• Burmese
Thursday, July 10, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
26 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Burma

Wanbao, Govt Failed To Address Mine Project Concerns: NLD

Saw Yan Naing by Saw Yan Naing
December 25, 2014
in Uncategorized
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0 0
A A
Wanbao

NLD MP Khin San Hlaing talks to locals in Letpadaung on Thursday (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)

9.1k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

CHIANG MAI, Thailand — After two days of protest at the site of the Letpadaung copper mine project in Sagaing Division, the National League for Democracy (NLD) issued a statement on Wednesday criticizing Burmese authorities and the Chinese company behind the mine for failing to address the social and environmental impacts of the project.

On Monday, Khin Win, a 56-year-old woman, was shot dead by police during a protest against the copper mine project—a joint venture between Myanmar Wanbao Mining Copper Limited and the Burma Army-owned Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings.

On Tuesday, several more villagers were injured in confrontations with police near the project site, including at least three who were shot with rubber bullets.

RelatedPosts

Paranoid Junta Turns to Foreign Expertise After 4 Years of Chaos; and More

Paranoid Junta Turns to Foreign Expertise After 4 Years of Chaos; and More

May 10, 2025
1.6k
Naypyitaw Parliament Crumbles as Myanmar Junta’s Grand Ambitions Collapse 

Naypyitaw Parliament Crumbles as Myanmar Junta’s Grand Ambitions Collapse 

April 24, 2025
1.4k
Plundering Paradise: China’s Role in Myanmar’s Environmental Crisis

Plundering Paradise: China’s Role in Myanmar’s Environmental Crisis

January 24, 2025
1.7k

A parliamentary commission headed by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi reviewed the controversial project in early 2013 and recommended that it continue, provided the company adequately address the mine’s social and environmental impact.

In March 2013, President Thein Sein formed a committee to implement the findings of the parliamentary commission’s report. The NLD said in its statement on Wednesday that authorities had failed to heed the commission’s recommendations.

Khin San Hlaing, an NLD MP and a member of the Suu Kyi-led commission, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that Thar Aye, Chief Minister of Sagaing Division, had rejected the NLD’s claim.

“We met with the minister yesterday. We told him that the unrest on Dec. 22 broke out as the company and authorities did not follow the advice in our report,” Khin San Hlaing said. “But, the Minister didn’t admit it. He said that they are following the [recommendations of the] report and will try to complete the project.”

The project has drawn vehement opposition from local communities that have objected to the mine’s environmental impact, land confiscation and the removal of religious structures in the area.

Tensions flared between villagers and Wanbao contractors on Monday and Tuesday after the latter began clearing land with bulldozers and fencing off more than a dozen acres of farmland in Hse Tae village as part of the planned expansion of the mine.

On Wednesday, a commission was formed to investigate the clashes between protestors and police, with Thar Aye as vice-chairman. “He [Thar Aye] said he would then handle the issue based on the findings of the commission,” Khin San Hlaing said.

However, the NLD MP questioned the impartiality of the commission, as all its members were reportedly government officials.

Thar Aye said that the company would continue fencing off land in the project area, according to Khin San Hlaing.

The President’s Office said in a statement on Wednesday that 11 police and 11 protestors were injured during protests at the mine site on Monday and Tuesday. The statement claimed that villagers were armed with slingshots, knives and sticks and said that security forces had fired warning shots.

Regarding the death of Khin Win, the President’s Office said it was taking action according to the law.

In the last two years, there have been numerous confrontations between villagers and security forces as the mine’s operators attempted to extend the project’s operating area.

In Nov. 2012, dozens of protestors, many of them Buddhist monks, suffered serious injuries after police fired incendiary rounds, believed to be white phosphorous, into a protest camp near the mine.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: DevelopmentMore
Saw Yan Naing

Saw Yan Naing

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

It’s Time to Engage The Resistance Govt in Myanmar’s Rakhine
Guest Column

It’s Time to Engage The Resistance Govt in Myanmar’s Rakhine

by Mra Thida
March 29, 2024
2.8k

The junta’s loss of control over much of Myanmar’s westernmost state has made the United League of Arakan the most...

Read moreDetails
Plundering Paradise: China’s Role in Myanmar’s Environmental Crisis
Guest Column

Plundering Paradise: China’s Role in Myanmar’s Environmental Crisis

by Vaishali Basu Sharma
January 24, 2025
1.7k

China’s aggressive resource extraction in Myanmar is leaving a trail of environmental destruction and debt dependency in its wake, warns...

Read moreDetails
Paranoid Junta Turns to Foreign Expertise After 4 Years of Chaos; and More
Junta Watch

Paranoid Junta Turns to Foreign Expertise After 4 Years of Chaos; and More

by The Irrawaddy
May 10, 2025
1.6k

Also this week, regime boss Min Aung Hlaing joined his main allies in Moscow as his regime bombed resistance-held territory...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Power Shortage Leaves Millions at Mercy of Searing Summer
Features

Myanmar Power Shortage Leaves Millions at Mercy of Searing Summer

by Yuzana
May 8, 2023
6.8k

Electricity and water outages menace households and entrepreneurs as country slides further into chaos under military rule.    

Read moreDetails
Naypyitaw Parliament Crumbles as Myanmar Junta’s Grand Ambitions Collapse 
Burma

Naypyitaw Parliament Crumbles as Myanmar Junta’s Grand Ambitions Collapse 

by Lin Thurein Kyaw
April 24, 2025
1.4k

Built by regime cronies just two decades ago as a monument to military rule, the Parliament complex failed to withstand...

Read moreDetails
Is STEM-Based Higher Education Currently Out of Reach For Myanmar Refugees?
Guest Column

Is STEM-Based Higher Education Currently Out of Reach For Myanmar Refugees?

by Hope Akhtar and Dr. Sheraz Akhtar
July 30, 2024
1.3k

Refugee students are eager to pursue higher education focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Expanding access to it will...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
India’s Military Hunts Rebels After Deadly Attacks in Remote State

India’s Military Hunts Rebels After Deadly Attacks in Remote State

Asia Marks 10 Years Since Indian Ocean Tsunami

Asia Marks 10 Years Since Indian Ocean Tsunami

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

37 Years and Counting: Why Has Myanmar’s Democracy Struggle Taken So Long?

37 Years and Counting: Why Has Myanmar’s Democracy Struggle Taken So Long?

1 week ago
1.4k
China’s Surveillance State Watches Everyone, Everywhere

China’s Surveillance State Watches Everyone, Everywhere

2 days ago
784

Most Read

  • Chin Resistance Tensions Boil Over as CNA Seizes Rival’s Myanmar HQ

    Chin Resistance Tensions Boil Over as CNA Seizes Rival’s Myanmar HQ

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • ‘Reforms Are Not Optional’: Prominent Activist Urges NUG to Act Before It’s Too Late

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Chinese Investment Reshapes Myanmar’s N. Shan as MNDAA Consolidates Power

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta’s Top Russian Arms Supplier Tosses in Quake ‘Donation’

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.