Local Residents are Prepared to Protest Power Plant if the Government Continues to Ignore Their Rights

April 29, 2014

Residents of Ain Din Village, Ye Township, Mon State are frustrated that the Ministry of Electric Power and its partner, Tokyo-Thai Group, did not seek their opinions, not inform them in any way, of their plans to build a 1280 Megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant in the area. Plans have been made to build the power plant in Ah Den Village, which will cost an estimated US$270 million, without any communication or information sharing with the local people, nor any apparent concern for the environmental impacts the power plant would have on the local people.

The Ministry of Electric Power and the Tokyo-Thai Group have stated that they will use an Ultra-Supercritical (USC) system in the construction of the power plant, in order to cause the least harmful effects on the environment. However, Ye Township residents remain discontented. According to local sources, residents were not granted the opportunity to voice their opinions in plans to construct such an environmentally dangerous plant in their area. As one resident explains, “any coal power plant has bad effects, and it will be really dangerous if the plant is running for years”.

Ko Thar Thar, a 33 year-old betel nut and rubber trader from Ye Township explains, “Just this week, we (Ye Township residents) got to know about [the power plant]. They (the Ministry of Electric Power and the Tokyo-Thai Group) did not collect [the] local people’s opinions. We also don’t know much about the plant. If the coal-fired power plant is built, one thing for sure is that we [will] have to breathe air pollution. I worry that the plant is not for us. We heard that they (Ministry of Electric Power and the Tokyo-Thai Group) [are building] it to transfer it to [the] Tavoy deep-sea port. Whatever the reason, we are ready to protest against them, as they did not discuss with us or ask our opinion, at all, concerning the project. Not only us, even our next generation will be affected by this project. As there is no transparency, we (residents) have no reason to accept it.”

According to a pamphlet disseminated by the Tokyo-Thai Group, the plant will be built over 500 acres of An Den Village’s northwestern land. Ain Din, Hnee Hnu, Hnit Ka Yoke, Duya, Ah Baw, and Thin Gan Kyone villages will thusly be affected by air pollution from the plant.

“In my perspective”, says Nai Aue Mon, the program officer of the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM), “Any MW of electric power plants produces bad effects if running for years. Before implementing the project, the people responsible should provide [information regarding] the bad and good effects of the project to local people, in order to garner their opinion. There should be a committee group representing the local people, to monitor the effect of the project and collect the facts of Social and Environmental Impact Assessment.”

Nai Aue Mon continues that whether the groups use raw materials or non-renewable resources to run the plants; they should first conduct a survey as to how the plant will impact the local residents.

“The authorities and company should take responsibility in creating transparency relating to the project”, Nai Aue Mon says, “And any foreign companies that plan to invest in Burma should follow the rules found in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). Foreign companies must comply with EITI before building, throughout construction, and during the running of the plant. If not, the government and the company will cooperate in secret to sign a contract. After signing, any government will have the opportunity to work for years. They will convince local people, and will intimidate anyone who acts against them. This will create a difficult obstacle to peace-building between the government and the public.”

A member of the Mon Youth Convene, from Ye Township, explains, “The plant planned to be built in Ain Din Village [will be] really close to where people are living. The impure waste thrown from the plant [will affect] local people living nearby. People will face difficulty breathing, cancer, skin cancer, damage to their nervous systems, and heart disease due to unpurified water, and air pollution can travel for hundreds of miles. Plantations located near, and people living along, the river will confront a lack of fishing and other work relating to water. The people responsible should consider the impacts of the plant on the local people. It is important to educate people concerning the power plant.”

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News