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"Clearing the way for Burma's "new global gateway of Indo-China."
Of the many mega-projects proposed in Burma, one eclipses them all: the planned $50 billion Dawei port.
A deep-sea port designed to receive sea-faring shipments from Europe and the Middle East sits at the core of the project. But developers also hope to build oil refineries and major highways linking the port to major capitals as far away as Vietnam. If completed, it would be "Southeast Asia's largest industrial complex," according to Reuters.
Looking at a map of Southeast Asia, it's almost surprising that such a strategically obvious port isn't already up and running. Were Burma not ruled by an isolationist and sanctioned junta for five decades, the port would likely exist already.
As the U.S.-born Burmese historian Thant Myint-U writes, "ancient barriers are being broken and the map of Asia is being redone."
In a piece titled "Chasing Riches? Mind the Guerrillas," I wrote this week that future investors in Burma will need to factor in the desires of the varied ethnic groups -- and their armed factions -- that lay claim to more than half of the country's territory.
Sabotage is always an option for these seasoned jungle fighters, whose leadership may decide a foreign-owned project is exploitative or environmentally damaging. The Karen ethnic army has already blocked trucks en route to the Dawei port.
But the video below, shot along Dawei's scrubby coast by Al-Jazeera, suggests peaceful negotiation may trump force.
Yes, villagers living in the project's path are being pushed into relocation zones and, no, they're not happy about it. But they are openly and peacefully organizing to assert their demands to the government.
This would be an unthinkable proposition in the recent past.
Watch Video Clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JH9l_XYJFU&feature=player_embedded
http://www.globalpost.com/globalpost-blogs/southeast-asia/burma-megaproject
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