Mining Myanmar
“We urge foreign companies to immediately pull out from all dam projects in Shan State. These dams only benefit the regime and fuel their atrocities against civilians.”
While the humanitarian situation is rapidly deteriorating and the junta’s scorched-earth campaign is escalating, the junta and junta-linked cronies are aggressively plundering and cashing in on Myanmar’s natural resources. This is a continuation of decades of exploitation of natural resources by the Myanmar military, most prominently in ethnic areas, to enrich themselves and to fuel their atrocity crimes against the ethnic minority communities. At the same time, the attempted coup d’état has opened the floodgates for natural resources to be exploited unsustainably, having a devastating effect on the environment, particularly in Kachin and Shan States. The human cost is also very real. People are losing their land, lives, livelihood and heritage, with mining done almost exclusively without any human rights due diligence and consultation with and consent from local people and ethnic communities while military leaders, cronies and foreign companies reap the profits.
By and large, the worst exploiter of natural resources is the Myanmar military. The links between the Myanmar military’s businesses and the funding of their atrocity crimes are concrete – exposed by group of activists like Justice For Myanmar and evidenced in the report of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar (IIFFMM). The IIFFMM exposed the vast web of military-linked businesses, including in the extraction industry of jade, gems, gold, coal, timber, and oil and gas – under the umbrella of Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprises (MOGE), Myanma Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL) and Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC) and other military-linked enterprises. The report showed these military-linked businesses not only enriched the military’s leadership, but funded the Rohingya genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Kachin and Shan States. These entities prop up the military’s leadership who feel entitled to the spoils of war, high on money, power and greed. It is crucial to remember that the junta is no more than a terrorist organization, with no legal authority to grant licenses for natural resources – which rightfully belong to the people of Myanmar.
Kachin State has rich mineral deposits of jade, rubies, sapphires, other gems, gold and rare earth elements. In the 1990s, the Myanmar military heavily exploited Kachin State, without local consent, in concert with Chinese companies. This has caused a loss of land, deterioration of social fabric, polluting waterways, eroding river banks, and silt affecting forests and ecosystems. Currently, Kachin State is being plundered for gold from the Myanmar military, Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and others, as the economic downturn in the aftermath of the military’s coup attempt has pushed people to scramble for resources. Miners use unsustainable mining techniques and fail to ensure the safe disposal of poisonous mercury. Communities and environmental activities in Myitsone, are voicing their concerns that the use of heavy dredging equipment, which dumps silt and wastewater into waterway, is ruining the environment.
While this is happening, many hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in protracted displacement due to armed conflict are being forced to sell their ancestral lands, with some having their land ruined or taken in during this gold rush. This includes IDP Bawk Nu’s village, which has turned into a wasteland of craters and piles of dirt – forcing her to sell her land. Bawk Nu says that “I had dreamed of going back home when my village became [sic] peaceful.” She said, “After I saw all the gold mining in my village, I felt like my dream was shattered.” While KIO claim they are not the main culprit, local people are calling on them as the governing entity representing the people in the region to provide a solution to this problem and end unsustainable gold mining practices.
Another earner for the junta is jade and gems, which Global Witness says is a racket controlled by junta leader Min Aung Hlaing. Conservative estimates prior to the coup attempt between 2014 – 2017 by Global Witness, places the worth of Myanmar’s gemstone industry between $346 to $415 million USD per annum – based on official production volume data. When integrating smuggling and illegal trade, their report indicates the industry could be worth an average of US$1.73 billion to US$2.07 billion annually during the same four years. While Harry Winston and Tiffany’s are no longer sourcing gems from Myanmar, others such as Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Walmart cannot show an ethical supply chain. Myanmar is the second largest producer of gems, and produces 90 percent of the world’s jade, mostly exported to China. Jade mining in particular is corrosive to the environment, and poor safety regulations and no accountability from mine management has led to preventable deaths. In December 2021, at least three were killed and over 70 people went missing due to a landslide at a Hpakant jade mine in Kachin State, this was after at least 168 died in 2020 in the same area.
In Shan State, the military junta has been unlawfully granting land concessions to a crony company Ngwe Yi Pale and its subsidiaries for the mining of coal for 500 acres, and in March the junta seized a villager’s land in Nawng Hee tract and forced 100 villages to build them an outpost. Ngwe Yi Pale has cleared land and blocked streams, without consent from local people. The Myanmar military has also been aggressively seeking to build at least 20 more dams in Shan State, to export the majority of the power generated to China and Thailand. Shan-based communities and civil society have been outspoken and protesting for the end to damming projects, as rivers are the lifeblood of communities, which should be protected for future generations. French company Razel-Bec is continuing to construct a dam on the Namtu River in northern Shan State, despite the project being in a joint venture with a subsidiary of military crony conglomerate International Group of Entrepreneurs (IGE) – which is sanctioned by the EU. A local community leader, Sai Kham Harn told Shan Human Rights Foundation that “We urge foreign companies to immediately pull out from all dam projects in Shan State. These dams only benefit the regime and fuel their atrocities against civilians.”
By far, the military junta is profiteering by hundreds of millions of dollars from the oil and gas industry through MOGE. On 20 June, 459 Myanmar and international civil society organizations called on President Emmanuel Macron and the French government to not grant TotalEnergies an exemption to EU sanctions on MOGE, an exemption if exercised would allow cash to be paid to the illegitimate junta. Oil and gas profits rightfully belong to the people of Myanmar. The US government has yet to sanction MOGE, but this is provided for in the Burma Bill, which has passed the House of Representatives and awaits a vote by the Senate.
Last week, evidence affirming the brutality of the junta and continuing culture of impunity rife within the ranks of the Myanmar military surfaced via Radio Free Asia. A lost cell phone of a junta soldier found by a villager in Ayadaw Township, Sagaing Region, has turned up a wealth of images and videos, depicting torture and massacre of civilians, with soldiers nonchalantly posing next to dead bodies and boasting about the killing, decapitating and massacring of civilians. For those engaged in business with this military junta, they have in fact become partners in crime.
Thus, it is crucial that the international community pressure businesses engaged with Myanmar military to end their businesses responsibly, ensuring human rights due diligence when exiting Myanmar. This military committed genocide of the Rohingya and is using funds to perpetrate crimes against humanity and war crimes presently. Businesses shouldn’t be profiting from the suffering of the people of Myanmar or using the attempted coup as a time to seek lucrative deals. The international community must apply further sanctions to military and military-affiliated businesses, targeting lucrative jade, gems, and oil and gas to end the flow of funds to the junta’s war machine. For the US and France in particular, it is time to ensure sanctions are in place and operational and expedite legislative actions to ensure the oil and gas cash flow is cut off to this military. Businesses must also fulfill their human rights obligation by responsibly withdrawing their business interests with the military junta – as they continue to brutally kill and terrorize the people of Myanmar.
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[1] One year following the 1988 pro-democracy uprising, the former military junta changed the country’s name from Burma to Myanmar overnight. Progressive Voice uses the term ‘Myanmar’ in acknowledgement that most people of the country use this term. However, the deception of inclusiveness and the historical process of coercion by the former State Peace and Development Council military regime into usage of ‘Myanmar’ rather than ‘Burma’ without the consent of the people is recognized and not forgotten. Thus, under certain circumstances, ‘Burma’ is used.
Resources from the past week
Statements and Press Releases
By 71 International and Civil Society Organizations
By 459 Organizations from 20 countries
By 459 Organizations from 20 countries
Internet shutdowns hide atrocities: people in Myanmar need global action
By Access Now
ညှင်းပန်းနှိပ်စက်ခံရသူများကို ကူညီထောက်ပံ့ရေး အပြည်ပြည်ဆိုင်ရာနေ့ ထုတ်ပြန်ချက်
By Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, Asia Justice and Rights, All Arakan Students’ & Youths’ Congress, Burma Civil War Museum, Equality Myanmar, Association of Human Rights Defenders and Promoters, Human Rights Foundation of Monland, Knowledge Hub Myanmar , Karen Women’ s Organization, Network for Human Rights Documentation Burma, Ta ‘ang Civil Society Organization, Union Of Karenni State Youth, Women’ s League of Burma and Women for Justice
International Day in Support o f Victims o f Torture Stop Torture, End Impunity
By Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, Asia Justice and Rights, All Arakan Students’ & Youths’ Congress, Burma Civil War Museum, Equality Myanmar, Association of Human Rights Defenders and Promoters, Human Rights Foundation of Monland, Knowledge Hub Myanmar , Karen Women’ s Organization, Network for Human Rights Documentation Burma, Ta ‘ang Civil Society Organization, Union Of Karenni State Youth, Women’ s League of Burma and Women for Justice
Canada announces next phase of strategy responding to Rohingya and Myanmar crises
By Government of Canada
By Human Rights Foundation of Monland
ICRC Regional Director for Asia Pacific visits Myanmar
By International Committee of the Red Cross
The 7th ASEAN-Japan Defense Ministers’ Informal Meeting
By Japan Ministry of Defense
By Karen Women’s Organization
By Karen Women’s Organization
Notification on Establishment of the Digital Myanmar Kyat (DMMK) and NUGPay Mobile Wallet
By Ministry of Planning, Finance and Investment – NUG
By United Nations Children’s Fund
UNICEF statement on the death of two boys by a grenade round explosion in Magwe Region, Myanmar
By United Nations Children’s Fund
By Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar
Statement in response to the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights at the UNHRC Session
By National Unity Government (Ministry of Human Rights)
By National Unity Government (Ministry of Human Rights)
National Unity Government of Myanmar Press Briefing NUG Press Conference English Summary
By National Unity Government (Ministry of International Cooperation Myanmar)
By National Unity Government (Ministry of International Cooperation Myanmar)
By Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
By Special Advisory Council for Myanmar
By United Nations
Reports
Summary of SAC human rights violations in Karenni State and Pekhon Township (June 6 – June 19, 2022)
By Karenni Civil Society Network
By Karenni Civil Society Network
Progressive Voice is a participatory, rights-based policy research and advocacy organization that was born out of Burma Partnership. Burma Partnership officially ended its work on October 10, 2016 transitioning to a rights-based policy research and advocacy organization called Progressive Voice. For further information, please see our press release “Burma Partnership Celebrates Continuing Regional Solidarity for Burma and Embraces the Work Ahead for Progressive Voice.”
