Resource information
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
"The transformation of Mount Pinpet, or "Pine Tree Mountain," in Burma's war-torn Shan State, for the excavation and refinement of the country's second largest iron ore deposit is changing the very nature of life there, and if not stopped could permanently destroy the home of more than 7,000 primarily ethnic Pa-O residents.
Since 2004 Russian and Burmese companies have been preparing to develop the deposit and are currently building an iron processing plant and a cement factory on a total of 11,000 acres of lands. An Italian company is also believed to be involved in the project.
Although there has been a ceasefire in the area since 1991, the military ruling Burma has established three sizeable battalion camps and two military universities in or around the nearby towns of Taunggyi and Hopone. Fighting has flared up south of the project site and has led to recent torture and killing of villagers by the Burma Army.
Twenty-five villages, a total of 7,000 people, could be permanently displaced from their homes and farmlands by the projects. A further 35,000 people rely on the watershed of the Thabet Stream in the valley east of the mountain.
Fifty people have already been forced to move and were not adequately compensated. The confiscation of vital farmlands has begun, leaving over 100 families without the primary source of their livelihood and sustenance. Travel restrictions have closed down a major road and prohibited villagers from collecting firewood, food, and shelter materials on the mountain.
The entire mountain of Pinpet will be excavated for this project, irrevocably changing the landscape and environment of the area. Pollution from mine tailings and erosion of mine heaps threaten the main water source of Hopone Valley. Ancient pagodas have been cracked and may be demolished altogether by explosions to prepare construction sites and begin excavation.
Local communities have not been informed or consulted about project plans and complaints to authorities about the confiscation of lands and lack of compensation have not been addressed. No assessments of the projects have been made public and mining authorities are pushing ahead by using the force of armed local military to relocate families, confiscate lands, restrict movements, and intimidate communities.
The lack of information is compounded by persistent speculation that the mining operation is in fact being set up to exploit and refine uranium, not only iron ore and limestone. These fears are fueled by Burma's announcement in 2007 that Russia is to build a nuclear reactor in the country.
The companies responsible for these projects should stop all activity and first conduct thorough and transparent assessments of the projects' environmental and social impacts; adequate compensation should be provided for those who have already lost their homes and lands; to assuage fears, all nuclear and uranium mining plans should be made public; and, such projects should not be conducted under the force of military power.
The Pa-O Youth Organization stands with its community to protect livelihoods, land ownership, and cultural heritage, and calls on regional and international actors to inspect the Pinpet projects and use their influence to ensure respect for the rights of affected communities.
