Seven charged in mine kidnapping case

Seven charged in mine kidnapping case

By Tim McLaughlin and Ei Ei Toe Lwin   |   Friday, 23 May 2014

Charges have been filed against seven people suspected to be responsible for the kidnapping of two Chinese contract workers at the controversial Letpadaung copper mine in Sagaing Region.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi arrives at the Letpadaung copper mine last year. (Kaung Htet/The Myanmar Times)

Dong Yunfei, administrative manager at Myanmar Wanbao Mining said they filed a lawsuit at Myoma Police Station in Sar Lin Gyi township on May 18.

"Everyone who breaks the law should be punished. If they are not punished, others will act like they did. Though Myanmar is making democratic reforms, we can't act carelessly and do what we want to do in a democratic country. We need to obey the law," he said.

The contractors were abducted along with a Myanmar colleague on May 18 by members of the Yangon Public Service Network, an activist group opposed to the mine's expansion.

The three were taken while conducting surveying work for Myanmar Wanbao Mining near the group's Letpadaung copper mine project.

The Myanmar national, identified by Wanbao as Ko Khin Aung Moe, 21, was released on the night of May 18. The following morning, Wanbao issued a plea for the release of the other two workers, Lu Yuanhao, 23, and Miu Jie, 23.

"Wanbao vehemently condemns this unprovoked attack on our colleagues," a statement issued by the company said.

On May 19, Wanbao said that the contractors had been released and returned to the company's office at about 7:15pm. The statement said they were in "good shape" upon their return.

Members of the Yangon Public Service Network have been some of the most vocal opponents of the Letpadaung Mine and have called for the project to be halted.

Ko Han Win Aung, an activist from Yangon Public Service Network, disputed Wanbao's version of events.

"In reality, the villagers just enquired why they were doing land measurements on those lands owned by those who didn't take compensations from the company. The villagers just brought them to the local primary school to talk about it," he said.

Last year, prominent Yangon Public Service Network activist U Aung Soe was arrested for ploughing

confiscated land at the site as part of a protest against land confiscations. He was sentenced to 11 years in jail.

Wanbao said in a statement that the captors originally called for U Aung Soe to be freed in exchange for the release of the hostages, but later withdrew the offer and instead called for the mine to be halted and the removal of fencing recently erected near the site.

The copper mine – a joint-venture between Wanbao Mining from China and army-run Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (UMEHL) – has been the site of fierce tension since late November 2012, when security forces led a violent crackdown on protesters unhappy with the mine's expansion plans.

Work at the site was halted, but restarted last year after a new contract between the invested parties was signed following a recommendation from the Letpadaung Investigation Commission headed by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

It is undergoing expansion that is expected to take about three years. It will enable annual production at the mine to increase from 40,000 tonnes of copper to 100,000.

Despite extensive efforts to rehabilitate its image, including promising to put 2 percent of its profits into area corporate social responsibility works, Wanbao continues to be a lightning rod for criticism. Most recently, local workers at the project protested over pay and conditions, which they said were vastly inferior to those enjoyed by their Chinese colleagues.

Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2014/05/26/seven-charged-in-mine-kidnapping-case/