Kachin Group Slams China’s New CSR Report on Irrawaddy Dams

A Kachin group today criticized the new corporate social responsibility report on the controversial Irrawaddy dams, calling for a locally-led development process, not one benefiting only China […]

The Halting of the Myitsone Dam is a Victory for the People of Burma

The US Campaign for Burma applauds the efforts of a grassroots movement inside Burma that won a significant victory last week when President Thein Sein announced the construction suspension of the controversial Myitsone Dam. This was truly a landmark achievement […]

Chinese Official Threatens Myanmar

The head of a major Chinese company behind a controversial dam in Myanmar said the project’s suspension by the Myanmar government last week was a surprise that “will lead to a series of legal issues,” in the latest sign of frayed relations between the two countries […]

UN and ASEAN Must Ensure Regime’s New Promises are Followed by Real Actions

After months of extensive public mobilization to save the Irrawaddy River from development, President Thein Sein took yet another calculated step this week announcing the suspension of the Myitsone dam project amid controversy within the regime. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi welcomed the decision, as did community and environmental groups campaigning on the issue. However, Burma Rivers Network pressed for further steps, namely that the China Power Investment corporation issue an official declaration to confirm Thein Sein’s announcement, and immediately remove all personnel and equipment from the dam site. The network also called on the regime to cancel the 6 other dam projects planned on source rivers of the Irrawaddy.

At the UN General Assembly in New York this week, Burma’s Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin said that the regime would grant an amnesty to prisoners “at an appropriate time in the near future.” However, he failed to clearly state when this would be or whether this would include any of the nearly 2,000 political prisoners who remain imprisoned in Burma […]

Burma Rivers Network Demands Official Cancellation by China Power Investment of not Only Myitsone but all Seven Irrawaddy Dams

Burma Rivers Network demands official cancellation by China Power Investment of not only Myitsone but all seven Irrawaddy dams […]

Burmese President Halts Myitsone Dam Project

Burmese President Thein Sein has called for a suspension of work on the controversial Myitsone dam project, in response to a mounting public outcry over the project, which critics say threatens the source of the Irrawaddy River.

Thein Sein said in a letter to Parliament on Friday that construction of the 6,000-megawatt hydropower dam in Kachin State should be suspended because the project is against the will of the people and lawmakers […]

“Save Ayeyarwady—The Sketch of a River”

An art exhibition was held on September 22, 2011 in Rangoon to promote a public campaign to save the Irrawaddy River. More than 100 photographs, paintings, drawings and cartoons were exhibited at Gallery 65 on Yawmingyi Road. About 1,000 people including well-known writers, actors, politicians, environmentalists and pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi attended the event […]

Save Irrawaddy, No Dam on Burma’s Vital River:Protest At the Chinese Consulate

The 88 Generation Students’ group in Burma has recently made an action call to help save Irrawaddy. In order to support their call and numerous concerns expressed by many including that of Daw Augn San Suu Kyi, the activists and Burma supporters in the San Francisco Bay Area are organizing this protest […]

China Speeds Ahead with Myitsone Dam Despite Civil War in Northern Burma

Seven hundred Chinese laborers are working day and night shearing off hilltops, laying tunnels, and building embankments at the Myitsone, the source of Burma’s Irrawaddy River, in a race to complete the country’s largest dam on schedule despite ongoing […]

Diverse Groups Raise Concerns About Development Projects on the Irrawaddy River

On 12 August, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi met with the regime’s minister of social welfare, relief, and resettlement, Aung Kyi, in Rangoon for the second time in less than a month. After the meeting the two issued a joint statement noting that they had agreed to cooperate and “to work in reciprocal basis by avoiding the contradicting attitudes.” However, it is clear that Daw Suu intends to continue to operate independently on behalf of the people of Burma, even where doing so contradicts the position of the regime. Just two days after the 12 August meeting Daw Suu defied the regime, traveling outside of Rangoon to meet supporters in Pegu and neighbouring Thanatpin despite the regime’s warning that such a trip could trigger “riots.”

Additionally, the day before her meeting with Aung Kyi, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi issued a letter expressing her opinion on one of the most contentious issues currently facing Burma, the issue of development projects, in particular dams along the Irrawaddy River […]