Villagers displaced by the Chinese-operated mine contend that they have not received fair compensation while the company claims that it has been socially responsible throughout the process.

[3] Ivanhoe divested its share of the project in 2011, citing the impact of the negative stigma of working with the military government on its other business throughout the world.

The final agreement with Wanbao, reached after protests in 2012, gave it a 30% share of the eventual profits, 19% going to UMEHL, a massive military-owned company and 51% to Myanmar’s government.

However the large projects undertaken with China often served to exacerbate anti-China sentiment in the country, which has always had a contentious relationship with its northern neighbor.

[4] Like many issues in Myanmar, anti-Chinese feelings have come to the surface and been manipulated since the democratic transition removed censorship and created a new political economy.

Ninety percent of the electricity produced by the $3.6 billion dam would have gone to China, which, combined with its environmental impact, led to broad protest in Myanmar.

[2] Villagers protesting the Letpadaung copper mine have expressed dissatisfaction with the resettlement process, compensation schemes, environmental and health effects, and the destruction of an important religious site.

In December 2014 Wanbao Spokesman Dong Yunfei said in an Interview with the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) that the company intends to offer compensation to all 1,032 villagers affected by the mine.

[6] The mine and the support industries that have followed it have radically increased the price of land in the area, making it harder for displaced villagers to settle nearby and devaluating their compensation.

[5] As recently as November 2014 Amnesty International urged the government to stop work at the project, citing a flawed acquisition process, the presence of environmental and social repercussions and the lack of official accountability regarding violence against protesters at the mine in 2012.

[10] The incendiary devices exploded, sometimes in the laps of praying monks, throwing sparks and burning material onto the clothes and skin of other protesters.

an unofficial investigation group, published a report after the event which included lab results from a canister found at the scene indicating the presence of phosphorus.

The sticky substance thrown by the canisters stuck to tents and people and could not be extinguished by pulling off, rolling on the ground or dousing with water.

Villagers allegedly protested by throwing rocks and firing slingshots at workers and the police officers brought with them, and by physically blocking the work.

[18]The Myanmar Ministry of Information issued a report, run in state media outlets, which took a less conciliatory note than the statement made by Wanbao.

The report said that tensions erupted when a group of about 30 protesting villagers prevented a bulldozer from clearing a path for an extension of the border fence by lying on the ground.

[5] After the incident, Aung San Suu Kyi blamed the administration of President Thein Sein for the shooting and the violence at the mine in general.

[19] On December 29, a week after the shooting of Daw Khin Win, dozens of protesters tussled with police outside of the Chinese embassy in Yangon where they were attempting to lay a wreath to commemorate her death.

The following morning Nay Myo Zin, an activist and former Myanmar military servicemen, was arrested by waiting police as he began the trip to the Letpadaung site.

Though they did not give specific charges, police allegedly told Nay Myo Zin that his arrest was due to his participation in the protests of the night before.

Fellow activists Naw Ohn Hla, Daw Sein Htwe and Tin Ptut Paing were apparently arrested the same morning.