save Irrawaddy Speech

Burma Democratic Concern (BDC) Director Myo Thein Speech on 23 Anniversary of Military Coup in Burma.

Burma Democratic Concern (BDC) http://bdcburma.org/Statements.asp?Id=133 strongly denounced the Irresponsible USDP Regime Failing to Save River Ayeyarwaddy. Burma Democratic Concern (BDC) strongly denounced the USDP's Electric Power Minister U Zaw Min's irresponsible comment saying there is no plan to stop building the Ayeyarwaddy Dam instead the government is pledged to finish building it in the wake of widespread objections.

People of Burma including democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi are calling for to review the Ayeyarwaddy Dam project due to the averse affect it will cause on Burma's environment, on Burma's bio-diversity and on Burma's future.

Lo Hsing Han and his son Steven Law (a) Tun Myint Naing run Asia World Ltd which currently has contracts to build MyitSone Dam on the Ayeyarwaddy River north of Myitgyinar. Ten more companies are owned under the group in Singapore by Law's wife, Cecilia Ng.

The Myitsone Dam site is located just 2 miles below the confluence and about 24 miles away from Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State.

The length of the dam is about 499 ft (152 m) and the height is about 499 ft, equivalent to the height of a 50-story building. The surface area of the reservoir is about 295.8 sq mi (766 sq km), about the size of New York City (301 sq mi).

A maximum water depth of the reservoir will be about 950 ft (290 m), approximately the height of a 66-story building. The estimated cost of the Myitsone Dam construction project is about US $3.6 billion.

The total cost for construction of the seven dams and hydroelectric development projects is about US $20 billion. The major construction contractor from the Chinese side is the China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CCGC), and from the Burmese regime side is Asia World Company.

It is strongly believed that Lo Hsing Han's business empire was originally built on narcotic-drug trafficking.

Starting as a local militia leader in the northern Kokang region in 1960, Lo Hsing Han was dubbed the "King of Opium" by US drug enforcement authorities in the 1970s because of large amount of heroin his alleged networks were sending through Thailand.

By 1994, his organization was widely considered among the most heavily armed drug trafficking organizations in Southeast Asia.

Golden Aaron, an Asia World subsidiary, has been linked to China.

Steven Law (a) Tun Myint Naing is the managing director of Golden Aaron, which has now been linked to CNOOC.

Both Lo Hsing Han and Steven Law have been on a US visa blacklist since 1996 for suspected drug trafficking activities.

In February 2008, they were also put on the Treasury Department's sanctions list, along with Asia World Company and subsidiaries Asia World Co Ltd, Asia World Port Management, Asia World Industries Ltd and Asia World Light Ltd for their financial connections to the regime.

Asia World Ltd, Burma's biggest and most diversified conglomerate with interests in industrial development, construction, transportation, import-export and a chain of local supermarkets. It is believed that he also controls several gold mines in Kachin State.

Tun Myint Naing also owns the Magwe United Football Club playing in the Myanmar National League (MNL).

Saving River Ayeyarwaddy is saving Burma and it is duties of all the people of Burma as well as the duties of man-kind to safe-guard the future of the world we are living in.

We also call for China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CCGC) and China's National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) to halt the ties with accused drug kin-pin of Burma.

Burma Democratic Concern (BDC) again calling for Burmese and Chinese regimes to review building Myit-Sone dam in Burma.

Addition, Burma Democratic Concern (BDC) call for all the people of Burma and justice loving people around the world to boycott Lo Hsing Han and his son Steven Law (a) Tun Myint Naing and Law's wife Cecilia Ng's Companies including Asia World Ltd, Golden Aaron, and Magwe United Football Club.

For more information please contact Burma Democratic Concern (BDC).