Reuters
June 18, 2006

The 2,800 km-long Salween (Nu) River, southeast Asia’s longest undammed waterway, is fast becoming a front line in one of the world’s longest-running conflicts – the war between the Burmese junta and the region’s ethnic Karen people.

The Salween River, Myanmar/Thai border: From the ice fields of the Himalayas to the azure waters of the Andaman Sea, the Salween flows undisturbed through some of the most outwardly tranquil territory on earth. But the 1,750 mile-long (2,800 km) river, southeast Asia’s longest undammed waterway, is fast becoming a front line in one of the world’s longest-running conflicts — the war between Myanmar’s military junta and the region’s ethnic Karen people. The predominantly Christian Karen, who have been fighting for independence for more than 50 years, believe plans by Yangon’s State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), as the junta is officially known, to dam the Salween are designed to destroy their jungle homeland and culture. The Karen and environmentalists also accuse Thailand, whose state power producer EGAT has signed a deal with Yangon to build the dams, of turning a blind eye to the plight of the Karen in a quest for cheap hydro-electricity. “The dams are one of the weapons the SPDC is using to clear us out,” said Nay Tha Blay, 33, of Karen Rivers Watch, a pressure group operating out of a bamboo hut in a secret valley in rebel-held territory near the Salween.