As the government in Burma, also known as Myanmar, engages in its much-touted reform process, a civil society movement in Burma’s Arakan state is steadily gaining strength. Earlier last week, protesters continued to demonstrate against the ongoing oil and gas exploration in the Shwe fields.

There’s an irony at play in the Southeast Asian country’s Arakan state. While local villagers belonging to indigenous ethnic minority groups scour the forests for firewood every day to cook meals, a multi-million dollar oil and gas exploration project flourishes in their backyards at the Shwe gas fields.

The latest campaign by the Shwe Gas Movement (SGM), an organisation that has been highlighting the environmental and social impacts of the Shwe gas project, comes in response to the Burmese Energy Minister Than Htay’s announcement late last year that most of the extracted gas will be exported to neighbouring China.

24-hour electricity
The Arakanese people have questioned this announcement. “Nearly 80 per cent of the Burmese population lives without electricity. Against this backdrop, it’s irresponsible of the government to announce that they will be exporting most of the gas to China without serving domestic needs,” says Wong Aung of the Shwe Gas Movement.

The latest electricity campaign led by youth activists demands a 24-hour supply of electricity for Arakanese people before resources are exported. “The military government is trying to convince Arakan people that they will benefit from this project through the creation of jobs or a small share of revenue. But demand for 24-hour electricity shows that people are not going to be bought off so cheaply,” Wong Aung added.

Unfavourable
The Shwe gas fields are said to have 7.7 trillion cubic feet of oil worth 40.1 billion US dollars (approximately 30 billion euros). The Burmese government is estimated to gain 24 billion dollars (18 billion euros) from this project. Given the country’s heavy military expenditure, which takes up 40 per cent of its national budget, the consequences of the trade are not likely to benefit Burmese people.

Another questionable undertaking in the region is the 2800-kilometer long Shwe Gas Pipeline. It stretches across the breadth of the country, and is also expected to be operational in 2013. The pipeline, undertaken by China, is meant to transport Burma’s off-shore natural gas reserves on its western coast to southwest China.

Violations
Various groups have pointed out gross human rights and environmental violations. “The pipeline has been laid down by clearing forests, coral reeves, ocean floor etc. There's surely going to be an environmental impact. Apart from that, people’s land has been taken away from them, and they have been forced into labour,” Wong Aung says.

Despite these reports, companies involved in oil exploration continue digging. Chief among them are South Korea’s Korean Gas Corporation (KOGAS) Ltd and Daewoo International as well as Indian public sector oil companies such as Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC Videsh) and Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL).

Negotiations
Reports emerged in December last year that the government had offered compensation to those whose livelihoods had been affected by the laying of the pipeline in eastern Shan state. The much-opposed Myitsone hydro-electric dam was also called off after continued protests by locals in the Irrawaddy delta.

Both moves are quite in line with the new pro-reform avatar of the Burmese government. Wong Aung thinks negotiations are the best way to move ahead with the Shwe project too: “After the elections, there has been more freedom to express dissent. We have written an open letter to the energy minister as well as the president. There needs to be involvement of the local people to achieve progress.”

Will a government, until recently considered a pariah and eager to please international observers of its new ways, pay heed to its people’s call – especially when billions of dollars are at stake?