Shan State — In Hsipaw (Thibaw) Township, a local youth group staged a protest against Ngwe Yi Pale company's ongoing coal mining operations in the area. A young participant shared with the Shan Herald that on October 1st, a group of youths assembled to demonstrate against a coal mining company in the vicinity of Namma village in Hsipaw.
Hhe explained "We protested to stop Ngwe Yi Pale's coal mining, urge local authorities to safeguard our community's natural resources, and prevent potential harm to our local agricultural activities”.
The youth in northern Shan State called on the entire Shan community to come together and oppose Ngwe Yi Pale Company's coal mining activities, which involves paying taxes to the coup regime. "It means that Ngwe Yi Pale is contribution to the Junta’/s revenue by paying taxes. Their coal mining license had already expired long ago, but after the coup, they made a deal with the Military Council to resume mining. As a result, our local natural resources, forests, farms, and orchards have been already damaged. We urge everyone to stand against the company's actions”, the aforementioned source told Shan Herald.
Ngwe Yi Pale Company has been involved in coal mining activities in Hsipaw since 2014, and is presently conducting mining operations near Narkun and Konepaung villages in Hsipaw. Ko Aik Taw who took part in the protest, pointed out that the coal mining activities of the company have had a detrimental impact on the livelihoods of over 3,000 local residents.
“ Initially, the water resources in the area started to deteriorate, making it impossible to supply irrigation water to agricultural enterprises. I've been grappling with this issue for approximately three years. There are roughly 3,000 local residents who rely on agriculture for their livelihoods in this vicinity. First, the region's water resources started to be affected, preventing us from supplying irrigation water to our farms. We've been dealing with this matter for around three years, and there are approximately 3000 local residents who depend on agriculture for their livelihoods in this area”, he told the Shan Herald.
On February 25th, 2021, Ngwe Yi Pale Company representatives visited local village elders to inform them of the resumption of coal mining activities, and expressed the company's demand that there should be no protests the local community.
At present, with the expansion of coal mining operations encroaching on the vicinity of Narkun and Konepaung villages within the Namma village tract in Hsipaw, local residents frequently experience ground cracks and stream bank collapses.
The Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF) previously documented that the increased coal mining activities by Ngwe Yi Pale Company following the Military Council's coup have had adverse effects on the health, economy of the local population and natural resources.
