5th May 2026
The attempts to forcibly resume the stalled Myitsone Dam project, which has been
suspended since 2011 under former President Thein Sein’s administration, are in direct
opposition to the will of local Kachin people and the citizens of Myanmar.
The Burmese military has ruled and waged civil war within the territory of the union of Burma for many decades. As a result, Kachin and non-Burman ethnicities have been enduring severe hardship, such as impoverishment, and lack of access to health and education. In 1994, a ceasefire agreement was signed between the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO/A) and the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), but did not lead to any political negotiation. Instead, the SPDC took advantage of the agreement to start large-scale extraction of natural resources from the territory of Kachin State.
