myanmar
times
t H e
May 28 - June 3, 2012
Myanmar’s first international weekly Volume 32, No. 628 1200 Kyats
HUNDREDSof people tookto the streetsof downtown Yangon last weekfor candelightdemonstrationsover electricityshortages, as protests that began in Mandalay onMay 20 spread to other regional centres.On May 22, about 150 people gathered at SulePagoda at 7pm for a 30-minute demonstrationthat was watched by about 1000 more. Thedemonstrators lit candles and entered thepagoda’s southern entrance before walking aroundthe 2500-year-old landmark before dispersingpeacefully at the request of police.“The people have showed their needs anddemands. How is [the government] going to solvethis? We want an explanation,” said Ko Wailu, whotook part in the first day of the protest.“The government that accedes to the demands of the public will be loved. If they don’t accede, theywill be judged by the public,” he added.The demonstration was repeated on May 23,24 and 25 with larger numbers of participants,prompting the government to warn protesters tostay within the law.“It is usual in a democratic country that peopleexpress their desire by protesting. But they needto be lawful,” presidential adviser U Ko Ko Hlaingtold a press briefing on May 24.“They can protest to the extent that the lawpermits. According to the law, if they want toprotest they need to inform the police station andget permission.”Demonstrations also occurred in Bago andMonywa, residents said. On May 21, about 100people protested in Monywa, with almost 500demonstrators gathering the following evening,watched on by several thousand people.The demonstrations were sparked by powershortages that began on May 19 after transmissioncables from the Shweli hydropower project weredamaged. The government said last week thatKachin Independent Army insurgents wereresponsible for the May 18 attack.Ko Kyaw Kyaw, a 35-year-old Mingalar TaungNyunt resident who joined the demonstration onMay 23, said the poor electricity supply made lifeextremely unpleasant. “If the electricity doesn’tcome, it is hard to get the water we need to wash,cook and drink. I will only stop the campaign whenelectricity comes,” he said.
Electricityshortagessparkwave of protests
‘Gie the whole nation electricity’
Demonstrators arrange candles into the shape of Myanmar near Sule Pagoda in downtownYangon on May 23, around a handwritten message that reads, ‘Give the whole nationof Myanmar electricity’. Demonstrators began gathering in Yangon to call for 24-hourelectricity on May 22 and continued the rest of the week. Related stories pages 2, 3 and11.
Pic: Ko Taik
By Thomas Kean
EXPERTS from across Asiaand the world will arrivein Yangon this week for aconference on preserving Yangon’s unique cityscape.Organised by the YangonHeritage Trust, participantsat the June 1 conference,Towards a ConservationStrategy for Yangon in the21
st
Century, will seek to “findcreative ways” forward for acity preservation strategy,founder Dr Thant Myint-Utold
The Myanmar Times
last week.“We will have more than100 participants, includingMyanmar and internationalurban planners, architects,historians, businessmen,NGOs, as well as Myanmargovernment officials and theUnited Nations,” he said. Yangon Region Chief Minister U Myint Swe and Yangon Mayor U Hla Myintare scheduled to addressthe gathering, while UnionMinister for Industry U SoeThein – a “big supporter” of the trust – is also expectedto attend.The main conference willbe preceded by a smallerexperts-only session the daybefore, he said. “The entireweek, not just the conference,will be an opportunity forMyanmar and internationalexperts to meet and discussthe challenges we face inprotecting Yangon’s uniqueheritage, to learn lessonsfrom experiences overseasand seek practical solutions,”he said.“We’ve done a lot of thinking, not only on thesorts of regulatory reformsthat might be necessary, butalso on ways of attracting theneeded financial resources,which will be very substantial,and at the same time not onlyprotecting local communities,but also generating new jobsin downtown Yangon.“We hope the conferencewill help to highlight theurgency of the issue and moveus towards very concreterecommendations for theMyanmar government.” Yangon boasts the largeststock of colonial-era buildingsin Southeast Asia but manyhave suffered as a result of years of neglect. Populationpressures have resultedin many buildings beingdemolished to make way forcondominiums and otherdevelopments.
Expertsto discussfuture of Yangoncityscape
More page 4
US human rights report hails reform in Myanmar
Page 23
Inside
By Htoo Aung
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May 28 - June 3, 2012
By Aung Shin
THE government last weekresponded to growing unrestover electricity shortagesby outlining its strategy toimprove generation capacityin the medium to long term,“We know that electricityis a major challenge forour country. We have toconsider five essentialneeds – land, electricity,roads, telecommunicationsand water – when foreigninvestors are coming. We aretrying to find ways to have24-hour electricity supply todevelop our country,” DeputyMinister for Electric Power2 U Aung Than Oo said at apress conference on May 21,a day after protests began inMandalay.U Aung Than Oo said thegovernment was invitingforeign investment inthe power sector and twoforeign-backed power plantconstruction projects thatwould significantly boostelectricity generation werealready underway.“We are going to build a600 megawatt (MW) coal-fired plant with Japanese JPower Company and another500MW gas-fired power plantwith DKB Company of [SouthKorea]. These plants will bebuilt near Yangon,” said U Aung Than Oo.The coal plant wouldtake three or four years tocomplete, while the gas-firedplant would be finished in alittle over a year, he said.Meanwhile, US companieswill invest in power plantprojects that will be able toprovide electricity during thehot season when the nation’shydropower dams run low, hesaid, without giving furtherdetails.But U Myint Aung,managing director of theMinistry of Electric Power2, which is responsible forgeneration and distributionof electricity, said that fewforeign companies wereinterested in investingin power generation inMyanmar while residentialretail prices were only K35a unit.“Many local and foreigncompanies approached thegovernment about investingin power supply installationand privatisation of electricitygeneration but so far theyhave only offered to loanthe government money,” hesaid.The Ministry of ElectricPower 2 buys electricity fromMinistry of Electric Power1 for K20 a unit and sells itto residential customers forK35. The K15 a unit markup,however, is not enough tocover the ministry’s operatingcosts.The Ministry of ElectricPower 1 is responsible forelectricity production andmanaging hydropowerprojects, Ministry of ElectricPower 2 is responsiblefor electricity generation,distribution and sales,while Ministry of Energysells natural gas to foreigncountries.Myanmar currently has 18hydropower plants, one coal-fired power plant and 10 gas-fired plants. The hydropowerplants have a maximumgeneration capacity of 1270MW but only 1000MWin summer because of the lowwater level of their dams. Thegas-fired plants can generatean additional 340MW.However, this is as much as500MW below demand, whichhas increased 15 percent thisyear, U Aung Than Oo said.Peak usage during rainyseason averages 1450MW,rising to 1850MW duringhot season, according toministry figures, althoughlarge swathes of the countryremain off the national grid.Last week’s protestswere sparked by cuts toelectricity supply afterinsurgents allegedly bombedtransmission lines linking theShweli hydropower station tothe national grid, reducinggeneration capacity by about200MW.
Govt outlinespower plans
By Soe Sandar Oo
THE government lastweek refused to say whenit expects repairs todamaged electricity supplycables in Shan State tobe completed, as protestsagainst electricity cutsspread from Mandalay to Yangon and other cities.Insurgents have beenblamed for a May 18 attackon 230-kilovolt cablestransmitting electricityfrom the Shweli hydropowerproject in northern ShanState into the nationalgrid. The damage to thetransmission cables has cutgeneration capacity by 200megawatts and forced theMinistry of Electric Power2 to introduce rationing inmost areas, sparking largeprotests.The head of the YangonCity Electricity SupplyBoard (YESB), U AungKhaing, said in a pressrelease on May 23 that about10 percent of the repairwork had been completed. At a press conferencetwo days earlier, he saidthe weather and unstablepolitical situation maderepairing the linesdifficult.“It is difficult to estimatewhen the tower will be rebuiltbecause it’s in a conflictzone and the surroundingarea needs to be clearedfirst. Rebuilding the towerdepends on establishingpeace,” he said.To relieve the shortages, American firm Caterpillaris working with YESB tobring six 2MW generatorsfrom Singapore by the endof this week, while GeneralElectric is to provide two gasturbines, each capable of generating 25MW, U AungKhaing said on May 23.“We will supply moreelectricity after all thegenerators have arrived,”he said.He said YESB had alsoplaced eight generators incertain areas to improvesafety for the public.“The generators havebeen placed in some areasto power roadside lightsand traffic lights. We haveanother 10 to use in otherlocations if they are needed,”he added. A May 20 report in thestate-run
New Light of Myanmar
newspaper saidthe attack destroyed fourtransmission towers onthe Shweli-Mansan line, inNankham township, wasthe work of the KachinIndependence Army.U Aung Khaing saidnobody was hurt or injuredin the attack but he addedthat Yangon’s electricitysupply would return torationing that would seeindustrial zones receive noelectricity.
Transmission line repairs underway: govt
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May 28 - June 3, 2012
By Aung Shin
ITS stock price may be plummetingbut Facebook has again showedits value as an organisational tool,with protests in Mandalay last weekover electricity shortages instigatedthrough the social network.The nighttime protests, whichbegan on May 20 and ran for threedays, saw hundreds of Mandalayresidents gather peacefully for severalhours to hold candles and placardscalling for improved electricitysupply, as thousands more peoplewatched on. The placards carriedmessages such as “Myanmar energyis only for Myanmar citizens” and“Give us electricity”.The series of demonstrations wassparked by electricity shortages thatthe government said were the resultof insurgents damaging transmissioncables from the Shweli hydropowerproject in Kachin State on May 19.However, the city normally receives just six hours of electricity a day.Shortly after the bombing, ananonymous group named “24 HoursElectricity Supply” used its wall toannounce the launch of the candlecampaign and encouraged otherpeople to join in. Hundred of people“liked” the group and shared the linkon their own walls.Participants said it was the firsttime in Myanmar that Facebook hadsuccessfully been used to organise ademonstration.“It was instigated on Facebook,someone started a campaign andpeople sent it to each other, it juststarted like that. It would have to bethe first time people have protested inMyanmar with the help of Facebook,”said cartoonist Hajule (Katha), whotook part in the protests.“The protests were not led by anyone. All kinds of people participated.People are suffering due to theinadequate electricity supply sincelong before the Shweli transmissionline was destroyed. Everybody reallywanted to show their feelings aboutthis issue,” he said.Ko Aung Gyi, a resident of Aungmyaythasan township who joined the demonstration on May20, said he didn’t know who wasleading the protest but participatedby holding a lit candle.“In our quarter, the electricity isout more than ever before. We getless than six hours. The electricitygoes out very often as well. I don’tunderstand why the governmentis selling our natural gas to othercountries instead of supporting itsown people. It is unacceptable,” Ko Aung Gyi said.The protests took place outside theMandalay City Electricity SupplyBoard office in Chanayetharzantownship, beginning at about 6pm andending – in the dark – at 9:30pm.The regional government respondedto the first demonstration by callingan urgent press briefing at 9:30pmon May 20 to explain the reasons forthe shortages.Daw Aye Aye Min, chief engineerof Mandalay Region Electricity Office,said the city, which has a population of more than one million, was receiving just 65 megawatts (MW), well belowdemand of 150MW.“We want to give enough [electricity]but we just don’t have it. I was almostcrying when I heard about the protest.I just want you to pray for rain toget a lot of water so that we canget electricity from the hydropowerplants,” she said.The Mandalay Region governmentalso requested Nay Pyi Taw toprovide generators to alleviate thecrisis. The 24 units provided arebeing used to power water pumpingstations to help solve the electricity-related water shortages that haveafflicted the city.The government also pledged thatno action would be taken against thedemonstrators, despite taking severalpeople into custody on May 22.“They were not arrested. It was just for a discussion with them tofind out what they want and to findout how [the protest] happened. Theprotest is technically against the lawbecause detailed codes are not formedyet [for the peaceful protest law]. ButI ... was guaranteed earlier that noaction would be taken against anyof the protesters,” Dr Myint Kyu,regional minister for electricity andindustry, told
The Myanmar Times
by phone on May 22.
Facebook bringspower to peoplein Mandalay
Protesters take to Yangon streets
Yangon residents gather at Sule Pagoda (top left) to peacefully demonstrate against
power shortages on May 22, the rst of four consecutive nights of protests at the
central Yangon landmark. Watched on by thousands of people, the demonstratorscarried candles and walked around the pagoda for about 30 minutes beforedispersing at the request of police. Top right: Demonstrators at Sule Pagoda on May23. Above: Demonstrators join together in solidarity against power shortages.
Pics(clockwise from top left): Kaung Htet, Ko Taik, Boothee
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201232628
May 28 - June 3, 2012
myanmartimes
Myanmar’s first international weekly Volume 32, No. 628 1200 Kyats
tHe
Electricity shortages spark wave of protests
HUNDREDS of people took to the streets of downtown By Htoo Aung… (More)
myanmartimes
Myanmar’s first international weekly Volume 32, No. 628 1200 Kyats
tHe
Electricity shortages spark wave of protests
HUNDREDS of people took to the streets of downtown By Htoo Aung… (More)
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