Representatives from 150 concerned communities in Shan and Karen states attended a seminar at Chiang Mai University on Sunday where Sunnee Chiros, a former Thai human rights commissioner, presented a study she had done, which found that the dam’s environmental impact assessment process was flawed.
The group statement said the Myanmar government should abandon all dam projects on the Salween and pursue sincere peace talks in the region.
It said the Hat Gyi Dam would destroy the environment, harm people’s livelihoods and threaten regional peace, and urged people to campaign for power generated by environmentally friendly technologies.
The group also called for the Thai government to set an example as a regional leader to protect and preserve nature by ceasing all investment in dam projects.
The Bt100-billion dam has been commissioned by the Energy Generating Authority of Thailand International (EGATi), China’s Sinohydro Corp, Myanmar’s Ministry of Electric Power and the International Group of Entrepreneurs.
But the project has been criticised for a lack of transparency, damaging the environment, human-rights abuses and affecting local indigenous communities.
The Hat Gyi Dam is expected to produce 1,360 megawatts of electricity, 90 per cent of which will be relayed to Thailand. It will also be part of a scheme to fill Thailand’s Bhumibol Dam for drought relief.
Currently, Thailand primarily relies on power from natural gas, with reserves expected to last only another 30 years.
The Myanmar government’s Border Guard Force has been cracking down on the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) and communities living in the area near the dam since September 2014. At least 60 people have been killed in the fighting, with another 170 injured and at least 3,000 resettled due to BGF forces clearing the area for the dam.
Critics have said construction of the dam has caused a humanitarian crisis in Karen state, that stems from conflict and an inability to deliver much-needed aid.