In Burma the cultures, feelings and emotions of the ethnic people who live along the Salween River are intrinsically linked to it. When Shan couples are courting, they profess their love by using the Salween as a metaphor. "I will love you as long as the Salween flows". The Karen people also have a cultural bond with the environment. In Karen the word for country is Htee Kaw: Htee means water and Kaw means land, so the combination of land and water is the word for country. The Karen people also call the land mother. Artifacts that show the origins and development of communities in South East Asia have been found along the Salween River, such as the Spirit Cave near Mae Hong Son.

But the Salween River and the culture of the people that live along it are under threat. There are plans to build two large hydro-electric and a number of smaller dams along the river. The two proposed large dams are joint projects between the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) and the Burmese military junta. The EGAT plants to invest $5.5 Billion for the construction of two dams on the Thai-Burma border.

But there is also a push from the Thai government for development projects along the border. Thailand’s former Deputy Prime Minister General Chavalit Yongchaiyud said “joint development will make border areas more open and help eliminate bad people, minority people and bad things hiding along the border and ensure greater security” .

Unfortunately, the lives of the peaceful, minority people who live on the banks of the Salween will definitely change. They will not be able to continue enjoying their traditional way of life: fishing, farming and using the natural resources along the river when the dam will flood their villages. "If the dam is constructed the villagers will face huge problems. The reason is that our land, farms, gardens, trees and bamboo will all be flooded. We, the mountain people, clear the forest and plant rice for our lives, so this dam will bring huge problems to us” a villager from Ta Oo Der said . Thousands of villagers will be forced to move and be made homeless in regions which have been ravished by the effects of decades of war, such as the deadly presence of landmines.

And this displacement is already occurring. In 1992 there were an estimated 107,000 people living in the proposed dam sites, now there are only 54,000. Among that figure 35,000 are now internally displaced. Two hundred and ten villages have been destroyed by the Burmese authorities and the villagers have been forced to live in 31 relocation sites. In these relocation sites the movement of villagers is severely restricted and they are subjected to a range of human rights abuses, especially forced labour.

In November 2004, the Burmese army launched a new military offensive in Toungoo, Papun and Nyaunglebin Districts near the proposed dam sites. The purpose of this offensive was to secure control of four roads which lead to the dam. An estimated 10,000 people fled their homes during the offensive, becoming displaced, without any belongings, clothing or food. And it is believed that the SPDC burned more than 388,000 kilograms of paddy rice and destroyed hundreds of rice barns.

The grassroots people predicted that the dam would also cause a larger military presence and more human rights violations in the area. People are already alleging being forced to work on constructions associated with the dam. A Shan villager said “I helped construct a building near the dam site for the soldiers … I received no payment for my work, and I did not want to do the work. But I knew that if I refused, I would be arrested.”

And this is not an isolated account. It is well documented that the Burmese junta also known as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) uses forced labour on development projects that they are associated with. There is a human rights abuse case currently before in courts in France, where it is not disputed that the SPDC used forced labour, but whether or not oil company TOTAL, the foreign investor, was aware of the violations.

Moreover, when EGAT said that hydro-electric power from Burma was cheap they did not look at the human rights abuses that will occur before, during and after the construction of the dams. Additionally when estimating how much profit these dams will generate, the EGAT did not factor in the risks to people's lives or the environment, social and cultural losses, or the destruction of natural and historical resources.

In spite of these alarming issues EGAT still believes that the Salween Dam project is worth pursuing. In a document from EGAT to Thailand’s Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, EGAT claims the electricity produced by the dams would save the Thai government 30 Billion Baht per year for at least the next 50 years . But while the Thai government, and indirectly the Thai people, will be paying for the construction of the dams, the profits of the energy production and sale will go to EGAT. And none of these profits will be used to compensate the people who, as a result of the dam, have lost everything.

Just as sad, is the fact that the people who will be most affected by the dams were not involved in any consultation process about it. Instead, on some occasions when workers from non-government organisations approached villagers to discuss about issues related to the construction of the dams, the villagers laughed at the prospect of a dam being built . They did not know that agreements had already been signed and that it was not a matter of if the dam would be built, but when. During the same meetings the villagers have the voiced their opinion on the dams. It is a clear and unified message: Stop the Dams.

"We, all the ethnic peoples in Burma, have always been oppressed by the Burmese regime and never feel free to speak, write or oppose any projects in our area that will affect us. I know that Thai villagers will receive some compensation if the Wei Gyi dam affects their homeland, farmland and belongings, but there is no guarantee for us. The Karen and Karenni will lose their homeland, farmland…and culture. The dam will only support the regime, not the indigenous people of Burma," Shwe Muang, a Karen man working in Thailand, said.

But their voices are not being heard. Questioning the Burmese junta is a deadly past-time and in Thailand, despite the formation of lobby groups and media coverage of the issue, the project is still moving ahead. One reason that lobby groups are having a limited effect is the lack of accurate information available about the dams. Detailed data about the planned dams and flood areas have not been made available in either Thailand or Burma. From the limited information that has been released the flood area in Thailand will be very small compared to the likely flood areas of Karen and Karenni States in Burma.

Development projects are irrevocable - once a project has started, its effects can never be reversed. If the Salween Dam project continues it will permanently displace thousands of people, destroying their homes and livelihoods. Thailand is not facing a power shortage, so the Salween Dam project is development purely for the sake of development. And that is not a reason to destroy a unique part of the world, or the precious link between the ethnic people and the river.

Endnotes

1. Bangkok Post, November 27, 2002


2. "Damning at Gunpoint", Karen River Watch, November 2004


3. "The Salween Under Threat", Salween Watch, Southeast Asia Rivers Network, Center for Social Development Studies, October 2004


4. IBID


5. Panel Discussion on the Salween Dams, November 10, 2004


6. IBID