Locals demonstrate against Myanmar-China pipelines company

Villagers from Kyauk Tan, Pyein, Ywama and Panhtainsal villages on Maday Island in Kyaukphyu of Rakhine State gathered at a Buddhist Monastery at Pyein village and walked about 30 minutes around the CNPC office in demonstration, Tun Kyi, chairman of regional development committee, said.

The demonstrators asked CNPC to be responsible for the regional development activities and made nine demands to the CNPC over their concern for the project’s impact on social and economic situation in their region.

They demanded CNPC to pay compensation fees for confiscated farmlands at international standards, to construct a road connecting Maday Island port [and the above four villages], to provide jobs for those locals holding labour cards and pay wages at international standards, to provide electricity for houses and buildings on the island, to check outside workers to ensure local workers’ security, to allow fishing at fishing waters around the island, not to confiscate any land without notice to the locals, to develop new farmlands for villagers, and to compensate those whose farms were damaged.

“We are demonstrating because [CNPC] have dismissed our nine claims. We demonstrate as we want the world to know our troubles and to request humanitarian support. If the company doesn’t fulfill our demands, we have decided to continue to stage demonstrations,” a leader of the demonstrators said.

As soon as the demonstration started, chief police of Rakhine and Yan Lin Aung, district chief officer of Kyaukphyu, arrived there, and requested the villagers to stop the procession. The officers told the people that they will negotiate the claims with Social Eco Group at CNPC’s Headquarter. By 3:10pm that day, the demonstration was called off without any violence.

Maday Island is located 8 miles East of Kyaukphyu, and has a population of 3,000 people. Most of the people live in Kyauk Tan, Pyein, Ywama and Panhtainsal villages.