Emerging from a meeting with a senior government minister on Friday afternoon, Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi welcomed today’s surprise announcement by President Thein Sein that he had suspended the controversial Myitsone dam project in Kachin State.Suu Kyi met with Aung Kyi, the minister of labor and minister of social welfare, relief and resettlement, for about one hour today at the Sane Lae Kan Thar state guesthouse in Rangoon. Among the issues discussed were an amnesty for political prisoners, cooperation on efforts to conserve the Irrawaddy River, and ways to achieve peace with Burma’s ethnic armed groups.
“I’ve heard that the president sent a message about the suspension of the Myitsone project on the Irrawaddy River in response to the public’s concerns. It’s very good that the government listens to the voice of the people, as that is what they should do,” Suu Kyi said to reporters after the meeting.
Dawn:
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei on Saturday urged “relevant countries to guarantee the lawful and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies”.“The Myitsone power station is a jointly invested project between China and Myanmar” and it has been “rigorously examined by both sides”, Hong said in a statement.
Hong called for both sides to “properly handle” the matter through “friendly consultations”.
Beijing and the Myanmar government have a close relationship and the comments are a rare public display of discord between them.
This — in the context of Kaplan’s recently-cracked-open Monsoon — is fascinating.
For more on the project, here’s the wikipedia page.
