The junta held a public meeting on February 20 at Myitkyina University in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State, to drum up public support for the 14-year-old Myitsone Dam hydropower project. It was the third such meeting organized for that purpose.

The junta held the February 20 meeting at the convocation hall of Myitkyina University. Previously, it organized meetings with experts and officials at two locations in Myitkyina City on January 29 and 30 to solicit local support for the Myitsone Dam project.

The February 20 meeting was attended by junta-appointed union ministers, regime officials, members of the Kachin State government, religious leaders, representatives of social organizations, students, businesspeople, delegates from the six Kachin ethnic groups, and other participants.

“There has been no official statement from the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) regarding the junta’s recent moves on the Myitsone Dam issue, so I’m not in a position to give a formal comment. People strongly opposed the Myitsone project in the past, and I expect to see similarly strong objections this time as well,” said Colonel Naw Bu, spokesperson for the KIO.

All three meetings were attended by junta-appointed Kachin State Chief Minister U Khet Htein Nan. Junta sources said there have been seven meetings aimed at garnering local support for resuming the Myitsone Dam project, but KNG has only able to verify three held in Myitkyina and cannot determine which cities or towns hosted the other four.

During these public meetings, the junta lobbied for the Myitsone Dam project, saying that once completed, Kachin State will be illuminated with electric lights and transformed into an industrialized state. It also claimed that some countries around the world have achieved development by building dams.

All Myitkyina-based cultural organizations and other institutes invited to the junta-organized public meetings were compelled to attend, as refusing was not feasible, sources close to the matter said.

Myitsone refers to the area north of Myitkyina City where the Ayeyarwady River originates and is regarded as a natural landmark of the region. The Chinese-invested project has faced strong opposition from both local communities and the wider public in Myanmar due to its potential impact on residents. Consequently, the previous government under President U Thein Sein indefinitely suspended the project. On April 24, 2024, the coup regime, desperate to appease China, formed a committee to spearhead the project's revival.

In December 2025, deputy junta leader Vice Senior General Soe Win assured that the Myitsone Dam would be built at a lower height than originally planned and could withstand an earthquake of magnitude 8.5. However, its location just 25.4 kilometers from the well-known Sagaing Fault has raised significant safety concerns. Furthermore, during a visit to China in September last year, junta leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing held discussions on resuming the Myitsone Dam project, the coup regime announced.

“No matter what the junta does to restart the Myitsone project, we will stand firm and oppose it. Even if we’re arrested, we won’t change our position. If people back down because of the junta’s threats, it will only make the regime bolder. That’s why we will protect Myitsone at all costs,” a woman from Myitkyina told KNG.

Construction of the Myitsone project began in 2009 under an agreement between China Power Investment Corporation (CPI) and the former military government led by Senior General Than Shwe.

The U Thein Sein government later suspended the project, but the junta that seized power in 2021 has sought to restart it. The deputy junta leader made multiple trips to Myitkyina to rally public support for the Myitsone Dam project, while public protests against it have also surged.

The junta is attempting to win over local communities through persuasion, while simultaneously threatening legal action against opponents of the Myitsone Dam project. A December 16 decree from the junta’s National Defence and Security Council warned that anyone opposing government-approved projects without valid justification could face prosecution.

The junta is reportedly preparing a series of pro-Myitsone Dam rallies in Myitkyina City and is holding meetings with community and religious leaders, according to locals.