Cis

Cis-Salween area being 'urbanized'

A Shan rural area west of the Salween has been crowded with military units, loggers, construction workers and local forced laborers involved in the 5-year urbanization project since March, reported a source who recently returned from Shan State. 

Sai Raza, a Shan environmentalist working with Thailand-based Salween Watch, said Kengtawng, the scene of more than a hundred villages being forcibly relocated in a massive scorched earth campaign in 1997, was swarming once again with thousands of people who were allowed to return on condition that they would assist the Army's activities and hundreds of outsiders who were there to "make fast money". 

Kengtawng, with its administrative seat in Tonhoong, is located inside 5 townships: Namzang, Kunhing, Mongpan, Langkher and Mongnai. It is in the flood area of the Salween dam project, the feasibility study of which was completed only late last year. 

Sai Raza said he saw a Bailey bridge, 360 ft long and 14 ft wide, being constructed by the Hong Pang Company, the Wa's main business firm. "I saw villagers cutting maipao (Shorea robusta) to supply beams for the bridge," he said. 

The area's teak and maipao forests were also being felled by loggers from Asia World, former druglord Law Hsinghan's company. 

He also heard from Burmese soldiers that more than 3,000 families from Burmese lowlands would be brought up to resettle there. However, he was unable to obtain confirmation for this piece of news. 

One fringe result of the 'urbanization project' would be that units from the Shan State Army of Yawdserk might have to make a long detour of the area during their movements between central and southern Shan State, he remarked. 

According to Salween Watch, Japan's Electric Power Development Corporation, has been bidding for a contract to carry out the final studies for the dam. The dam site is located between Mongpan in the west and Mongton in the east of the Salween. 

For related information, visit 
# Relocated people return home to build fortifications (16 August 2001)
# A new hydro-electricity plant to be built near the Salween (19 August 2001) 
# 7 villagers killed for complaining about forced labor (Shan Human Rights Foundation, September report)