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Agence France-Presse

Thousands of people in northern Myanmar took to the streets on Monday to protest against the proposed reinstatement of a Chinese-backed mega-dam they say will cause huge environmental damage and bring little benefit to the country.
The protest came just days ahead of a trip by civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi to Beijing for a summit on China’s “Belt and Road Initiative”.

Myanmar’s former military junta signed a 2009 deal with Beijing to construct the Myitsone dam in Kachin state.
But public anger rose to the surface as the country started to transition towards democracy and the US$3.6 billion project was mothballed two years later.
If the 6,000 megawatt dam were built on the country’s famed Ayeyarwaddy River, it would flood an area the size of Singapore, displacing tens of thousands.
‘Masters of our destiny’: Myanmar’s Wa rebels in show of force
Now China is increasing pressure on its southern neighbour to revive the controversial project.
On Monday protesters marched through the Kachin town of Waimaw, some 50km from the proposed site of the dam, brandishing banners reading “No Myitsone Dam” and calling for the river to “flow freely forever”.
“Myitsone is our inheritance from our ancestors and we cannot lose it,” protester Tang Gun said over the phone.

He said more than 4,000 people took part in the march while several thousand more had signed a petition pledging their support for the protest.
Local police said 3,300 protesters had taken part.
The proposed project has stoked widespread public anger and anti-Chinese sentiment across Myanmar.
Why is Myanmar the next battleground for China-Japan rivalry in Asia?
A World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) 2018 report estimated that some 34 million people in Myanmar live in the Ayeyarwaddy basin, roughly two-thirds of the country’s population.
An environmental assessment commissioned by the Myanmar government five years ago strongly advised against the dam’s construction, saying the move could alter the river flow on a wide scale.
Suu Kyi was also an opponent of the dam before her party swept to power in 2015 elections.

Now many are alarmed she might have flip-flopped on the issue after a speech in March when she called on people to think about the dam “from a wider perspective”.
Myanmar is a vital piece of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, the pet US$1 trillion project of President Xi Jinping that includes maritime, rail and road projects in Asia, Africa and Europe.
China says some 37 nations will be represented at the leader level of the April 25-27 summit in Beijing.


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Myanmar

Thousands protest China-backed Myitsone mega-dam in Myanmar ahead of Aung San Suu Kyi’s Beijing trip

Kachin people and children hold placards during a protest against the Myitsone dam project on Monday. Photo: EPA-EFE

People from Kachin State take part in a protest against the Irrawaddy Myitsone dam project in Waimaw, near the Myitkyina capital of Kachin State, on April 22, 2019. - The controversial dam, a $3.6 billion dollars Beijing-backed project originally designed to supply most of its electricity to China, was halted by Myanmar in 2011 following protests over environmental and safety concerns. (Photo by ZAU RING HPRA / AFP)

epa07521027 People participates in a protest held in opposition to the Irrawaddy Myitsone Dam project in Waingmaw, Kachin State, Myanmar, 22 April 2019. The dam, which is being built by the Myanmar government and the China Power Investment Corporation (CPI), will be the fifteenth largest hydroelectric power plant in the world if it is completed. In 2011, former Myanmar president Thein Sein announced the suspention of the project due to protests. The project was orginally scheduled to be completed in 2017. EPA-EFE/SI THU MKN

Myanmar’s stalled China-backed Myitsone dam project strained bilateral ties for years — now it could be scaled back or moved

Protesters hold placards reading “Save the Irrawaddy” oppose the Myitsone dam project. Photo: EPA

The remnants of the currently stalled Myitsone dam project. Put on hold in 2011 when fighting the area flared up, it's currently unclear whether Myanmar's newly elected government will resume or cancel the project, which is largely unpopular in Kachin State, as it would flood large swaths of land, and the majority of electricity it would produce would be delivered to China. MUST CREDIT: Photo for The Washington Post by Quinn Ryan Mattingly.

China faces backlash as it bids to rekindle stalled US$3.6 billion Myitsone Dam project

China’s ambassador to Myanmar said that any further delays to the Myitsone Dam project could hamper bilateral relations. Photo: Facebook

Temporary residents are seen at Myitsone, at the confluence of the Mali and Nmai rivers, outside Myitkyina capital city of Kachin state, Myanmar March 30, 2017. Picture taken on March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun To match Exclusve CHINA-SILKROAD/MYANMAR-DAM

In video posted on Facebook page of "Chinese Embassy in Myanmar" on January 14, 2019, Hong Liang, the Chinese top envoy in Myanmar, visits the Yeywa Dam. 14DEC18. Source: Facebook

A graffiti is seen on a stone at the confluence of the Mali and Nmai river at Myitsone, outside Myitkyina, capital city of Kachin state, Myanmar March 30, 2017. Picture taken on March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun To match Exclusve CHINA-SILKROAD/MYANMAR-DAM

In video posted on Facebook page of "Chinese Embassy in Myanmar" on January 14, 2019, Hong Liang, the Chinese top envoy in Myanmar, visits the Yeywa Dam. This screen grab of video shows the aerial view of the Yeywa Dam. 14DEC18. Source: Facebook

News

Asia

Southeast Asia

China

US$3.6 billion project faced massive public anger and was stalled in 2011
Many fear Suu Kyi, previously an opponent of the project, has flip-flopped on the issue


Many fear Aung San Suu Kyi, previously an opponent of the US$3.6 billion project, has flip-flopped on the issue.


Myanmar’s changing ties with China

Belt and Road Initiative

Aung San Suu Kyi

Thousands protest China-backed Myitsone mega-dam in Myanmar ahead of Aung San Suu Kyi’s Beijing trip

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}US$3.6 billion project faced massive public anger and was stalled in 2011 Many fear Suu Kyi, previously an opponent of the project, has flip-flopped on the issue

US$3.6 billion project faced massive public anger and was stalled in 2011

Many fear Suu Kyi, previously an opponent of the project, has flip-flopped on the issue