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Kanbawza Win

Even as the International News headlines were glue to Syria and the Middle East, the

Burmese quasi military government initiated by the monk killer Thein Sein steals the limelightby cracking down the peaceful monks and people demonstrating inLetpadoung Mines. Since itis his bounden duty to defend the vested interests of the former military regime whose opaquedeals continue to enrich the generals under the smoke screen of the military conglomerate Unionof Myanmar Economic Holdings (UMEH) and the subsidiary of a state-owned Chinese armsmanufacturer Wan Bao Company, he is not all moved by the tragic incident of theLetpadoungMines.1 It is definitely a touchy issue in Burma, as several senior leaders including Than Shwe,his former deputy Vice Senior-Gen Maung Aye and many other powerful generals haveallegedly siphoned state money and benefited from military-run projects, many of which are tiedto Chinas powerful businessmen, companies and government leaders.

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The crackdown complicated the investment picture of China, which has struggled with

the tarnish internationally accepted image of exploiting the peoples of foreign countries at anycost, so much so that the Global Times, a state-owned Chinese newspaper, published an articleaccusing the West and advocacy groups of instigating the protests against the mine project, andsaid that shutting it down would be a lose-lose situation for the two countries. Anti-Chinesesentiment was a major factor in the cancellation of theMyit Sone dam and now the people ofBurma are targeting this mine.

3Many activists will no doubt begin to raise the issue of the gas

pipeline project and other hydropower projects in Burma. China is one of the main investors inall of these projects.4

To be candid the story originates in 1981 an American launched a mining venture, acyanide heap-leach gold project in the state of Colorado. To save expenses, instead of takingnecessary precautions, it leached 35 million pounds of cyanide and other toxic tailings into a

nearby watershed. When it became known, the Colorado State government stop the operation in1991 and the US Government launched a $150 million lawsuit against him. He declared hiscompany bankrupts and fled the country to Canada where he already had connections and is nowa respectable gentleman of Vancouver. Soon he got his chance with Golden Star Resource atOmai on the Essequibo river in Guyana. Using the same strategy, he leached 3 billion liters ofcyanide-laced mine tailings into the river, not only poisoning all life including fish stocks butalso ruining Guyanas farmlands. Knowing this disastrous act would soon be uproar, his

company fled after garnering a huge profit. Although labeled as the worst environmental disasterin Latin America, he escaped legal action by cunning.

Then in Labrador (Canada), his company, Diamond Field Resources, struck a huge basenickel deposit in the native territory of Innu and Inuit (the outside world known them as Eskimos)

where he become the biggest shareholder in the worlds largest deposit of nickel. Soon he turned

1See WikiLeaks deal in an American Diplomatic Cable

2Zaw ;Aung Burmas Copper mines Saga opens old woundsIrrawaddy 3-1-2012

3New York Times (Asia Pacific) 29-11-2012

4Zaw; Aung. Burmas Copper mines Saga opens old woundsIrrawaddy 3-1-2012

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his attention to Asia and the Pacific and targeted the authoritarian regimes in Indonesia (underSuharto), Vietnam, China and Burma. This time his financial vehicles were Indochina Goldfieldsand Ivanhoe Capital Corp (ICC). He was helped by an expatriate Burmese businessman, ReggieT. Maung, now is a Senior Vice President of Ivanhoe Myanmar Holdings second only to him. TMaung connected him with Tay Za, a tycoon who became rich through his connections to the

military government via Than Shwe the evil genius and the Juntas supremo.

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During the Junta administration widespread forced labor was routinely used in buildingof infrastructure in areas around the mines. Open pit, heap leach mining is prone at the best oftimes to be a dirty business, especially when regulations are weak. Open-pit mining involvesclearing standing vegetation and forests, diverting drainage systems, disrupting drainage patternsand destabilizing topography, causing mountains to collapse.6 That is the sole reason of why thepeople of Burma together with the monks are protesting and demonstrating.

The heap leach design creates serious problems since waste rock and toxins have to becontained for a long period of time to avoid leaching. There is a serious risk of acid rockdrainage, where exposed waste rock will leach sulfur trioxide when it rains. This is especiallydangerous when heavy rainstorms and occasional flooding occur during the monsoon period.

Mine tailings can contaminate local drinking water supplies, and poison water bodies andaquamarine life. Ivanhoe Mines knew this and by cunning he sold all theseMon Ywa Mines tothe Chinese Company Wen Bao.7 This is the gist of the story of copper mine project, inLetpadaung mountain range in Salingyi Township, Sagaing Division jointly established by Chinaand Burma, which has become the target of growing protests.

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The Burmese people are sure that to maximize the profits China will use the same oldmethod. Independent investigation is next to impossible and local enterprises and foreigncompanies that do not answer publicly to shareholders and do not follow international acceptedstandards run these mines. Wen Bao was executing a day to day operation while UMEH just takeits share of the profit.

In past years an increasing number of people have expressed their faith in the "codes ofconduct" but there are growing skepticism about whether such codes are relevant or enforceablein Burma. The authorities did not respond to better environmental, human rights and labourstandards, but to the need for foreign investment, which led them to meet, the structuraladjustment criteria set by multilateral institutions. Where infrastructure and power supply arepoor there is bound to be slave labour, as the ruling authority would prefer to protect its owninternal interest rather than the welfare of local communities. That is exactly what is happeninginLetpadoung mines.

5U T Maung also skillfully used religion to shore up the business when he made himself Chairperson of the

Vancouver Buddhist Society, to which Ivan Hoe mines graciously donated $75,000.The Burmese activists in

Vancouver were furious when the Surrey Sayadaw sided with the Junta and they founded a new Burmese

Monastery in Richmond.6Win;Kanbawza, A Canadian Grave Digger in Burma Mizzima News Group 9-12-2000

7 The Canada bosses working there even could not properly call the Burmese name ofMon Ywa and instead call itMo Ney Wa just like Myanmar was call by some as My An Mar which I discover when I secretly attended oneof the meetings in Vancouver8Chinese firms facing huge challenges in Myanmar: Daily IANS / Beijing 29-11- 2012

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Last month to be exact on Nov.18th a group of people protested in front of the Wen Baocompany on the Western Trunk Road bringing the mine operation to a halt and the next daywhen President Obama spoke at the Rangoon University a group of students protested letting thecat out of the bag.

9The protest soon spread to Rangoon, Monywa, Mandalay, Pakokku cities

prompting the quasi military to charge the six activist including the former political prisonerNaw

Ohn Hla and the detention of the well known monkU Gambira and the Home ministry orderedthe ending of strikes. But the protests spread like a wild fire as hundreds and thousands of peoplejoined this ecological disaster affecting all the people of the vicinity and the surrounding areaand so Thein Sein administration used excessive force to quell the peaceful demonstratorsinjuring some 70 Buddhist monks some of which got third degree burns.

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The crackdown is a setback for Burmese democracy movement especially that focus onthe crucial question of land rights, an issue that is likely to become more contentious aseconomic growth makes villagers land more attractive to companies and property developers.After seeing the violent crackdown on peaceful protesters the people of Burma are quiteconvinced that they have finally seen the true colors of President Thein Sein and his reformistgovernment.11 Thoroughly mocked on social media, with his top peace award bestowed by the

Brussels-based International Crisis Group is particularly ripe for ridicule. How can a doublemonk killer be awarded a peace award? More than 7,800 acres of land from 26 villages under theshadow of theLetpadaung mountain range have been seized to make way for the Chinese-backed project since it began last year. This is but one of the manyhush hush controversialproject of the former junta which Thein Sein will defend with tooth and nail. Several prominentactivists have also visited the area to pledge support, including members of the 88 GenerationStudents group and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The influence of Beijing in Burma cannot bediscounted even though Burma opens its doors to Western investors, with the US relaxingsanctions and normalizing relations with the former pariah state, Beijing becomes more nervous.

Aung Min, a minister attached to the Burmese Presidents Office had openly admittedthat We are afraid of China.12 This explicitly means that the Thein Sein administration hadalready made up their minds to stop the protest at any cost. Beijing has long been staunchsupporter of Burmas brutal military regime and served as a lifeline by providing arms andshielding the former junta from international censure, particularly by blocking resolutions of theUnited Nations Security Council.

Even though the Chinese and Burmese authorities have a good relationship, publicsentiment could grow as people see images of Buddhist monks being brutally beaten and burnt,and could easily become a nationwide issue. Fierce anti-China sentiment has been on the risewith protesters demanding a complete shutdown of the copper mine citing illegal landconfiscations, deforestation and toxic waste seeping onto farmland so much so that China sentXu Zenhuan, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative

Conference. The 8888 Generation called for the commission to review and analyze the

9Altsean Report of Nov. 201210

A P News 29-No.2012, and Tha;Kyaw Pyo. Monks suffer with Dignity but shall not forgive,Irrawaddy 3-12-2012

11Editorial Monywa CrackdownOld Habits Die HardIrrawaddy 29-11-201

12Ibid

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Letpadaungcopper mine project, to postpone all work until the probes findings are publishedand to stop arresting activists as well as release those already detained.13

The incident ofLetpadoung Mines demonstrated the true colour of the newadministration which the international community has been heaping with praises. In other wordsthe international community has seen Burma as The emperor has new clothes, but the people

of Burma saw it that the emperor has no clothes at all. The irony is that the violence occurredjust a few hours before Daw Aung San Suu Kyi arrived on a scheduled visit to this area whichexplicitly demonstrated that the Thein Sein administration have no respect for her and her partyat all. The crackdown showed once again that the government, which claims to have turned overa new leaf and to listen to public opinion, is only really protecting the Generals interests andthose of foreign investors.14 That is the raison d'tre why the riot police suddenly charged intothe camps and viciously assaulted unarmed protesters. This action alone clearly proves thatBurmas ongoing political opening is still reversible.

But the greatest lesson is for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters, she has joinedthe government with the vain hope that it will be more reasonable to join them and to work frominside just as I did when I worked at the Prime Ministers Office as the Foreign Affairs

Secretary.

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But I regretted as I soon saw the true colour. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has not saidanything on Kachin Crisis or Rhakine sectarian strife and now thisLetpadoung incident isanother classic example. But still the people of Burma has hope on her, how long would she stayquiet is still to be seen. The people of Burma in their epic struggle knows that neighbouringcountries are out and out to exploit the countrys natural and human resources for their ownbenefit and now that Burma is starting to change their companies are still clinging to the oldconcept of working with the men in uniforms and theLetpadoung incident demonstrated that thegovernment is not on the peoples side. No doubt the clashes underline one of the dilemmasfacing the government, whose steps to promote greater freedoms have led to public protests andstrike action at factories.16

The protesters oppose the environmental and social damage they say is being caused bythe mining operation and most people remain suspicious of the military, while China is widelyseen as having propped up army rule for years, in addition to being an aggressive investorexploiting the country's many natural resources. Government officials had publicly stated that theprotest risked scaring off foreign investment that is key to rebuilding the economy after decadesof neglect. But the real reason is that the old generals have pocketed handsomely some say inbillions of dollars and if the deal fell off with China, then they will have to give back what theyhave taken unlawfully and hence is pressuring The Thein Sein administration to stand tough.

In such a clear situation, the people of Burma sees that only the West particularly the USand EU stands by them in time of crisis.17 Both President Obama and Daw Aung San Suu Kyiknows that real democracy and federalism is still to be achieve and should take much more

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Nyein Nyein, 888 Generations leaders refused copper mine probeIrrawaddy 3-12-2012

14Phyo Tha;Kyaw Copper Mine Protesters Burned Out in Police Raid inIrrawaddy 29-11-2012

15 Please refer to the records of Prime Minister Bragadier Sein Win in the 70s16

Robinson; Gwen Mines protest exposes Myanmar dilemma 29-11-2012

17 Not even Australia and New Zealand which recognize the Junta and call the country Myanmar instead of Burma

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tougher stand on the side of the people of Burma rather than with the (longyi wute vkHcsnf0wf)Burmese sarong wearing ex generals.

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