NLD statement implicated govt in Letpadungtaung clashes

According to the NLD statement, a commission was formed to once stigmata the case of the Letpadungtaung copper mine project last year, with NLD chairperson Aung San Suu Kyi as leader of the commission. The investigation commission submitted its final report to the President on March 11, 2013, and the full text of report was made public the following day. The president then appointed a committee to implement the findings of the investigation commission. 

The NLD claims that the recent injuries and the killing of a local woman protesting against the mine project were made possible by the implementation committee's failure to fully implement the commission’s suggestions and the police's failure to execute crowd control and riot control techniques properly.

The relevant authorities should deal with this problem with special care by upholding accountability and avoiding acts that may harm people. The NLD would like to urge officials to make a thorough investigation into the case as quickly as possible after taking an account of the rule of law and its impact on peace and stability, the statement says. 

The investigation commission’s report suggests that the company operating the Letpadungtaung mine compensate local farmers for the 6,784 acres of seized land and pay for land substitution to farmers after leaving about 1,900 acres of land in the nearby villages vacant or fallow. 

MP Khin San Hlaing of the NLD, who is also a member of the Letpadungtung Copper Mine Investigation Commission, said: “It has been one year since the implementation committee was formed by the President. It Is clear that the committee could not manage these problems effectively. The clashes erupted because authorities failed to implement the recommendations of the commission that reviewed the project. The final report urges compensation for seized farmland. 

A woman was shot dead and 40 others were injured in the recent clashes between farmers and the police over fencing in Letpadungtaung copper mine project on December 22. Two more locals were injured on December 23. Myanmar Wanbao Mining Copper Co (MWMCL) suspended fencing on December 24. 

A different statement, claiming to be released by the NLD, circulated widely on social media on December 22 and implicated the Letpadungtaung protesters in the recent clashes. The NLD’s information officer U Kyi Toe declared it to be a forgery.

MWMCL’s fencing project continued into the evening of December 23 with the help of some 100 police officers. 

Some people from Sede village fled the area to stay with relatives due to a rumour that an arson attack would be carried out against them, according to local people.

With regard to the suspension of fencing, a Salingyi Township police officer said: “It is true that the company has stopped fencing. I don’t know when the fencing will resume.”