Local Activists Protest Salween River Dam Construction with Prayer Ceremony

March 18, 2014

Anti-dams activists recently led a group of ethnic women and youths in a prayer ceremony at the Salween (Thanlwin) River, in Moulmein, Mon State, to pray that dams will not be built on the river. The Salween River is dying, and ethnic communities oppose building dams, as it will further impact the health of the river, and negatively affect the ethnic communities for whom the river is an integral part of their lives.

On March 14th, about 150 ethnic women and youths came to the mouth of the Salween River to protest the government and multinational companies’ plan to build a series of dams in the Salween River, which will have serious impacts on the ethnic people living along the river in Shan, Karen, and Karenni States.

Protesters from Mon, Karen, Shan, Karenni, Arakan, and Kachin communities attended the ceremony, along with young Mon people from Mon civil society organizations, and many protesters from Chaung Zone, Mon State.

“The purpose [of] holding this ceremony was to oppose [the] building [of] dams”, explains one Mon youth who participated in the event. The protestor notes that “”before the government planned to [build] the dams, the river was already gradually dying. So, if they build the dams, the salt water will enter nearby areas where many different ethnic people live along the river. That’s why we held this prayer event; [it] was intended to stop any dam building”.

According to a source from the Independent Mon News Agency (IMNA), thirty thousand local ethnic people, along with 131 political organizations and social groups, have signed a petition in efforts to stop construction of six dams on the Salween River. The petition opposes the Kwan Lon Dam, Nong Pha Dam, and Ta Sam Dam in Shan State; Ywa Thit Dam in Kayah (Karenni) State; and Hat Gyi Dam in Karen State.

Multinational companies involved in Salween River dam construction include Thailand’s EGAT International Co. Ltd., China’s Three Gorges Corporation, Hanergy Holding Company, Hydrochina Corporation, and China Datang Investment Co. Ltd. According to anti-dam groups, local government cronies are also involved in the construction, including International Group of Entrepreneurs Co., Ltd, Shwe Taung, and the Asia World Company.

Written by Modinator · Filed Under News