What's more, Thein Sein appoints Aung San Suu Kyi to investigate
In an unprecedented move, Burmese
authorities have apologized to the Buddhist clergy a day after a pre-dawn raid
on copper mine protesters that injured dozens of monks in central Burma.
The mine, jointly owned by the
military-owned Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd and China’s Wan Bao
Company, has become the latest flashpoint between the country’s newly awakened
citizenry and a government that is attempting to feel its way gingerly toward
liberalizing.
Police used water cannons, tear
gas and smoke bombs to raid camps in an effort to break up the protest at
around 2:30 am on Thursday. Weapons that protesters described as flare guns
caused severe burns to protesters and set shelters ablaze. The crackdown is
considered to be the most violent response to civil disobedience since
President Thein Sein took office last year.
More than 300 residents from 12
villages have staged protests for the past four months over the project, citing
environmental destruction, forced relocations and illegal land confiscation.
They say more than 7,800 acres of land from 26 villages under the shadow of the
Letpadaung mountain range have been seized to make way for the project that
began last year. Since mid-November, protesters have been disrupting workers by
linking arms to block the path of trucks at the construction site, and erecting
camps nearby.
It isn’t the first time protest
has erupted against environmentally questionable projects, especially Chinese-owned
ones. In February, the government stopped construction on the Myitsone Damon
the Irrawaddy River in the face of public protest. It also closed down a
planned coal-fired energy plant at Dawei on the southern coast, although that
was said to be helped along by questions whether the plant was economically
viable.
President Thein Sein now has
appointed Opposition Leader and Nobel Prize Winner Aung San Suu Kyi to head a
30-member commission created by Thein Sein to determine whether the mine should
be allowed to continue. The villagers have been protesting for several months
against a US$1 billion-odd expansion of the mine, complaining that their land
was appropriated by the previous military regime.
In a ceremony on Saturday in
Monywa, a business town northwest of Mandalay and three miles from the protest
ground, the Sagaing Division Police Chief San Yu told 10 senior monks that the
protesters had refused to vacate the area despite warnings and used clergymen
as human shields.
“When the security forces charged
in, the protesters ran away and only monks remained. I feel sorry for what
happened. It’s an accident,” he said, earning loud boos from the audience of
more than 50 people, which was still outnumbered by security personnel.
Even though the ceremony was
aimed at appeasing the monks, those actively involved in the demonstration
boycotted the event, according to a Buddhist monk called Teza who sits on the
protest committee.
The 29-year-old monk explained
that the shotgun confession ceremony was between the authorities and Sangha
Maha Nayaka, a group of senior monks in the town. Some complained that the
group of elder clerics was handpicked by the government to keep the younger
monks in line.
“Even though they apologized to
us, we have no forgiveness for them,” Teza told The Irrawaddy, adding that
despite being trained in the Buddhist principle of loving kindness and being
regarded as “men of forgiveness,” the monks involved would not pardon the
security forces.
“What would happen in the future
if we accept their apologies whenever they did wrong to us?” he asked. “So if
the senior monks accept their apologies, it won’t reflect our views because
they never supported us in the protest.”
“Only the government’s vow to
cancel the project would earn our forgiveness,” added Teza.
The Saturday afternoon ceremony
seemed to take place without the knowledge of most Monywa residents. Ant Maung,
a poet who resides in the area, said that he only learned about the event
shortly before noon.
“I only heard about it a few
minutes ago,” said the 80-year-old. “I think it happened because of Daw Aung
San Suu Kyi,” he added, referring to the Burmese opposition leader’s request
during a public meeting in Monywa on Friday for the government to express
regret for the violent crackdown.
“But making an apology is not
enough,” he told The Irrawaddy. “The government needs to fulfill the people’s
wish—a complete shutdown of the project.”
On Friday, the United States said
it was worried about the “forcible eviction” of peaceful protesters. State
Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the White House has been urging
Naypyidaw to ensure security forces exercise maximum restraint and protect the
right of free assembly.
Meanwhile, members of the 88 Generation
Students group have arrived in Monywa to hear complaints from protesters and
local residents living near the copper mine.
Kyaw Phyo Tha, The Irrawaddy
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