"Religious leaders from the Buddhist, Catholic and Muslim communities in Myanmar have joined the chorus of opposition to the Myitsone Dam, a Chinese-backed hydropower project on the Irrawaddy River, as Aung San Su Kyi’s government faces a decision on the U.S. $3.6 billion project. Aung San Suu Kyi is expected to travel to Beijing at the end of this month to attend China’s Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. She and her ministers have been tightlipped on the fate of the dam in Kachin State, which was suspended in 2011, but they face strong Chinese pressure to resume construction. The Venerable U Seindita, a Buddhist monk from Asia Light Monastery and promoter of interfaith harmony in Myanmar, said the Myitsone dam project should be cancelled permanently. “With regard to Myitsone dam, former president U Thein Sein promised to suspend the construction during his five years tenure and he actually made it happen,” he said. “Now, the National League for Democracy (NLD) government should be trying to cancel the project permanently. They should not postpone the decision to cancel this project and pass this project on to the next government,” the monk added..."