Burmese rights activists are concerned about the upcoming two-day visit to Burma by Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, during which Yingluck hopes to further development plans with the Burmese government.

Thai premier Yingluck Shinawatra (left) shakes hands with Burma's President Thein Sein on her first trip to Burma in October. (Photo: Irrawaddy)

Saw Frankie, a Karen environmentalist working for Another Development for Burma (ADFB), said that development projects from Thailand frequently move to Burma as the initiators do not have to pay a lot of attention about the effects the projects have on the livelihoods of Burmese people.

“They have to pay a lot of attention to the impact their development projects in Thailand as Thailand is a democracy, and the people of Thailand know how to fight for their rights when development projects adversely affect their lives,” he said.

“They do not have to care about this in Burma,” he added.

Burmese human rights activists report that that there are ongoing human rights abuses in the Tavoy area where currently the Italian-Thai Development (ITD) company from Thailand is implementing a massive development project in Tavoy named the Tavoy Deep Seaport and Economic Zone.

According to ADFB, which is closely observing the situation of human rights abuses related to the Tavoy project, there are about 1,880 houses in five large villages located at the site of the planned economic zone site, and the relocation of 12,700 people will be necessary.

The company plans to relocate the affected villagers to Pawa Village in the northwest of Tavoy. The company has built houses for the victims of forced relocation, but the structures are different sizes and quality, which causes concern for the people about what type of houses they will receive from the company as compensation.

The Burmese and Thai governments agreed in May 2008 to begin construction on the Technical Zone of the Tavoy Deep Seaport, which allowed ITD to begin implementation of the project.

The project is eight times larger than the Map Ta Phut Industrial Zone in Rayong, Thailand, which is run by the same company, according to the Foundation for Ecological Recovery.

Map Tha Phut is estimated to have cost some 370 billion baht (US $10.5 billion), while the Tavoy project is estimated at around 303 billion baht ($8.6 billion).

Thai environmentalists are worried for the Burmese people who will be affected by the project, and who may be unaware of the full environmental affects.

Environmentalists said that Burmese people may face similar issues to the local people in Thailand who contracted cancer from poisoned water as a result of the Map Ta Phut project.

Rights activists said that development plans from Thailand should ensure the health, safety, and desires of the Burmese people rather than only taking care of agreements with the Burmese government.

Nai Aue Mon, the coordinator of Human Rights Documentation and Dissemination Project from the Human Rights Foundation of Monland, said, “ITD has ignored the rights of the people, and the company has done whatever it wants to do to the people after they got the agreement from the Burmese government to implement the project.

“It is important to know how to fulfill the desires of the people. They should not ignore the rights of the people,” he said.

 

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