Civil Society Organizations Oppose Dawei Project Cooperation with Russian Government

Myanmar Civil society organizations and political groups in the Tanintharyi Region have issued a statement opposing the cooperation between the Russian government and the military council on the Dawei Project.

On February 23, Russian Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov and Myanmar Military Council Minister Dr. Kan Zaw signed an agreement for Russian investment in the Dawei Special Economic Zone project, which includes coal-fired power plants and oil refineries.

EPA photo/Archive

The Dawei Deep Sea Port Project was initially implemented in 2012 through an agreement between the Thai and Myanmar governments. It later evolved into a joint project between Myanmar, Thailand, and Japan. 

Still, it was suspended due to human rights violations, including forced land confiscation, pressure on local indigenous people to relocate forcibly, and corruption.

Now, the military council is attempting to revive the project in cooperation with the Russian government. 

 Draft image of the Dawei Special Economic Zone

The Dawei Special Economic Zone project covers 196 square kilometers and includes a deep-sea port, coal-fired power plants, oil refineries, numerous polluting industrial factories, a dam, and highways and railways connecting to the Myanmar-Thailand border.

Civil society organizations have reported that the project has violated the rights of local indigenous peoples and ethnic groups, forced relocations without fair compensation, and damaged historical evidence of cultural traditions in the Nabule area. These issues remain unresolved to this day.

During the past four years, the military council has arbitrarily arrested at least 28,600 people and killed over 6,300 civilians, including more than 2,200 who died in airstrikes, while committing over 359 mass killings.

According to a UN statement as of March 3, 2025, more than 3.5 million people have been internally displaced during the four years, with approximately 1.3 million seeking refuge in countries across the Asia-Pacific region.

The Tanintharyi Region civil society organizations and political groups strongly oppose collaboration with the military council, which continues to commit war crimes.

Eleven Myanmar civil society organizations and political groups from the Tanintharyi Region have issued a statement expressing their complete rejection of the Dawei Deep Sea Port Project, which they believe will only increase forced relocations and human rights violations against people already suffering from general socio-economic hardships due to the military council's oppression, arrests, and killings during this period of political instability and lawlessness.

Bagan News Agency/Myanmar