Myanmar: Efforts to Fix Myanmar’s Deadly Jade Mine Issue Face Obstacles

Jul 9, 2020 | Nan Lwin, Irrawaddy
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In the wake of the disaster, the government has set up a committee to investigate the accident, while Myanmar’s military sacked the Kachin State security and border affairs minister and took action against an officer commanding a military unit in the area. Despite the formation of the investigation committee, pictures of the ill-fated jade miners’ bodies laid out in rows that went viral on social media have left anyone who sees them wondering aloud, “Who is responsible for this incident?” and “Why did it happen?” The following are the views of an environmentalist and a natural resource governance expert on how the government can implement policy reforms to avoid further deadly incidents, and what it can do to reform natural resource governance in Hpakant.