The junta’s efforts to rally public support for resuming the suspended Myitsone Dam project have extended to Putao, in the northernmost part of Myanmar.
The coup regime has instructed Rawang and Lisu residents in Putao to attend a rally on May 18, while Tai Khamti and Jinghpaw residents are required to join another gathering on May 19, with at least one person from each household mandated to participate. These events are designed as an effort to garner public backing for resuming the Myitsone Dam project.
Furthermore, on the afternoon of May 20, junta authorities met with residents of Machanbaw Town to explain plans regarding the Myitsone Dam project. The team of junta officials briefed locals on key information regarding hydropower generation and geological findings related to the Myitsone Dam project site.
The junta has been conducting field campaigns to promote the resumption of the Myitsone Dam project, while also using state-controlled media to advance the same message. However, most of the public continues to oppose the project.
“We absolutely cannot agree. If the dam is built, the impact will not be limited to Myitkyina Township, where it is located. All the natural landmarks that local people value could be flooded, damaged, or even lost,” a Putao resident said.
The dam project is located just 100 kilometers from the Sagaing Fault, one of Myanmar’s major fault lines, and experts have warned that a major earthquake could cause the dam to fail, potentially inundating areas downstream of the structure. Additionally, according to expert calculations, the dam collapse could submerge an area roughly the size of Singapore, potentially displacing tens of thousands of people.
It is estimated that the construction of the Myitsone Dam would have wide-ranging impacts, including on the survival of species along the Ayeyarwady River, as well as significant changes to the livelihoods of people in Myanmar who depend on the river.
The coup regime’s attempt to restart the decade-delayed project amid political instability and intense military conflict serves not the public interest, but rather a select group of people, the Chin State Human Rights Defenders Network (KSHRDN) said on April 1.
The Myitsone Dam project was initiated under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed during the military government led by U Than Shwe. When the project was first launched, local Tanghpe villagers were evicted by authorities and forcibly relocated to Aungmyinthar and Maliyang villages.
Construction of the structure has been suspended since 2011 under President U Thein Sein, following public opposition that emerged not only in Kachin State but also across the country.
Under coup leader Min Aung Hlaing, the junta has made concerted efforts to restart the Myitsone Dam project, widely seen as an attempt to appease China, which has heavily invested in it. In May last year, he blamed the project’s suspension for Myanmar’s power shortages. In August of the same year, he announced that his regime was jointly implementing the resumption of the Myitsone Dam and other projects with China.
Despite the junta’s active lobbying of the public to support the resumption of the Myitsone Dam project, it has not yet openly disclosed how profits and investments will be distributed or what benefits, if any, will be provided to the public.
Junta officials have now held more than 20 campaign events in Myitkyina and other towns in Kachin State to rally public support for the Myitsone Dam project.
