Karen Group Fears Border Highway May Harm Livelihoods

Pado Saw Kwal Htoo Win, vice president of the KNU, said the planned two-lane highway will cut through pristine forests in the Tenasserim Hills and rural communities under the control of their group.

“They have to communicate with us and discuss the implementation (of this project). We haven’t receive any information yet,” he said.

He said the national government announced after reaching agreements with the Thai and Japanese governments on December 2 last year, that construction of the highway connecting Dawei SEZ and Thai–Myanmar border will resume.

The 150-kilometre two-lane road from Htee Khee to the Dawei SEZ was started by Ital-Thai Development (ITD) in 2008.

But it was abandoned in 2013 after the firm refused to compensate local communities for environmental and social disruption.

In July 2015, Thailand, Myanmar and Japan signed a memorandum of intent to resume the project.

Pado Saw Kwal Htoo Win said the project will have significant effects on local communities, especially the security of ethnic communities, as well as on the environment.

The government needs to work with local communities and ethnic groups that will be affected by the road project, he added.

“The KNU released its opinion about the highways project on February 1,” Pado Saw Kwal Htoo Win said.

According to a KNU statement, the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement  it signed in October 2015 stipulated that the national government must negotiate with them on any socio-economic development projects in KNU-controlled areas implemented by any government and related organisations.

The armed ethnic group’s statement said that before a project can be implemented, environmental and social impact assessment studies must be conducted in accordance with Myanmar law, the land and forestry policies of the KNU, as well as international standards.

The government must also consult in advance with all stakeholders, including the KNU, to ensure sustainable development for local communities, revenue-sharing between the national and state governments and the right of communities to participate in the project.

It was also noted that the highway must be designed to avoid or minimise effects on the Karen and other ethnic communities living in the area, and the environment, including the area’s important forests, rivers and biodiversity.

Affected communities must be properly compensated, added the statement.

U Phyo Win Htun, the regional minister for Planning and Commerce of Tanintharyi and vice chair of the Dawei SEZ committee, said the government is aware of the concerns of the KNU.

He said the Joint Coordinating Committee is seeking approval from parliament for a 4.5-billion-baht soft-loan to finance construction of the highway.

“The process will take about three months,” U Phyo Win Htun said.  “The committee already met with locals from nearby villages, and they were glad about the plan.”

“We know about their (KNU) statement, but the road project has not started. They may be contacted soon,” he added.

The project is supported by the Neighbouring Countries Economic Development Cooperation Agency, a public organisation based in Thailand which was established to provide developing ASEAN countries with financial and technical assistance.