Tonight's Dateline: Burma's Collision Course

Burmese villagers are opposing a huge copper mine, but does the involvement of the country's military Generals call into question the new political freedoms?

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Much has been made of Burma's transition from a military dictatorship, but tonight's Dateline at 9.30pm on SBS ONE travels to a rural farming village where locals are calling into question the country's new freedoms.

Wet Hmay is now home to a huge copper mine owned by a large Chinese weapons manufacturer and a business run by Burma's top Generals.

Villagers say the mine is destroying their crops and their traditional way of life, displacing families from their ancestral land with little compensation, and it could ultimately flatten an entire mountain range.

Evan Williams meets protest leader Aye Net, who's inspired by democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi, but the villagers' anger is quickly met by a violent response from the authorities.

With the Generals still seemingly dominating every part of Burmese life, what prospect is there for the country's hope of people power?

See Evan's report tonight at 9.30pm on SBS ONE, and read more now on the Dateline website.


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Source: Dateline


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