[Myanmar] Pipeline In Arakan Draws Protests

Residents in Arakan State protested a China-backed pipeline project on Thursday, accusing developers of failing to provide adequate compensation, infrastructure and salaries, Radio Free Asia reported. About 400 people marched to the headquarters of Beijing’s state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation, one of the primary developers of the Shwe gas project. The pipeline is a joint venture between CNPC and Burma’s state-owned Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise. Local workers say they are being paid about one-third the salary stated in their contracts, and residents claim compensation for land expropriated for the pipeline amounts to only half of the property seized.