Conducting Meaningful Stakeholder Consultation in Myanmar

Shift’s April 2013 report is designed to assist companies with the challenge of conducting meaningful consultations with stakeholders, as they consider or commence operations in Myanmar. The report (1) provides a survey of stakeholder views regarding the entry of companies into Myanmar; and (2) sets out key elements for companies to consider in their stakeholder engagement strategies […]

Northern Shan Farmers Call for Chinese Pipelines to be Removed from their Lands

Northern Shan farmers are submitting demands to Burma’s government today for China’s giant oil and gas pipelines to be removed from their lands immediately, citing rights abuses, poor construction and safety fears.

Representatives of the 10,000 strong Northern Shan Farmers’ Committee are today delivering their demands to the Shan State Parliament in Taunggyi, urging the removal of the trans-Burma pipelines before they become operational next month […]

Burma Briefing: The European Union Must Not Abandon Human Rights Benchmarks

The European Union is currently reviewing its policy on Burma, including whether to continue with the suspension of EU sanctions, or to lift them altogether. A final decision will be made by the Foreign Affairs Council on 22nd April.

There is no doubt that there have been dramatic changes in Burma in the past two years, and that there is opportunity for further change which must be encouraged. However, European Union members have a tendency to highlight the positives while ignoring some important and harsh realities on the ground. A careful balance needs to be struck between encouragement and continued pressure of various kinds. The European Union is not getting that balance right […]

First Village Ordered Out for Construction of Dawei Deep Sea Port

A seaside fishing village of over 15 houses was ordered to move out last week to make way for the planned Dawei Deep Sea Port.

Residents of Charkhin Beach village, which has been declared an “illegal” settlement, received an official order on March 20 to move out within three days or face prosecution. However, most of the villagers are refusing to move, as they rely on fishing in the sea as their main livelihood […]

Love Salween Group Condemns Blocking of Free Expression in Karenni State

We, the Love Salween Group, condemn government authorities for denying local villagers their democratic rights by blocking them from organizing a prayer ceremony to mark the Global Day of Action for Rivers on March 14, 2013 at Wan Awn village, Pasaung township of Karenni state […]

Fate of Salween Dams Remains Unclear

Some 2,000 internally displaced people and villagers from the Wei Gyi area gathered on March 14 by the Salween riverbank to protest continued plans to construct six hydroelectric dams on the river.

The ceremony, which included prayer services by a Buddhist monk and a Christian pastor, was also attended by community leaders from Dawei, who themselves are resisting massive development projects in their area […]

Rampant Land Confiscation Requires Further Attention and Action from Parliamentary Committee

This past week the parliamentary Farmland Investigation Commission submitted its report on land confiscation to the parliament. The report finds that the military have taken almost 250,000 acres of land from villagers. The commission stated that they had spoken to military leaders about the confiscation, “Vice Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing […] confirmed to me that the army will return seized farmlands that are away from its bases, and they are also thinking about providing farmers with compensation.”

The investigation is a step in the right direction but there still exist very large problems the commission has not addressed, the first being that the commission only addressed land confiscated by the military. Although the military has been involved in land confiscations they are not the only perpetrators.

An example of the shortcomings of the commission’s report is the fact that the Letpadaung copper mine is not mentioned by the commission because the land was not confiscated outright by the military, although it is a joint venture with the military owned Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd (UMEH). Additionally the Letpadaung Inquiry Commission headed by Aung San Suu Kyi charged with investigating the abuses that took place has delayed releasing its findings for a third straight time […]

Burma/Myanmar Not Ready for Rights-Compliant Investment

The current legal, political, and economic context in Burma/Myanmar does not enable foreign investment that complies with key international norms and standards. This is the finding of an informal visit to Burma/Myanmar carried out by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) along with […]

Harvard Plan to Restart Irrawaddy Dams Will not Buy Peace

A recent proposal by a Harvard University think-tank to restart the Irrawaddy-Myitsone dam project in order to “power the peace process” in Kachin state fails to address the political root causes of the conflict […]

Hastily Introduced World Bank Projects Threaten to Undermine Peace Process in Burma

By Khin Ohmar

In late 2012 the World Bank announced its first lending to Burma (also known as Myanmar) in over 20 years. The $80 million grant, to be implemented by the Ministry of Border Affairs, is for community driven development (CDD) projects that are aiming to provide tangible benefits to communities, including those affected by decades of conflict in Burma. The concern among many grassroots activists, however, is that the areas to which this money will be funnelled are still in the earliest stages of the peace process, and that huge influxes of money will undermine efforts for sustainable peace.

On 22 January the Bank’s board will consider its second round of loans to Burma, through a $440 million development policy loan called the ‘Reengagement and reform support programme’. Its objectives are: “to support Myanmar’s critical reforms for strengthening macroeconomic stability, improving public financial management, and improving the investment climate” and to “facilitate the clearance of Myanmar’s arrears to IDA”. This money will flow through the ministry of finance […]