Call For Protection: Locals Affected In Dawei SEZ Concern Over Compensation

Myanmar ITV, 07 March 2016

A Dawei Development Association-DDA report released Monday suggests, the Dawei Special Economic Zone has caused some negative impacts to locals, especially on the lack of transparency, consistency, and negotiations on compensation for affected lands.

The report was launched at a public forum and ceremony of Dawei Special Economic Zone in Yangon. The report is jointly conducted with the Thai Human Rights Commission.

The Dawei deep seaport and special economic zone has started the ground construction in 2010 after MOU between Myanmar port authority and Italian-Thai company in June 2008.

Majority of locals living in the SEZ’s site do farming for a living but only 3% of them were compensated, according to researchers.

COORDINATOR, DAWEI DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION(DDA), THANT ZIN: When the SEZs appear, the social life of people is unstable because they will move or shift to another shelter. Dawei project has begun but it is already destroying the economic backbone of our communities.

Researchers say they have voiced out the locals’ concerns several times to authorities but had so far not received any response.

RESIDENT, KO LAY LWIN: Our village is included in the project area. The people who lived on the highway linking Thailand’s Kanchaburi province got the compensation but a lot of people still haven’t received compensation. The responsible person gave the compensation with no transparency and fairness. We hope the government stand for people than the foreign investors.

The project is to include a deep sea port, industrial zone, steel plant, fertilizer plant, coal and natural gas-fired power plant and water supply system as well as highway linking Thailand’s Kanchaburi province with Myanmar. DDA will give the report to the government, the parliament and responsible persons of the project.

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