Introduction

The information in this situation update was collected in June and July 2020. It was provided by local villagers and village heads in Moo (Mone) Township, Kler Lwee Htoo (Nyaunglebin) District.

Gold mining activities

Gold mining activities have been conducted since 2015 along the Klaw Myaw and Puh Lo Kloh rivers. These rivers are located between O--- and L--- villages, Moo Township. They flow near -E--- village, N--- village, A--- village, Y--- village, S--- village, I--- village, W--- village, and M--- village. They also flow near O--- villagers’ farms and ponds, and near the Kler Law Seh and Maw Poo ponds [these ponds are connected to the river through ditches]. The Kler Law Seh pond is located east of S--- village. The Maw Poo pond is located east of M--- village.

In May 2020, there has been an increase in gold mining activities in Th’Bay Lah Muh Hkoh place,[4] along the Puh Loh Kloh river [more land was allocated to conduct gold mining activities]. Around ten businessmen are engaged in the gold mining activities: U[5] Say Pout, Daw[6] Mya Yay, Daw Say Yar Aye, Daw Jet Ma, U Kyaw Thu Ra, U Nga Zaw, Maw[7] Zaw Oo, Kay Chaw Oo, U Zaw Lwin and U Aung Aung Oo. U Say Pout is from Shwegyin Town, but got married in Moo Town.

These businessmen received permission from the Moo Township KNU authorities to mine gold in the area. Saw Eh K’Lu, the Moo Township leader, is taking responsibility regarding this case [was responsible for granting the permission]. The gold mining committee is led by company commander Kyaw Kyaw from Karen National Liberation Army’s (KNLA)[8] Brigade #3, Battalion #8, Company #3 [a gold mining committee was established to monitor the gold mining activities and decide which lands will be allocated as gold mining sites. It is composed of local KNU officials and KNLA officers from Brigade #3, Battalion #8, Company #3].

Naw P---, Saw D---, A--- and Saw K--- from Z--village were negatively impacted by the gold mining activities. These villagers stopped working on their hill fields in 2020, as their lands were designated as gold mining sites. [At first, the KNU Township authorities said that their lands were located in a reserved forest, and therefore refused to compensate them. However, Maung Zaw from the gold mining committee collected 6 million kyats [USD 4,493.70][9] from six of the businessmen engaged in the gold mining. Although the four villagers were given one million kyats [USD 748.95] each as compensation, they do not have lands to farm anymore. They asked the company commander Kyaw Kyaw and a local KNLA platoon commander for new farmland. The KNLA officers responded that they would consider their request, but the villagers had yet to receive new lands as of December 10th 2020. It seems that, in this case, the remaining two million kyats [USD 1,497.90] were shared among the committee members.]

In E--- village, B---, Saw F---, and Saw H--- were negatively impacted by the gold mining activities. Their lands are located east of E--- village, along the K’Law Myaw river and near the gold mining area. Polluted water [with mercury[10] and other chemicals used in gold mining operations][11] leaked into their well, so they cannot use it to get drinking water anymore. It created difficulties for them because they have to get drinking water from other wells. The villagers in E--- worry that the gold mining activities will eventually pollute all the water sources in the village, and that they might get sick because of the polluted water in the future. They also worry that their lands will get damaged [because of the pollution and the gold mining operations].

The villagers from the areas affected by the gold mining activities want them to stop. If these activities continue, they will damage the environment, as well as the local farms and hill fields [even more]. They will also have a negative impact on the aquatic fauna.

The damages caused by the gold mining activities prompted the Z--- and N--- village tract[12] administrators to organise a meeting with the local villagers on May 17th 2020. They discussed ways of preventing the major damages caused by the gold mining activities and possible means of compensation for the villagers affected. In June 2020, the Z--- and N--- village tract administrators reported about the damages caused by the gold mining activities to the KNU Township authorities. The Township authorities have not responded to the report yet.

The Township authorities organised a meeting [of the gold mining committee] on May 19th 2020. They decided to stop the gold mining activities from July 1st to August 1st 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The gold mining will resume on August 1st 2020. Saw A--- from Z--- village told KHRG that his land was included in the area allocated for gold mining, [and that he will most likely lose it] if the gold mining activities resume. [The gold mining activities did resume and are expected to continue until the end of 2020.]

One of U Say Pout’s workers died in a landslide in the E--- area on July 2nd 2020 while maneuvering an excavator. The other workers were able to retrieve his body on July 4th, and to dig out the excavator on July 14th.

Covid-19

The KNU has put in place travel restrictions in J--- and U--- villages, Moo Township to prevent the spread of COVID-19. A screening checkpoint was also set up between the two villages. Since June 2020, villagers from J--- and U--- have to obtain a recommendation letter from the village or village tract administrators, as well as a doctor’s certificate [stating that they do not have COVID-19] to be able to travel. The travel restrictions have created difficulties for the villagers from J--- and U--- villages, as they depend on the sale of their seasonal crops for their livelihood.

In June, the KNU Township authorities arranged three market areas between J--- and U---villages. Villagers from the mountainous areas and from J--- have to go to these market areas to sell and buy [crops and food].

Villagers from the J--- area who work abroad have to quarantine upon their return. The Myanmar government gave responsibility to each township to take care of these returnees. There are two designated places [quarantine facilities] in Ler Doh (Kyaukkyi) Township: one is in Ler Doh (Kyaukkyi) and the other one is Moo (Mone) Town. Later on, the township authorities delegated this responsibility to the village tract authorities. Smaller quarantine facilities were then set up at the village level. Families have to tend to the needs of and send food to their relatives in quarantine at the township and village facilities.