund hydropower projects, road and railway development, and information technology development over a 30-year period. For once the public and elements of the military found themselves in agreement on an issue. This, however, is unlikely to be the norm. Large-scale development projects may come in for more scrutiny and less scrupulous generals, their cronies and Chinese business partners may have to be more circumspect about how they do business, but, at least for the time being, Naypyidaw has few other options than to rely on China. Dark economics fuels Burmas perpetual war Share Comments (7) Tweet By MAUNG ZARNI Published: 16 November 2011 Burmese in Malaysia protest the China-backed Myitsone dam, which is seen as a key catalyst of war in Kachin state (Reuters) As Burmas independence dawned in 1948, the countrys sizeable ethnic populations found themselves released from the clutch of the British Raj into the grip of the dominant

Burmese nationalists. The latter had promised them equality and autonomy, but instead they were forced to accept a new state and constitution that for all intents and purposes was unitary. Successive regimes have since been on a mission to revive the local imperial vision of Burma, carried through today by President Thein Seins pseudo-parliamentary government that has in its crosshairs the resource-rich lands currently under the feet of defiant ethnic groups. That vision is being aided by an international consortium of business-hungry vultures, from Wall Street to the Asian Development Bank who, knowingly or not, are fuelling the pacification of minority communities. The ostensible guardians of Burmas minorities, the armed resistance movements, have evolved to tackle these new realities. From historic quests for independence, these groups are now battling to prevent the government and its allies from carving up the delicate but lucrative lands they inhabit. Those efforts have stepped up in line with a post-Cold War shift in priorities for Burma that has seen neighbours such as China and Thailand drop their support for armed groups and instead turn to the emerging capitalists pulling the strings in Rangoon and, latterly, Naypyidaw. The economics of Burmas ethnic conflicts therefore arent just about the struggle over the control of the means of production, wage disputes and working conditions, but have a far more ominous, primitive dimension: the aspiring capitalist state in Burma, under a new generation of generals, now wants and needs nothing less than complete and effective control over commercial and strategic lands. Worse still, the problem for the anti-Rangoon ethnic rebels such as the Kachin Independence Organisation and Karen National Union wasnt simply that external support from Beijing and Bangkok dried up; the crucial neighbourhood powers decided instead to court Rangoon for highly lucrative commercial deals in resource extraction, arms sales, cross-border trade, and bilateral strategic and commercial cooperation. Their sights were set on the creation of a regional market for energy, special economic zones, construction of trans-boundary gas and oil pipelines, railroads, highways and deep sea ports. In fact, not only do Burmas ethnic border regions make up some 60 percent of the countrys total land area, but they are strategically and commercially crucial for the new priorities of the postCold War era, and thus have been engulfed in conflict. Further, these areas either contain or provide access to many of the countrys natural resource reserves, such as alluvial agricultural lands, offshore gas and oil, copper, tungsten, gold, lead, uranium, rare earth materials, precious stones, and teak and other hardwood. It is impossible to know where the ideological parameters of the Burmese militarys nationalism ends, and where the desire for control of land and other economic resources begins. If the absence of clarity among Burmas domestic ethno-nationalists is an issue, promarket external players are crystal clear about their Burma priorities. In the eyes of venture capitalists and corporate investors from Wall Street to Tokyo, to development agencies like the World Bank and its regional proxy Asian Development Bank (ADB), and

the myriad EU-based development agencies, Burmas war zones have come to be seen as virgin but strategic lands waiting to be penetrated by international businesses near and afar. The liberal West and the illiberal Naypyidaw have finally stumbled on a profitable common ground, while for its part, ASEAN is determined to transform itself from the regions Cold War-era, anti-Red China bloc to pro-market regional business competitor of the emerging state-capitalist China. As the largest mainland bridge between South Asia and the ASEAN region, the conflict-soaked Burma is indispensible for the bloc as it pursues its grand commercial design, forging a region-wide expansive and integrated market which will facilitate the trading of electricity, petrochemicals and industrial and consumer goods across the borders of 10 different nations. Commercial stakes are just too high for external players to allow Burmas war-torn communities such political luxuries as peace, ethnic reconciliation, basic human rights and some semblance of popular sovereignty. For instance, some $US550 billion is expected to change hands within ASEAN over the next 25 years, backed by an assemblage of Western institutions from the World Bank to the Norwegian Government. They intend to create a single energy market across the Greater Mekong Sub-Region wherein electricity is generated in a least industrialised economy such as Burmas, before being exported across the borders to fast-industrialising economies of China and Thailand. Imagine the gigantic windfall from two dozen similar schemes, from infrastructure construction to fostering a multi-billion dollar agri-industry; from market-friendly government reforms and national capacity building to mass tourism. It is this background which explains why the misleadingly named International Crisis Group, whose primary concern is turning the worlds conflict zones into markets, keeps its Burma focus on the business-readiness of the countrys ruling generals and ex-generals, as opposed to the continuing ethnic conflicts there, the worlds oldest. business is, well, collateral damage. For the past 200 years at least, Burma has been seen as a strategic venue by outside powers, be they European imperialists such as the French and the British in the 19th Century, or the 20th Century imperial and fascist powers of the US and Japan during the Second World War. These countries have always seen Burma as a commercial backdoor to China and India, a military launching pad, a half-way safe harbour, and a resource brothel. From its inception in a military coup in 1962 until the collapse of its foundational dictatorship in 1988, Rangoons regime had adopted the Burmese Way to Socialism, fenced off the territories under their direct control, and fought a myriad of existing and emerging ethnic independence seekers. In those Cold War days, neighbouring powers such as Thailand, India, and China allied themselves with, indeed often supporting, these antiThe business of the world post-Cold War is, largely, business, and anything else that stands in the way of

Rangoon forces in exchange for serving the neighbours interests as frontier buffers and commercial partners. As for the ethnic armed resistance movements, reeling from the unexpected loss of their commercial and strategic advantages following China and Thailands relinquishing of support, many groups opted for ceasefire deals with Rangoon. The KNU, the oldest and perhaps the only ethnic resistance movement that steered clear of the frontiers lucrative narcotics industry, and others such as the Karenni National Progressive Party and the Shan State Army factions, decided to keep fighting. They considered Rangoons ceasefire offers not as a step towards lasting peace, but rather as a part of its long-standing policy of divide-and-rule along ethnic lines. Despite the socialist banner under which Burmas generals have operated, the majority that have pulled the countrys strings since General Ne Wins way to socialism have been more than happy to switch ideologies. Right after the bloody crackdown of the 1988 uprising in the heartlands of the Burman majority, which united the mainstream society across ethnic and professional lines, the new crop of generals decided to open up the country to international capital as a way of shoring itself up and filling its empty coffers. The Burmese Way to Capitalism began around December 1988 when the military signed away $US120 million worth of logging and mining concessions, as well as fishing licenses, to Thai companies with close links to the Thai army. Similar concessions were also made to China, which produced and exported over 2,000 commodities designed for Burmas 50 million-strong market, while importing teak, minerals, forestry products, and agricultural produce fromBurma. That turned China-Burma cross-border trade into a multi-billion dollar business. The move by the Burmese military leadership to open up the country including the frontier regions where the civil war is still waging to international businesses has turned out to be the single most important decision made by the Burmese generals. It has precipitated a major windfall for them and their military in terms of commercial gains, strategic advantages, new international alliances and class-based politics at home. Strategically, the Burmese military pre-empted, rather successfully, any inter-ethnic alliance between the Aung San Suu Kyi-led ethnic majority in mainland Burma and about 20 different armed ethnic movements across the countrys vast frontier territories of Kachin, Shan, Wa, Karenni, Karen, and Mon states. Between 1989 and 1999, as many as 17 different ethnic resistance organisations struck ceasefire deals with Rangoon, reasoning that a truce would at least bring some developmental benefits for their own ethnic peoples, and lucrative personal businesses for the ethnic leaders.

The loss of military, ideological and material support from their neighbourhood backers such as China and Thailand had forced some of the staunchest foes of the Burmese regime, such as the Kachin Independence Organisation, to sue for ceasefires in the early 1990s. Because these agreements included concessions for top ethnic leaders to do business in their own areas and get rich quick, they created, accelerated and deepened the new class division within the ethnic resistance communities and eventually fractured them, to the Burmese regimes strategic advantage. These deals then further split the existing inter-ethnic alliances among the resistance forces, but also between the ceasefire groups and the emerging opposition movement of the majority Burmese, led by Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy. History would be nothing, however, without ironies. Since the bloody crackdown of 1988, and after having been condemned and shunned by the West for two decades as a consequence, the generals have successfully primed western interests in Burmas economic and strategic potentials, including those of the countrys frontier areas. Thanks to Asian commercial interests and global oil corporations, the regime has succeeded in filling its once-empty coffers with billions of dollars from the windfall revenues of Burmas resources. Apparently Naypyidaw has decided that it is in its best interest to invert its strategic logic in dealing with dissent and rebellion at home: from a position of crushing Suu Kyis mainstream opposition and neutralising the ethnic armies via ceasefires, the government has decided to zero in on any ethnic resistance groups, ceasefire or active, which refuse to accept peace on Naypyidaws terms. It is this new strategic logic which underlies the regimes post-election moves. One clear example is the attempts to induce the breakdown of its lengthy ceasefire deal with the Kachin army on the ostensible grounds that it was threatening the China-backed Myitsone dam project. These are indeed exciting days for the Burmese generals. Having failed to vanquish their nearest enemy with domestic and western support, they have now gotten Suu Kyi on board, along with Burmese commercial and technocratic elites. At the same time, the antiChinese west has combined with ASEANs commercial and strategic interests to converge nicely in Naypyidaws favour. Now, for the first time since the ethnic rebellions erupted 60 years ago, the generals are in the best position to make the non-Bama ethnic resistance sign peace deals. Support among international players for this resource conquest is unprecedented, and the countrys myriad minority groups now face a choice of either acceding to Naypyidaws demands, or readying for possible elimination. Dr Maung Zarni is a visiting fellow at the Civil Society and Human Security Research Unit, London School of Economics, United Kingdom.

Tags: burma, china, Kachin, myanmar, Myitsone, thailand, wall street, world bank Author: MAUNG ZARNI Category: Analysis

Comments

1. Ne Myo Win says:

November 16, 2011 at 10:15 am Congrats, Dr. Zarni! At a time of chaos and xenophobia created by the Junta and their collaborators in Burma, you can still be an honest and frank person. Keep going on like this. Our Burma needs people like you!

2. Soe Thane says:

November 16, 2011 at 12:14 pm @Ne Myo Win Our Burma needs people who criticize from thousands of miles away but wont lift a finger and actually come to Burma and help anyone?

3. tocharian says:
November 17, 2011 at 5:48 am Maung Zarni knows how to pack a maximum of marketable words into a minimum of ostensible content!

4. Garrett says:
November 17, 2011 at 8:33 am Soe Thane wrote: Our Burma needs people who criticize from thousands of miles away but wont lift a finger and actually come to Burma and help anyone? Dear Soe Thane, Where someone is makes no difference, what they write does. People who make sense & understand the dynamics involved in Burmese politics can help the Burmese people by promoting the truth from anywhere on the planet. I cant recall any occassion where your comments addressed the issues OR the needs of the Burmese people. And when I say the Burmese people, I mean all of them, not just the ones who work in the garment & tourist industries, but those whose farms are being confiscated, whose villages are being burned, whose children are dying of malnutrition & untreated diseases. Too many Burmese ethnic minority families starve because their crops are destroyed at

harvest, or have been displaced because their homes & ricefields have been or will soon be inundated behind the regimes dams. Too many ethnic minority wives, sisters, & daughters are being raped by the Burma army, while the ethnic minority churches, schools, clinics & cultures are being destroyed to this day by order of Than Shwes hand-picked sheepskin-clad regime & their natural resources are being extracted by the regimes cronies. Note to Dr Zarni, While as usual you make it easier for those who are new to Burmese politics to understand many issues which have been traditionally left out of discussion, I think any irony or cynicism are wasted on foreigners who dont understand Burmese politics. Also, wherever possible, when using the term Western, it would be helpful to differentiate between European nations & the United States whose approaches to Burma are vastly different. If it is a European investor like Germany, France, or Norway you are describing, please describe the investment in that countrys currency (e.g. Norwegian Krone or Euro) instead of the US dollar which can be confusing. Thanks!

5. Norman hla says:

November 17, 2011 at 2:20 pm Dear Garrett, i agree your comment against on Zarni for his style of writing because many Burmese students can not be able to understand Zarnis writing style as i have told him earlier before although i myself is interested in his comment against on killer than shwe. Note to Dr Zarni by you are as follow; While as usual you make it easier for those who are new to Burmese politics to understand many issues which have been traditionally left out of discussion, I think any irony or cynicism are wasted on foreigners who dont understand Burmese politics. To Soe thane i never read your comment from now on because i know you are cleaning than shwes toilet in Nay-Pyi-Daw with your PhD from than shwes bama military school.

6. Ohn says:
November 20, 2011 at 4:52 am This unfortunately is the reality of Burma. All along the history of the world, no one really does anything for the oppressed until the pressure point gives way to uprisings. Majority Burmese would never be reading these or other writings and would simply have to believe the sayings of people they trust like Aung San Suu Kyi. That has been the most dangerous situation where she put her self with millions of followers -for the at least propaganda the use of the military men . Two simple disagreements with the article. I believe the Khin Nyunt deals from 1989 with various arms groups were simply to pacify them for a period (which lasted about 2 decades) while the military has to deal with their real enemies- their own citizens who has

been feeding them all their lives. For the real enemies of the Burmese military has always been and will be the people of Burma. ( Please go and see in the north and east of the country now.) And the genuine basis of Burmese economy (apart from partial involvement of selling off natural reserves owned by all citizens to used only by a small group people and the military itself ) IS the opium and later opium as well as synthetic drugs with exports going to Thailand, China, Australia, Europe and The United States. Without opium the Burmese economy robbery resources. of would the have natural collapsed even with theft and

7. Norman hla says:

November 23, 2011 at 11:13 am Khin Nyunt signed peace agreement with ethnics for 2 decades Bama is due to 1988 cities democratic

uprising as the results of very very poor economy in Burma. Ne win, saw maung and than shwe could not use the Bama-Chinese clash in 1967 again as a scape-goat at that time. Khin Nyunt needed money for weapon and poor Burma so he made initiation for opium plantation in poor ethnics areas as well. Khin Nynt had no good intention(sincerely) to sign this ethnics peace agreement. I never hear that the people-majority ethnics( living in the north and east of Burma ) made and makes invasion to Rangoon and Mandalay. Ethnics want to live peacefully on their own land. Bama military rulers have no moral and ethical characters so they kill and are killing the ethnics for bama-nization in addition to get their cheap military titles( thura, theha, Maha-real rubbish). Oil giant to wait on Burma expansion Share Comments (1) Tweet By FRANCIS WADE Published: 13 October 2011 Total CEO Christophe de Margerie speaks during a news conference to present the

company's 2010 annual results in Paris (Reuters) French oil giant Total will wait until further signs of progress on democratic reform in Burma before moving to expand its controversial operations in the country, CEO Christophe de Margerie has said. The 60-year-old, renowned for his bolshie defence of the companys human rights record, told reporters this week that Total would like to play a bigger role in the country. It already part-runs the Yadana gas project, which carries gas from offshore blocks south of Rangoon to Thailand, and which rights groups brand as one of the worlds most maligned energy operations, but its eyes are set on expansion. The intractable nature of many of Burmas domestic crises means however that, if sincere about gauging developments there, de Margerie may have to wait some time. Critics were quick to round on the prisoner amnesty yesterday, which despite being driven by a message of conciliation from Naypyidaw, included only a small number of political prisoners among the thousands released. Moreover, many of the countrys key energy projects are located in regions beset by armed conflict. We decided that it was important to be in Myanmar [Burma] but that we will not invest until things are getting better I do hope that will happen, Reuters quoted him as saying. Burmas gas reserves are thought to be in the region of 800 billion cubic metres, although areas of the country still remain unexplored. Total does not have a role in the massive Shwe pipeline project, which will pump 400 million cubic feet of gas across Burma from the Bay of Bengal to southern China, although Naypyidaw appears to have little against overseas companies exploring new energy frontiers in the country. Quite what role Total will play in Burmas expanding power sector remains unclear, but the company claims to be treading a bolder path as it goes about seeking new investment opportunities. Speaking to the Financial Times yesterday, de Margerie claimed the company had been probably too cautious in the past we were not taking sufficient risk to get sufficient access to new resources. Such statements are likely to draw the ire of environmental groups that have been monitoring its presence in Burma since the mid-1990s when work first began on Yadana. The Washington DC-based EarthRights International said in a 2009 report that its Yadana operations implicated it in forced labour, killings, high-level corruption, and authoritarianism. The same organisation warned last year that investment in Burmas energy sector by overseas companies may in fact be counterproductive, given the huge reputational and business risks that accompany working in a country so severely lacking in environmental or corporate accountability as Burma.

While such concerns appear not to have rubbed off on de Margerie Total already has sizeable operations in Nigerias oilfields, and is currently eyeing Kenyas healthy offshore blocks, while the military crackdown on protestors in Yemen this year had little impact on its work there it has remained out of Iran since it cancelled all of its operations there last year. Of the Iran pullout, de Margerie said in 2008, when the first stage of withdrawal began: Today we would be taking too much political risk to invest in Iran because people will say: Total will do anything for money. US and EU sanctions on Iran played a major part in the decision, throwing into sharp relief the porous nature of punitive measures the West has implemented on Burma. The sanctions the EU does have on Burma were introduced after Total began work there, and do not force the withdrawal of companies already in the country. Observers had approached yesterdays prisoner amnesty with cautious optimism, given development in recent months that have seen the new government open up to the political opposition. US officials have hinted that the removal of sanctions largely hinges on the release of all political prisoners in Burma. At the moment, however, the government appears to have reneged on its pledges of reform, with high-profile dissidents still behind bars. De Margerie was vague on exactly what qualifies as progress, although his hunger for a greater presence in Burma, whose vast gas reserves are being eagerly eyed by neighbouring China and India and whose future with regards to energy investment is thus a promising one, is evident. Chinese dam company warns of legal action Share Comments (9) Tweet By JOSEPH ALLCHIN Published: 4 October 2011

Workers' quarters are seen along the bank of the site Irrawaddy river close to the Myitsone (DVB) The head of the Chinese company behind the recently scrapped Myitsone Dam in northern Burma has spoken of his consternation at Uturn announced last week by Burmas president. In a lengthy interview with Chinas Xinhua news agency, Lu Qizhou claimed that Naypyidaw would have a series of legal issues owing to the agreements already made between the government and the state-owned China Power Investment (CPI) Corporation. Lu added that he was astonished by he move, and found it very bewildering, particularly in light of an announcement by President Thein Sein in February this year when he was still prime minister, that CPI should accelerate the construction of the dam. Chinas Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, Hong Lei, had earlier urged relevant countries to guarantee the lawful and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies. President Thein Sein has stated his commitment to the rule of law, but under the constitution is entitled to executive power over major infrastructure or energy projects. He said on Friday last week that the $US3.6 billion project would be suspended during his tenure, rather than an outright cancellation of the project, causing confusion about the exact situation. Indeed a minefield of financial and loan agreements are already in writing and huge resources have been spent, with the construction of a smaller 2,000 MW dam at Chinbwe built solely to generate the electricity needed to build the Myitsone dam. Lu noted that the loss would go far beyond direct investment and financial expenses, and that there would also be tremendous amount of default claims from contractors. On the Burmese side these include Asia World, run by military crony Steven Law. China has committed to various major projects in Burma, including the trans-Burma Shwe gas pipeline and a corresponding high speed railway being discussed. The China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), the main company in the Shwe project, said yesterday that it would go ahead despite the cancellation of the dam. construction

Professor Shuije Yao, an expert of Chinese economics from the Universityof Nottingham in the UK, told DVB that a cancellation of the 6,000 MW Myitsone dam project would be a blow to China in its bid for energy security. He notes that the country has an extremely large carbon emissions-to-GDP growth rate. With every nine percent of GDP growth, the current annual rate, carbon emissions rise by roughly 20 percent. China currently generates 80 percent of its electricity from coal, which is widely recognised as one of the worst catalysts for catastrophic climate change. It is strenuously looking to diversify its energy make-up, with hydropower one of the most effective alternatives. Chinas energy-hungry growth rates are largely as a result of its reliance upon manufacturing as an export base. The CNPC announced on Monday that it would donate $US1.32 million to Burma to build eight schools along the pipeline route, which will now face scrutiny as critics smell blood. The Myitsone cancellation has raised the imperative for China to woo the disaffected as Lu claimed, We provided each household [affected by the dam building] with a 100,000 kyat [$US120] living subsidy, a 21-inch colour TV and other living necessities. Tags: burma, china, myanmar, Myitsone, Shwe gas, thein sein Author: JOSEPH ALLCHIN Category: News, Politics

Comments

1. Nyi Nyi says:

October 4, 2011 at 8:41 am Here is a simple solution to Chinas need for energy. Go and build wind turbines on the great wall and China.

2. Zaw Win says:

October 4, 2011 at 12:51 pm Shwe Gas should be halted too. As long as the Arakanese (the sole owner of Shwe Gas) have no political power to manage its resources, the current projects (including dynamiting coral reefs) must be stopped!

3. Sai Suriya says:

October 4, 2011 at 4:12 pm Just wondering when was and is China cares for people. USD100 subsidies and TC, must be really insane.

4. Sai Lin Kan says:

October 4, 2011 at 7:23 pm Let Communist China goes to court for legal action against Burmese Government. Tip for tap, Burmese Government has to postpone any contracts sign with China. Communist Chinese Government does not understand about how Irrawaddy River is important to Burmese peoples and country. Irrawaddy is life of Burma. Burman will not settle down in current Burma without Irrawaddy. Irrawaddy is blood vessels of Burma. The only foolish Government will destroy Irrawaddy. No Dams should be building on Ayeyarwaddy, Maykha and Malikha.

5. Maung Ne Hein says:

October 4, 2011 at 7:45 pm In my views; Chinese are very good at hypothetical reasoning in their point of view such as (claiming in the protection of their Citizen Right) although China do not play by rules (such as codes of ethics, moral obligation etc.) Again, Chinese are very good at speaking (claiming in the protection of their Citizen Right). China uses to gamble. The gambler has to follow gambling rules. Or the gambler should understand the gambling rules, and should have prepared for the consequences. Pragmatic China should be getting good lessons on such practices which had been doing all over the world with authoritarian governments especially sanctioned by the western countries. The fact of the matter is: It was the contract with the military regime which was unelected government. Therefore, it was illegal contract. Everyone knew Chinese are doing business with illegal government. It is gambling. Chinese are great gambler. For sure, there will be wining and loosing. Remember this! Many companies were lost contracts in South Africa when Mr. Nelson Mandela became president although previous government (white person) was elected one. Why was that? Because of South African had been sanctioned although it was elected government, and number country businessmen ignored the sanction and doing business with previous De Klerk government. There were a number of contract losses when Mr. Nelson Mandel became President. EU, US and Australia had imposed sanction on Burma. Chinese had taken a risk that was investing in the Burma. China says they are helping. In our views, Chinese are taking advantage on weakness of previous Burmese regime where there were broken rules and

law in this country, and China knew this. Now, they are talking about their Protection and their Citizen right. The question is: Did they (the China) ever respect our Burmese people Citizen right? The answer is never. The China is all the time dealing with the authoritarian unelected

6. Maung Ne Hein says:

October 4, 2011 at 7:48 pm government. China does not care (or ignore) about Burmese people suffering in this country. China use to say that this is the country internal affair. Internal affair is nothing to do with China. (It is one type of stupidity when someone considering to investment in the other countries). The question is: Where is China moral obligation (right or wrong)? Does China play by rule? Another question is: Where is our citizen right? China had taken a risk that is stepping up investing and doing business with illegal government (the previous Burmese regime). Therefore, there may not be granted for any right in this time. As I mentioned: It was a gambling matter, and the gambler should know (follow) their rules. It is a matter to impose our messages to China such type of gambling do not approve in the long run. It they dared to do gamble in such way they should aware there will be consequences (regretting matter) as a result in the future. Apart from this, the new government should be taking public voice as a concrete ground since it is heading toward democratic country. Chinese do not play by rule (citation from CNN news) because it may be pragmatic nature. They do not believe in Code of ethics either as well as in the moral obligation. Moral obligation = Right or wrong matter For example: China takes risk in dealing with authoritarian governments in order to get benefitted no matter what it is going in these countries that is, right or wrong does not matter to the Chinese except just thinking of profiting (making money = a kind of blindness) in the business. Finally, We had never seen China care about Burmese people suffering in the past then, why do we have to pay attention in this claim by China where our country is moving toward Democracy by listening to the public voices?

7. Garrett says:
October 4, 2011 at 8:41 pm At face value this is an interesting legal situation for China, & other countries who have been doing business with the regime as well. Even if we only go back as far as 1990 when the Burmese people voted for democracy in no uncertain terms, & the military overturned the elections, doesnt that mean that any international business partners of the military regime clearly knew that they were dealing with thieves?

Shouldnt the Burmese people be free of any liability for the business dealings between the regime & its unscrupulous business partners who took advantage of the situation created by the Burmese military to make high profits? Shouldnt those international corporations in fact be found complicit in the regimes rape of Burmas resources, & be held liable for financial reparations to the Burmese people whom they have clearly been stealing from for two decades? And as accessories to the persecution, rape, torture, extortion, forced labour, forced starvation, & murder of millions of Burmese ethnic minority citizens whose homes, crops, churches, schools, & clinics were destroyed or confiscated to clear the land for exploitation by the regime & its international business partners, shouldnt those corporations, & in some cases their governments be held accountable for punitive damages? I for one dont believe for one second that the Burmese military is no longer in power, that their partners in crime will ever lose on their investments, or that domestic and/or international justice will ever be served in Burma until the Burman majority (civilian & military) stands up to demand it. While many other dams were being built in the ethnic homelands displacing tens of thousands of ethnic minority citizens, the Burman majority had nothing to say. But build a dam on the Irrawaddy & all hell breaks lose. Or did it? The Irrawaddy dam(s) have been proceeding for years, why only now did anyone complain? Is this simply more of the regimes subterfuge?

8. Min says:
October 4, 2011 at 11:30 pm China: learn lessons from doing business under table with illegitimate and brutal governments, ignoring ethics and moral and exploiting the unfortunate political situations. Stop complaining. Legal action ? what legal action? Theres no such thing in Burma did you forget to do your homework before making business with junta?

9. Khin says:
October 6, 2011 at 7:19 am Mean while , scores of 10 ton Chinese heavy trucks were hurrying with their cargo giant size metal pipes towards Nyaung-shwe village in Kyauk-se township, to be unloaded. Each truck can carry only 3 giant pipes.One can see the giant pipes for Gas from far away lying in the paddy fields and Shin-pin-Suk-thwar pagoda which was recently excavated with 11th century Buddha images. Many foreign Chinese workers were loitering about here and there near by. It seams they were earnest to finish their works before another delay like Myitsone Dam Project. Bids in for onshore petro blocks Share Comments (0)

Tweet By Joseph Allchin Published: 26 August 2011 Bids by foreign companies to develop gas and oil blocks in the country were received for 18 new on shore blocks and are being reviewed by the Ministry of Energy, whilst foreign companies will have to sign a memorandum of understanding that they will work in joint ventures with local companies. The shortlisted foreign bidders will have to sign a memorandum of understanding or agreement with registered local Myanmar (Burmese) companies about talking about shareholding ratios, an unnamed senior official from the Ministry of Energy told Reuters. The move has been seen as part of the governments attempt to liberalise the economy and stimulate the private sector, with the deadline for new bids for the blocks passing on the 23 August. The official continued that; We invited local companies to register in order to jointly invest in the 18 onshore oil and gas blocks with foreign investors and the closing date for this is Sept. 9. Many foreign companies have had to form a joint venture with the relevant government ministry, in the case of oil and gas; the powerful Ministry for oil and gas exploration (MOGE), whilst the practice of insisting on foreign partners has been common with onshore blocks, often to the annoyance of foreign companies. We are now assessing the bidders, which include companies from our immediate neighbours, from ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) and also outside ASEAN, said the official. While it has not been revealed which domestic companies would likely bid for the joint ventures, companies such as Asia World have considerable experience acting as contractors with foreign infrastructure projects such as the Shwe gas pipeline and the Myitsone dam. Asia World was set up by former heroin king pin Lo Hsing Han, who has prospered from his close relationship with senior military figures such as Than Shwe. They are joined by Htoo Trading, owned by tycoon Tay Za in profiting as contractors for foreign projects. The number of local entities capable of taking such roles however will be limited and once again, as with the governments privatisation drive earlier in the year the militarys Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited, (UMEH) which is run by the militarys quarter

master general, could feature, along with the ubiquitous crony conglomerates. However such policies often result in skills exchange to local companies. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Burmas oil and gas sector has seen a vast yearon-year rise, helping FDI to grow to around $2o billion in the last financial year from $300 million in the previous year. A number of ASEAN energy companies are active in Burmas energy sector, with Gold Petrol from Indonesia and Singapore registered Interra resources active on shore, whilst Thailands PTTEP and Petronas are active in the natural gas sector in the Bay of Bengal. Work resumes on China-backed pipelines Share Comments (0) Tweet By FRANCIS WADE Published: 29 June 2011 Pipes destined for Hsipaw in Shan state are stored at a depot in Jegao, China (DVB) Construction of the trans-Burma Shwe oil and gas pipelines appears to have resumed after pausing for a month while fighting erupted in sensitive territory close to the China-backed project. Images and footage obtained by DVB show trucks laden with pipes being transported out of a depot in Jegao, on the Chinese side of the border opposite Muse. Drivers of the trucks told DVB sources the cargo was being delivered to Hsipaw in Shan state, where the pipeline will pass through en route to a refinery in Kunming, China. In May Hsipaw became the epicentre of fighting between Burmese troops and the Shan State Army, whose northern faction recently ended a 15-year ceasefire with the government. Fighting has since spread north to Kachin state, home to the insurgent Kachin Independence Army (KIA), and there is little sign at present that an end is in sight.

Analysts have speculated that a goal of the Burmese army is to secure areas close to major infrastructural projects such as the Shwe pipeline, and the myriad hydropower projects being built in northern and eastern Burma with Beijings backing. Many of these areas, particularly around Hsipaw, and in the Bhamo district of Kachin state, are rebel strongholds. The wave of fighting triggered a month-long hiatus in building the Shwe project, which China has watched nervously due to the volatility of many areas along its route. Concern mounted during negotiations for the $US30 billion venture, when the Burmese government reportedly rejected a request from Beijing that Chinese security groups guard the pipeline. Resentment of the project is also high among civilians: a report in March by EarthRights International (ERI) found that from a pool of 100 men and women interviewed clandestinely in Shan state, not a single one was in favour of the development. It also claimed there had been cases of abuse by troops of civilians close to Kyaukphyu in western Arakan state, where the pipeline will begin. Land confiscation and forced labour along its trajectory have also been widely reported. China has maintained an ambiguous stance surrounding the fighting in northern Burma, with numbers of Kachin civilians known to have crossed into Yunnan province to flee the violence. Reports have circulated that Yunnan officials warned households along the border not to shelter refugees. The first wave of offensives against the KIA began shortly after high-level Burmese government and military officials paid a visit to Beijing, sparking rumours that China had

urged the Burmese army to attack in order to stem the movement of insurgent groups close to its energy projects. This however has not been verified. China is desperate for the passage through Burma that the Shwe pipelines provide, given its traditional route for oil cargos from Africa and the Middle East runs through the Straits of Malacca, a congested strip of water beneath Singapore that it heavily patrolled by US warships. Burma Abuses Rampant Along Gas Pipeline: Rights Group By MIN LWIN Thursday, May 7, 2009

A gas pipeline in southern Burma is the scene of widespread rights violations, including forced labor and land confiscation, according to a new report released by the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM). The 104-page report, titled Laid Waste: Human Rights along the Kanbauk to Myaing Kalay gas pipeline, accuses Burmas military government of committing systemic, shocking and ongoing abuses along the 186-mile (300 km) pipeline. The Burmese governments Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise [MOGE] operates the Kanbauk to Myaing Kalay gas pipeline project, so the government bears responsibility for these human rights violations, said Aue Mon from HURFOM, speaking to The Irrawaddy on Thursday. The report details widespread human rights violations ranging from the daily commandeering of motorcycles and chickens to rape and summary executions. It also says that more than 15,000 acres of land have been confiscated to make room for the pipeline and to support 30 army battalions tasked with protecting it since construction began in 2000. They have already confiscated many acres of land. My land and plantations cost about 4 million kyat [US $4,000], said one villager quoted in the report. They took it without paying me one kyat.

The report also details the rampant use of forced labor in the area along the pipeline. It says that local people, including children as young as 12, are routinely forced to do maintenance work on the pipeline, and to guard it and carry equipment for soldiers, at all times under threat of violent retribution for accidents or insurgent attacks. In one month, I was forced three to four times to be a porter It was difficult, and we were beaten all the time, said Nai Lot, 65, from the village of Mihtawhlagyi in Ye Township. The abuses are the predictable result of deploying large numbers of soldiers and encouraging them to extract what they can from the countryside, without oversight, according the report. But abuses along the pipeline are also a deliberate, calculated part of the pipeline security effort, it adds. There should be no question: projects like the Kanbauk to Myaing Kalay gas pipeline do not benefit the people of our country, said Kasauh Mon, the director of HURFOM. The Kanbauk-Myaing Kalay pipeline begins at the Total Pipeline Center near the town of Kanbauk in Yebyu Township, Tenasserim Division, and passes through five townships in Mon State and Tenasserim Division, ending in Myaing Kalay in Karen State, where the gas is used in government cement factories. Burmas pipelines have long been controversial, with rights groups claiming that they are built on land taken from local people, often using their unpaid labor. They also attract a heavy military presence, resulting in further abuses, rights groups say. The British company Premier Oil, which signed a contract with MOGE in 1990 to extract gas from the Yetagun gas fields in the Andaman Sea, and the French oil giant Total, which signed an agreement to harvest gas from the Yadana gas fields in 1992, have both accused of complicity in the Burmese regimes routine rights violations. COMMENTS (3)

Moe Aung Wrote: 09/05/2009 Here's Western capital in action for those who are convinced that sanctions must be lifted for the benefit of the people, and those who buy into the dictum that it's better to be exploited than not to be exploited. Expect more of the same benefiting the junta, its coffers brimming over, its stranglehold on the economy tighter, its army stronger, its grip on power firmer, and its repression on the populace harsher than ever. Sanctions are just a convenient scapegoat for the hardship and misery inflicted on the peoples of Burma by the junta's policies and actions. Removing the sanctions completely would be like removing the muzzle from its snout, all the better to devour or maim.

nono Wrote: 08/05/2009 I am very tired of hearing that human rights violations, forced labor, land confiscation and killing are normal in Burma since 1948. Rich people become richer, poor people become poorer, powerful people become more powerful. Good people go to hell and bad people go to heaven. The ethnic majority becomes bigger and minority groups become smaller and even lost. That is Burma!

Myo Chit Wrote: This is lesson for China's pipeline plan.

07/05/2009

The Yetagun gas pipeline has been supplying the gas needs of Thailand's industries for years now. It is a much shorter route over relatively flat land to the Thai-Burma border, compared to the 1,800-mile long gas+oil pipelines that will run a long way across Burma to China. This is to be constructed by a Chinese company, guarded by the Burmese army, and probably serviced by the forced labor. A pipeline passing through jungle terrains, forests, and populated agricultural lands of Central Burma could create many more problems - ecological, environmental and social, in addition to the usual hazards of toxic and flammable chemicals in the pipes. If the Grand Gas Plan is to be running smooth, operating successfully, and profitably, China really needs a peaceful Burma, never mind whoever or whatever the government is. The Chinese leadership knows the answer to it, for its own benefit, and better still for mutual benefits. New Gas Pipeline to Thailand Stalled in Talks By Sai Silp Friday, August 24, 2007

The Thailand and Burmese governments are working to complete a pipeline project to take natural gas from the Gulf of Martaban to Rangoon, but the route is still not agreed upon. Piyasawat Amaranand, the Thai Energy Minister, said on Friday after talks with Burmas petroleum minister that Thailand wants to buy more natural gas from the Yetagun, Yadana and M9 fields. PTT Exploration and Production, a state-owned oil and gas company, will finance the natural gas production project. The two countries want this project [pipeline] to be completed quickly to supply the energy needed for rising electricity demands, but the pipeline planning has complicated the process, he said. Piyasawat said that both countries understand the problem and expect a resolution to be worked out. The gas will be routed to both Thailand and Burma through a pipeline to be funded by Thailand.

The source of the gas, in M9 Block, is in the Gulf of Mataban about 300 kms south of Rangoon. PTTEP has held a production sharing contract with Burma since 2003. In early August, PTTEP president Maroot Mrigadat said the company was seeking a partner to operate the gas production facilities after the drilling of appraisal wells at M9 is completed. The company expects an investment of around US $1 billion will be needed to start gas production. Currently, the Oman Oil Company, owned by the government of the Sultanate of Oman, will be granted a five percent stake as a non-operating PTT partner. However, the company is still waiting for Burmese government approval, which is expected to come in this quarter. The Burmese government is sharing 15 per cent of the investment cost in M9, according to a report in the Thai News Agency on Friday. PTTEP released a statement in August saying the company had completed drilling a series of test wells at M9, which started in May 2007. Natural gas was discovered in five test wells: Zawtika-3, Zawtika-4, Kakonna-2, Zawtika-5 and Zawtika6. Four more exploration and appraisal wells will be drilled at other locations to affirm the natural gas potential in M9. This is expected to be completed by April 2008. At the same time, development plans for the M9 gas field are progressing, with a target start-up production date of 2011 or 2012. The gas is earmarked for domestic use in Thailand. Shwe Gas Calls on Corporations, Govts to Suspend Pipeline Project By LAWI WENG Monday, September 7, 2009 Shortly ahead of the beginning of construction of gas and oil pipelines from the Bay of Bengal to southwest China, a prominent rights group has called on corporations and governments involved in the project to suspend their activities. The Shwe Gas Movement, an oil and gas watchdog based in Thailand, on Monday released a report titled Corridor of Power in which it claimed to expose how China is plunging ahead with construction of nearly 4,000 kilometers [6,400 miles] of dual oil and gas pipelines across the heartland of Burma despite financial and political risks from social unrest, as well as impending human rights abuses and environmental destruction. The group said the pipelines will pass through cozens of villages in Burma, causing forced relocations, environment damage and human rights abuses. We are very worried about the human rights abuses that will happen along the route of the pipelines, because this is what happened in the past, said Wong Aung, a spokesman for the Shwe Gas Movement. During the construction of the Yadana gas pipeline in Mon State, there was a broad range of human right abuses.

According to Wong Aung, there are 44 military battalions based along the pipeline route from Kyaukpyu Port in Arakan State to northeastern Shan State. We want China to stop this project because the pipeline will destroy the environment, the Burmese troops will confiscate peoples land and it will result in forced relocations and human rights abuses along the route of the pipeline, he said. The proposed route for the oil and gas pipelines will pass through Kunming in Yunnan Province and continue through Guizhou Province to Chongqing municipality in southwest China. The project will include construction of railways, roads and waterways, as well as upgrading the port at Kyaukpyu. Beijing has also secured a 30-year deal with the Burmese military government for natural gas tapped off the Burmese coast. Mondays report said that the project will provide the military junta a minimum of US $29 billion over 30 years. Meanwhile, China is reported to have set up oil refineries in Chongqing in Sichuan Province to process crude oil from the Sino-Burmese pipeline. People across Burma are facing severe energy shortages. These resources belong to our people and should be used for the energy needs of our country, said Wong Aung. Observers say that China intends to use the pipeline to avoid shipping oil through the Malacca Strait, which is slow and expensive, and tankers are prone to attacks by pirates. China currently imports 85 percent of its oil from the Middle East and Africa. Several analysts said they believed that the recent attacks by Burmese government forces against ethnic Kokang troops was a clear attempt to clear the area for the pipeline project. The fighting in the region forced an estimated 37,000 refugees across the Sino-Burmese border. Last week, China warned the Burmese military leaders to solve the ethnic conflict on the border peacefully. The Shan Sapawa Environmental Organization and the Salween Watch rights group have claimed that the Burmese government forces wanted to dispose the Kokang army from its stronghold in order to secure a 2,400-megawatt capacity hydroelectric dam project at Kunlong in northeastern Shan State. Burmas abundant offshore oil and natural gas reserves have attracted a great deal of interest from foreign investors. The country is estimated to have 3.2 billion barrels of recoverable crude oil. The oil and gas sector receives the second-largest share of foreign investment in Burma, after hydropower projects.

COMMENTS (3)

KKK Wrote: 09/09/2009 So each general gets one billion US dollars. The only way to stop this project is to destroy the pipeline when the construction starts. All ethnic armed groups get together and destroy all the pipelines. We have to keep doing this until they stop.

Yagontha Wrote: 07/09/2009 Good thoughts, however, will Than Shwe and his boys hear this call?

plan B Wrote:

07/09/2009

Now we all know how much of a one-sided deal SPDC has conceded to China. 20 Billion over 30 year is barely a billion a year. Any one can quickly figure out that SPDC is willingly being short-changed by the Chinese indeed. The good news is now Turnell can not use the gas profit as a pretext to blame SPDC as the sole cause of people's poverty. The bad news is the devastation and hardship the people have to suffer because the SPDC's and China's mutual dependence means they will do anything to construct the pipeline. Isn't this a good example of unintended consequences from useless Western interference becoming a long term problem? China offers hospitals-for-oil deal Share Comments (2) Tweet By FRANCIS WADE Published: 7 April 2011 Burma's Vice President Tin Aung Myint Oo attends the opening ceremony of a children's hospital in Rangoon, 13 March (Reuters) Beijing has reportedly offered sweeteners to Burma in the form of hospitals if it speeds up work on oil and gas pipelines destined for Yunnan province.

Through the state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), Burma could receive $US6 million to build new hospitals and improve its woeful healthcare facilities, the Times of India reported. The deal was mooted during the recent visit to Burma by top Chinese official Jia Qinglin. Qinglins visit was the first by a senior ranking Chinese politician since Premier Wen Jiabao was there in June last year. Observers say it is a statement of Beijings outright support for the new Burmese government, as well as an attempt to further boost economic ties between the two countries that saw China inject nearly $US10 billion into the Burmese economy last year alone. The trans-Burma Shwe pipeline project is one of the countrys largest foreign-funded ventures, and will pump some 15 million cubic metres of gas daily from blocks in the Bay of Bengal to Chinas developing Yunnan province. But China has in the past signalled a lack of confidence in the Burmese authorities ability to manage such a massive venture. In December last year it gave $US2.4 billion in loans to its southern neighbour, with speculation that it was aimed largely at speeding up construction of the pipelines. The recent offer of further aid may be an indication that the project is still not going smoothly. Developments of this magnitude in Burma face a number of hurdles, not least the poor infrastructure and transport routes brought about by decades of economic mismanagement and government incompetence. There is also the added issue of the volatility of certain parts of the pipelines route, most notably the final section in Shan state which runs close territory controlled by the opposition Shan State Army. How the new government reacts to the offer of aid remains to be seen, given the historic lack of interest with which the countrys rulers have shown in the healthcare sector: Burmas is ranked among the worst in the world, and the new budget announced last month does little to improve its prospects, allocating healthcare only 1.3 percent of total annual spending. Critics of both China and Burma may also cry foul of hypocrisy, given allegations by rights groups that the Shwe project has led to the exploitation and abuse of civilians living nearby, as well as forced displacement on a large scale. A recent report by EarthRights International documented several cases of human rights abuses along the pipeline route, and numerous instances of land confiscation without adequate compensation.

The pipeline also remains key to the governments grip on power, with somewhere in the region of $US30 billion expected to be generated over the three decades after it comes online in 2013. Tags: burma, china, gas, healthcare, myanmar, oil Author: FRANCIS WADE Category: Economics, News

Comments

1. Denys Goldthorpe says:

April 8, 2011 at 1:04 am China is a willing partner in crimes against humanity for another 3 decades in Burma. They tell us that the world has no business in the internal matters of Burma, and within these last days the internal matters of China. Yet they are more than willing to put their hand up and let the world as they put it interfere in the internal matters of Libya, of course in that case it was affecting their revenue. When the world marches into Burma and frees them from the tyranny which Thitsaphout Than Shwe has shackled the Burmese with then that so called interfernce in an internal matter would be affecting Chinas revenue base. Borrowing a saying from history and changing the country, I would say be wary of the Chinese government baring gifts, they defiantly have an altera motive in sucking up

2. Phway Phway says:

April 12, 2011 at 2:42 am Look! Military generals have been selling our countrys natural resources for decades. Than Shwe is the worst enemy of our country. He sell gas to China and Thailand. The income from sales of natural resources flows directly to pockets of military general. As they are in power, they have never been held accountable. In other words, they abuse their power. Gas sales alone can easily be billions of dollars. The military government spent less than 1% of the budget on peoples health. Than Shwe obviously betrayed people of Burma. The so-called new government is no different at all when looking at the amount of budget allocated for health and education sectors. I think the Chinese government by encouraging Than Shwe who committed crimes against humanity shold also be held accountable. Japanese tourist killed in Myanmar AFP News 9 hours ago A Japanese tourist has been killed in Myanmar and a motorcycle taxi driver arrested on suspicion of her murder, a government official said Thursday.

Chiharu Shiramatsu, 31, was killed on Wednesday near Kyaukpadaung, close to the ancient temple city of Bagan, after hiring the motorcycle taxi to go sightseeing, according to the authorities. She was killed by a motorcycle taxi driver who tried to rape her, a Myanmar government official who declined to be identified told AFP. Min Theik, the 39-year-old motorcycle taxi driver, was arrested at the scene. Violent crime involving foreign tourists is relatively rare in military-dominated Myanmar. Business Standard India Balance of power in Myanmar Bhaskar K Mitra / September 27, 2011, 0:45 IST This is probably the best book written on Myanmar after 1988. It is a must-read not only for diplomats, political analysts and CEOs of multinationals but also for readers who enjoy racy narrative, fascinating accounts of a bygone era, of Shangri-La, kings and generals, intrigue and heroism, the Tarons, remnants of the only known pigmy race in mainland Asia, and the lives of common people in some of the remotest parts of the region in and around Myanmar. Thant Myint-U has brought to this book all his scholarship, narrative abilities, objectivity and acute powers of observation during his extensive travels through Myanmar, China and India. The nuances and undercurrents of Myanmars relations with China are brought out with great clarity. The author talks about the western media viewing Myanmar as a Chinese lackey, but adds, the relationship, however, is far more complex. This complexity is explained clearly with examples. Since the China-Myanmar border was opened in the early 1990, one to two million Chinese have made their home in northern and north-east Myanmar, and everybody speaks about Mandalay becoming a Chinese city. An old Burmese family friend, a teacher in his 50s, tells the author that although Chinese immigration had generated economic activity in Mandalay, the Burmese people felt passed over: the Chinese have moved in and the Burmese have had to move out. From the common man, the author moves to the top: Burmas generals were thankful for Chinas friendship. But they were the same generation of generals who had fought nearly all their lives against Chinese-backed communist insurgents (and, some believed, regular Chinese soldiers), seeing their men and fellow officers die by the hundreds. Several generals in the 1990s had been trained in the West and had fond memories of America. In their minds something wasnt quite right. A Myanmar army officer tells the author, We know that India cant really balance China for us we would like better relations with the Americans, but as long as they are only interested in regime change, there is really nothing to talk about we are asked to make

risky concessions in return for vague promises. Maybe this works with other countries, but it wont work with us. This is reflected in the Obama Administrations policy: engagement with sanctions. As a gesture towards improving relations, the Burmese released over a hundred political prisoners and allowed senior US envoys to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi. Washington reciprocated through several small gestures. However, the interest in reaching a deal for full normalisation of relations remains tenuous. Thant Myint-U also brings out the limitations of Chinese influence and the Myanmar regimes ability to stand their ground when their core interests are threatened. In August 2009, the Myanmar armed forces carried out a massive strike against the Kokang (ethnic Mandarin-speaking Chinese) living in an enclave near Myanmars border with China, forcing almost 20,000 Chinese to take refuge in China. In December 2009, in the Chinese journal Contemporary International Relations, two academics from Yunnan University argued that the Kokang incident was done to show the West that Myanmar s military government is adjusting its foreign policy, from just facing China to starting to have frequent contacts with United States, India and other large nations. Since Myanmars independence, the West had been a staunch ally and China among its greatest enemies. After 1988, the roles were reversed with unfortunate consequences: the more the British and the Americans berated the regime at the UN, the more Chinese diplomatic protection became essential to the regimes foreign policy. In effect, the West handed over a solution for Chinas Malacca dilemma, on a silver platter to the Chinese, who in 1999 took stock of the political and economic situation in Myanmar and officially inaugurated their Western Development Strategy. Besides serious political issues, there are interesting stories. Herbert Hoover, about 20 years before he became US President, came to Burma as an up and coming partner of an international mining company. He lived for sometime with his family in a hill station called Maymyo and set up his own firm to make money from recently identified silver mines near the Chinese border. There are many interesting descriptions of visits by Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore and Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, who for a while lived and worked in Myanmar . In the prologue, the author refers to the changing political and economic geography around Myanmar brought about by China and India and poses the central question on Myanmar: what will be its fate, as India and China nudge closer together? He adds that while some speak of a new Silk Road of co-operation, others warn of a new Great Game and conflict. The answer is provided in the epilogue. Thant Myint-U does not shy away from reflecting scenarios of dangerous cross-roads of isolation, violence and conflict but his love for Myanmar permeates the final happier

scenario, one which sees real progress in Burma coupled with a quick end to Western sanctions because a peaceful, prosperous and democratic Burma would be a game changer for all Asia. Hopefully, Thant Myint-Us book will be the game-changer for Myanmar too. The reviewer is former Indian Ambassador to Myanmar DVB News Bringing Burmas nuclear secrets to the table By ROBERT KELLEY Published: 29 September 2011 With the recent admission that Burma does not have the resources to contemplate pursuing nuclear weapons, the government has made an important step towards rejoining the world community. It should take this opportunity to sign the international agreements it has praised and join the club of responsible nations. Failing to do so could provide something of an acid test regarding allegations levelled against its military ambitions. That Burma cannot afford nuclear weapons, as the ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Tin Win, said in Vienna last week, may come as no surprise: its decision in 2005 to relocate the capital from Rangoon would have cost billions of dollars and strained the countrys treasuries. Last years expose by DVB of a nascent weapons programme clearly stated that the project would likely prove too ambitious for the government. But the admission last week could have myriad benefits for the country and its decrepit energy and health sectors. Burma has had an on-off agreement with Russia to build a nuclear reactor and research laboratory in the country since 2001. The agreement was formalized in 2007, but Russia has never been willing to complete the deal because Burma has obsolete agreements with the IAEA. No country could consider giving nuclear technology to Burma when it has insulated itself against any IAEA inspections. Burmas treaty agreements with the IAEA stipulate that it has no nuclear materials and no nuclear facilities, and in practice, the IAEA waives the right to normal inspections in the country since both parties agree there is nothing to inspect. There has never been an inspection in Burma to verify the misuse of nuclear materials, and its unlikely there ever will be, because according to the agreement there are no materials. This is, of course, an endless circular argument. A research reactor would be a very ordinary research tool in a small country like Burma. It would represent no threat to world peace, particularly when it is subject to regular IAEA nuclear material inspections. But without inspections there would be constant concerns that even a small facility could be used for nefarious purposes. Such a facility would cost Burma about $US150 million, a very small sum for a country rich in mineral, timber and gas resources. If Burma feels this is a strain on the budget, it is because the money is being spent elsewhere, likely on the military.

It is not clear how Burma planned to use its research reactor. The most likely use would have been to produce medical isotopes for healthcare, a sector so fractured that it might be that the relatively high technology products for nuclear medicine go unused. The reactor could be used to train nuclear engineers for bigger projects in the distant future, for at present, Burmas decrepit technology base means that nuclear power is a distant dream. Now that Burma has publicly renounced any nuclear activities, there should be no barriers to signing a modern nuclear materials safeguards agreement with the IAEA and modifying its existing codicils that essentially prohibit nuclear inspections in the country. Burmas current agreements are dated from the early 1990s and are completely obsolete. Burma needs to consider signing the Model Additional Protocol, which grants the IAEA additional inspection rights. It requires Naypyidaw to submit more information on its imports and exports of nuclear materials, and report on existing nuclear activities. Because Burma has now declared that all planned nuclear activities have ceased, this should be no problem. It would help to refute accusations by some exiles and analysts, including me, that the government is attempting to develop nuclear weapons. This evidence comes from activities in two mechanical workshops built around 2005 and equipped with modern European machine tools of high calibre. These tools are possibly building processing equipment that could produce uranium for a reactor or a bomb. The equipment was photographed by a Burmese army defector, who smuggled the images out of the country. To be sure, even if Burma allows inspections under a modern IAEA agreement, the workshops would not be the immediate sites for vetting because they have no nuclear materials, but are only workplaces supporting a programme elsewhere. Fears surrounding these programmes are fuelled by reports of uranium mining, mostly in Shan state, and alleged nuclear activities at Thabeikkyin, north of Mandalay. None of this is being reported to the IAEA. If Naypyidaw steps up to the table and signs a modern full inspection agreement with IAEA, then Burma can put these claims to rest. IAEA supervision would also temper concerns about a research reactor. Failing to do this, however, means that it remains in the small club of countries, alongside Iran and Syria, that have refused to sign the modern agreements, and will retain pariah status. Using the occasion in Vienna to reiterate Burmas commitment to international nuclear material safeguards and robust nuclear inspections holds little credibility unless it is followed with more tangible action. Robert Kelley is a former director at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

DVB News Bringing Burmas nuclear secrets to the table By ROBERT KELLEY Published: 29 September 2011 With the recent admission that Burma does not have the resources to contemplate pursuing nuclear weapons, the government has made an important step towards rejoining the world community. It should take this opportunity to sign the international agreements it has praised and join the club of responsible nations. Failing to do so could provide something of an acid test regarding allegations levelled against its military ambitions. That Burma cannot afford nuclear weapons, as the ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Tin Win, said in Vienna last week, may come as no surprise: its decision in 2005 to relocate the capital from Rangoon would have cost billions of dollars and strained the countrys treasuries. Last years expose by DVB of a nascent weapons programme clearly stated that the project would likely prove too ambitious for the government. But the admission last week could have myriad benefits for the country and its decrepit energy and health sectors. Burma has had an on-off agreement with Russia to build a nuclear reactor and research laboratory in the country since 2001. The agreement was formalized in 2007, but Russia has never been willing to complete the deal because Burma has obsolete agreements with the IAEA. No country could consider giving nuclear technology to Burma when it has insulated itself against any IAEA inspections. Burmas treaty agreements with the IAEA stipulate that it has no nuclear materials and no nuclear facilities, and in practice, the IAEA waives the right to normal inspections in the country since both parties agree there is nothing to inspect. There has never been an inspection in Burma to verify the misuse of nuclear materials, and its unlikely there ever will be, because according to the agreement there are no materials. This is, of course, an endless circular argument. A research reactor would be a very ordinary research tool in a small country like Burma. It would represent no threat to world peace, particularly when it is subject to regular IAEA nuclear material inspections. But without inspections there would be constant concerns that even a small facility could be used for nefarious purposes. Such a facility would cost Burma about $US150 million, a very small sum for a country rich in mineral, timber and gas resources. If Burma feels this is a strain on the budget, it is because the money is being spent elsewhere, likely on the military. It is not clear how Burma planned to use its research reactor. The most likely use would have been to produce medical isotopes for healthcare, a sector so fractured that it might be that the relatively high technology products for nuclear medicine go unused. The reactor could be used to train nuclear engineers for bigger projects in the distant future, for at present, Burmas decrepit technology base means that nuclear power is a distant dream.

Now that Burma has publicly renounced any nuclear activities, there should be no barriers to signing a modern nuclear materials safeguards agreement with the IAEA and modifying its existing codicils that essentially prohibit nuclear inspections in the country. Burmas current agreements are dated from the early 1990s and are completely obsolete. Burma needs to consider signing the Model Additional Protocol, which grants the IAEA additional inspection rights. It requires Naypyidaw to submit more information on its imports and exports of nuclear materials, and report on existing nuclear activities. Because Burma has now declared that all planned nuclear activities have ceased, this should be no problem. It would help to refute accusations by some exiles and analysts, including me, that the government is attempting to develop nuclear weapons. This evidence comes from activities in two mechanical workshops built around 2005 and equipped with modern European machine tools of high calibre. These tools are possibly building processing equipment that could produce uranium for a reactor or a bomb. The equipment was photographed by a Burmese army defector, who smuggled the images out of the country. To be sure, even if Burma allows inspections under a modern IAEA agreement, the workshops would not be the immediate sites for vetting because they have no nuclear materials, but are only workplaces supporting a programme elsewhere. Fears surrounding these programmes are fuelled by reports of uranium mining, mostly in Shan state, and alleged nuclear activities at Thabeikkyin, north of Mandalay. None of this is being reported to the IAEA. If Naypyidaw steps up to the table and signs a modern full inspection agreement with IAEA, then Burma can put these claims to rest. IAEA supervision would also temper concerns about a research reactor. Failing to do this, however, means that it remains in the small club of countries, alongside Iran and Syria, that have refused to sign the modern agreements, and will retain pariah status. Using the occasion in Vienna to reiterate Burmas commitment to international nuclear material safeguards and robust nuclear inspections holds little credibility unless it is followed with more tangible action. Robert Kelley is a former director at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).