Myanmar Church concerned over
China-backed dam
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| Protest against the Myitsone dam project in Yangon, Myanmar (ANSA) |
Bishop Raymond Sumlut Gam of Banmaw in Kachin State and
Myanmar’s Catholic Church leaders are opposed to the revival of the stalled
Myitsone dam project in Kachin state.
By Robin Gomes
A Myanmar Church official has expressed anxiety over the
restarting of the China-backed Myitsone dam project on the Irrawaddy River in
the conflict-torn northern state of Kachin.
The concerns grew with the historic state visit of Chinese
President Xi Jinping to Myanmar, January 17-18. This is Xi's first visit
to China’s southern neighbour and the first visit of any Chinese president in
19 years.
Bishop Raymond Sumlut Gam of Banmaw in Kachin State has
expressed concerns over the revival of the controversial Myitsone mega-dam
project with this visit.
“The Church’s stance is on the dam’s impact on both the
environment and on the people,” Bishop Gam told UCA News.
He said Myanmar and China leaders might talk about
restarting the project, suspended in 2017. However, China may not further push
for the project’s revival as it is likely to face strong opposition from the
people, affecting other development projects.
“We are awaiting the answers on the fate of Myitsone with
bated breath,” he said.
More than 40 Kachin organizations have called on Xi to
permanently cancel the Myitsone Dam project.
The US$3.6 billion project on the Irrawaddy, Myanmar's main
waterway, aims to produce 6,000 megawatts of hydroelectricity that will be
supplied almost entirely to neighbouring China.
By 2010, the construction of the dam had caused at least
3,000 people to be relocated from their homes to newly built villages. The
military-backed government of President Thein Sein suspended construction in
September 2011, but China has vigorously called for work to resume.
In June 2019, the Catholic bishops of Myanmar called for the
complete shutdown of Myitsone dam. The bishops pleaded for all dam
stakeholders to review the project and “stop it permanently” for the sake of
the people.
Cardinal Charles Bo of Yangon has been vehemently opposing
the restarting of the stalled dam. In a press release in January
last year, entitled “Stop Trafficking Our Mother Irrawaddy”, he
called the dam an “environmental disaster” and “a death sentence for the people
of Myanmar.”
The cardinal, who is the president of the Federation of
Asian Bishops’ Conferences, said the dam will deprive millions of farmers of
their livelihood in a nation where 80 per cent of the population depends on
agriculture.
“Millions stand to lose their livelihoods. Environmental and
economic catastrophes are already predicted by the scientific community,” the
cardinal said in a statement in April
2019.
At the end of the 2-day visit, Xi and Myanmar leader Aung
San Suu Kyi signed 33 agreements backing key projects that are part of the
flagship Belt and Road Initiative, China’s vision of new trade routes described
as a “21st-century silk road”. It includes the Kyaukpyu deep-sea port in
Rakhine and a high-speed rail line running east to west.
However, the Myitsone dam did not feature in the agreements.
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