Multinational oil companies involved in the Sino-Burmese oil and gas pipeline project are complicit in land confiscation, forced labor, arbitrary arrest and detention, as well as various violations of indigenous rights of the ethnic minorities in the affected regions, claims an Earth Rights International (ERI) report
“The contracts between the foreign companies and the Burmese state-owned company MOGE specify that the Burmese Army will provide security for the projects,” said Paul Donowitz,co-author of the new report titled, “The Burma-China Pipelines: Human Rights Violations, Applicable Law, and Revenue Secrecy.” “There are at least 28 army battalions already stationed along the pipeline route, and ERI is deeply concerned that the project will inevitably lead to more serious human right abuses against local population,” he said. We hope the Chinese, Korean, and Indian companies learn a lesson and postpone their projects.”
According to ERI, Daewoo International of South Korea is currently the main investor in the pipeline, possessing a 51 percent share in the offshore Shwe Gas fields in the Bay of Bengal, while China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) is the main investor and operator on the onshore gas pipeline construction, possessing a 51 percent share. Other oil companies involved in the project are: Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS); onGC Videsh; the Gas Authority of India (GAIL); and Burma's state-owned Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE). Last year, the China Development Bank Cooperation signed a contract with the Burmese junta for a loan of US $2.4 billion to construct the dual oil and gas pipelines