Locals want copper mine closed
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Residents of 19 of 26 villages in Letpadaungtaung gathered on Sunday afternoon in Seltel village to call for the controversial Chinese-backed copper mine to be closed, residents said.
“This meeting is not concerned with compensation. It is to call for the end of the project,” said a resident of Seltel village, who asked not to be named.
He said there were still about 150 families in his village despite a call from authorities that they move out of the project area.
“Four entire villages, including the mine, will be relocated,” he said, adding that some families had moved while others were refusing to budge.
Villagers also used Sunday’s meeting to demand that the government identify those responsible for the brutal crackdown on peaceful protestors last November.
A protest over the crackdown that began on December 12 in Ton Village is continuing, villagers said, adding that officials had tried but failed to negotiate an end to the protest.
The copper mine – a joint venture between military-owned Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings and China-based Wanbao Co – has sparked many protests over allegations of forced relocation and land grabbing.
Military-issued phosphorous bombs were used against protesters when riot police brought a violent end to months of demonstrations in November, according to a report released by US-based Justice Trust and the Myanmar Lawyers Network last week.
The report also alleged that officials cheated and intimidated villagers into signing contracts to hand over their land.
An official commission was formed after the crackdown but has yet to release its findings. Some observers expect it to release a report before the end of this month.
