MANDALAY (UCAN): Myanmar’s Catholic bishops in have called for the complete shutdown of the China-backed hyrdro-electric Myitsone Dam.
 
In a statement released June 8, the bishops pleaded for all dam stakeholders “to review the Myitsone Dam project in Kachin State and stop it permanently” for the sake of the country’s people.
 
Charles Cardinal Maung Bo of Yangon, along with 18 bishops from 16 dioceses signed the statement after a biannual meeting held in Yangon from June 4 to 7.

MANDALAY (UCAN): Bishop Raymond Sumlut Gam of Banmaw in Kachin State has asked Aung San Suu Kyi’s government to inform the public about the status of the China-backed Myitsone Dam project, following reports of increased Chinese pressure to restart it. The $29.8 billion project was suspended in September 2011.
 
“It is the right time to inform the public because a lack of transparency from the government is worrying the people,” Bishop Gam, an ethnic Kachin, said.
 

While Aung San Suu Kyi’s government has a strained relationship with the west over its handling of the Rohingya crisis, China has shielded the country from international pressure and punitive action from the United Nations Security Council.
 
However, in exchange for its diplomatic protection, Beijing is now pressing Myanmar to revive the Myitsone Dam project, which has been suspended for seven years.