Villagers demand investigation into gold mines
Mandalay farmers have staged a sit-in for the past four days in protest of gold mines they claim have encroached on their land. The Wet Tae village residents are demanding the government suspend the mining activities until the conclusion of an investigation. They also called for the government to scrutinise the permits for the gold excavation, which they say list the holder’s name as the Ministry of Home Affairs. “We have staged the sit-in protest day and night since January 14. We don’t intend to put the government in a difficult situation, we just want the authorities to not extend the terms of the gold mining plots which were approved by the previous government and to also take action against the miners who have trespassed on village land,” said U Maung Gyi, a local farmer and one of the protest leaders. He added that over 100 people have joined the sit-in in front of the Number 2 Mining Enterprise Office in Thabeikkyin township.
