The Shan CSOs had held a press conference at the Chiangmai University Academic Services Center (Uniserv) before coming to the consulate without prior notice. “Our main purpose is just to provide information,” said Sai Khur Hseng, one of the panelists. “We are not here to stage a protest.”

The documents were about 10,000 Shan farmers in 7 townships whose farmlands have been adversely affected by the soon-to-be operative Arakan oil-and-gas pipelines. They had lodged complaints on several subjects:

•     Unjust, unequal compensation
•     Damage to crops
•     Damage to roads, accidents
•     Water shortages
•     Risky ignorance of local soil hazards (eg. Salt deposits in Hsipaw that can cause corrosion and rupture of the pipes)
•     Poor construction (eg. Holes in the pipelines that are being patched up like tire punctures)
•     Fear of leaks and explosions

Shan CSO members and Thai police at the Chinese consulate in Chiangmai, 5 April. 2013 (Photo: SHAN)

The same message was delivered to the Shan State government by representatives of the Northern Shan Farmers Committee in Taunggyi this morning.

They have demanded that the pipelines “be taken out and our lands restored to their original condition.”

“Well, I don’t think the Chinese (government) will listen to you,” commented a Thai police officer. He didn’t elaborate why he thought so.

The Thai police had offered to deliver the documents for the Shan CSOs after an hour long standoff under Chiangmai’s burning sun.

One Shan activist quipped, “They should listen to the people, if they still continue to call their country People’s Republic of China (PRC).”

Nang Mwe Hseng, a representative of the Shan farmers, speaking on the Arakan gas and oil pipelines, said, “We feel like a time bomb has been pleased under our homes. Not only have our lands been taken without our consent, but our lives are now under threat.”

For further details on the effects of the pipelines, please visit www.shanhumanrights.org