YANGON
- Myanmar aims to restore a stretch of
the infamous "Death Railway" to Thailand which was initially built by
Japanese-held prisoners of war, the minister in charge of the scheme told AFP.
The
railway was immortalised in the Oscar-winning film "The Bridge on the
River Kwai" which showed the dreadful working conditions endured by tens
of the thousands of POWs who built the track during World War II.
A
feasibility study on the 105-kilometre (65-mile) stretch running from Myanmar's
"Three Pagodas Pass" area to Thailand is scheduled to begin in
October, Railway Minister Aung Min told AFP late Saturday.
"We
will reopen this (rail)road. The other countries said they would also help us
and we will continue working for it," Aung Min said after peace talks with
ethnic Shan rebels.
"We
will do a survey and try to start working after the rainy season with the help
of the international community."
Long
isolated under decades of army-rule, Myanmar has embarked a rapid series of
political and economic reforms under President Thein Sein, including moves to
better relations with its neighbours.
The
railway would provide a much-needed economic shot in the arm for the
impoverished area, which is home to Myanmar's rebellious Karen ethnic group, by
boosting trade with Thailand and attracting tourists.
Karen
rebels signed a ceasefire with the government in January, a major breakthrough
towards ending the long-running insurgency.
Built
by the Japanese between 1942 and 1943 to shuttle supplies from Thailand into
Myanmar, then called Burma, along a route that engineers had long considered
impossible, the rail link was destroyed by Allied bombers in 1945.
Some
13,000 POWs succumbed to abuse, malnutrition and disease during the 14 months
it took to carve the 424-kilometre (263-mile) railway through dense jungles and
mountains, under orders from their Japanese captors.
It is
also estimated that 80,000 to 100,000 Asian civilians, who were also used as
forced labour, perished in the railway's construction but most of their remains
have no known markers or graves.
AFP
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