Myanmar Parliament pledges safety review after Hpakant landslide

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Myanmar Parliament pledges safety review after Hpakant landslide



Myanmar: -- Upper House speaker Khin Aung Myint has told lawmakers that a decision on safety measures for mines operating in Hpakant will be presented to the Union Parliament in the coming weeks, The Irrawaddy reported.

He said on Monday that the government would address lawmakers on the subject of improving safety in the jade-rich Kachin township before the end of the year.

A landslide in Seik Mu village on Nov 21 laimed the lives of at least 114 prospectors, who were in a mine basin handpicking for jade residue when a hill of mine tailings collapsed and buried them alive.

Upper House Kachin lawmaker Khet Htein Nan last week presented a motion asking the government to urgently introduce new safety regulations to prevent future catastrophes.

November’s disaster has stressed the need for the government to address the structural problems of Myanmar’s jade industry.

A report by Global Witness, the London-based watchdog, charged that many of the mines were operated by senior figures of the former military junta, military-owned conglomerates and junta-linked tycoons, earning between them an estimated US$31 billion in revenue last year.

In his monthly radio address to the nation on Dec 5, President Thein Sein also highlighted the need for a review of safety practices in the high-risk work environment in the wake of the landslide.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/myanmar-parliament-pledges-safety-review-after-hpakant-landslide


-- Thai PBS 2015-12-09