Villagers from Kunhing on the upper Salween River released a statement on 30 April voicing their opposition to the Mong Ton Dam project saying that it will destroy their way of life.
The statemenrt said: “Our ‘thousand island’ Kunhing township, is one of the 16 townships that will be flooded by the Mong Ton hydropower project." the statement also pointed out that: “As the flood zone is 262 square miles, it will be very hazardous to our community so, we strongly reject the [dam] project.”
The Kunhing villagers said that A number of historical and important traditional sites would also be destroyed. They said: “The Ho Leung pagoda (established in 666, in the Myanmar calendar), and other historical sites in Tar Kaw, Hsai Mong, and Keng Kham [will be destroyed]. These include the Keng Lom Palace and the Hsai Khao Palace.”
The villagers said that they feared that they would lose their “traditional customs, rich natural resources, and our thousand islands – all of these sacred sites and things of importance would be destroyed.” The Kunhing villagers said that the dam would be damaging to “the lives of the people who have lived in this area for generations.”
The villagers said in their statement that the “Kunhing people understand that the dam will not benefit the local people." They also pointed out that they understood that “local people would face all kinds of negative impacts and dangers.”
The Kunhing villagers demanded: “All projects on the Salween river must be stopped, as there is no stable ceasefire agreement and no political guarantees at this time.”
The Kunhing people said that they will strongly oppose any action to promote implementation of the Mong Ton hydropower project by the government, ministries, investing companies and organisations by holding public meetings and campaignin.
Edited in English for BNI by Mark Inkey
