Some protestors at Myanmar's Monywa- Latpadantaung copper mine project site have dispersed themselves following a government deadline demanding the protestors to break away before midnight Tuesday, local sources said Wednesday.

However, there still remains more than 100 protestors at the project site.

Myanmar Home Ministry issued the ultimatum on Tuesday night demanding the protestors to break away before the deadline to make way for an independent commission to probe into the project.

The commission, which will be formed soon, will not be able to look into the project as usual if the project activities are suspended, the ministry's press release said.

The formation of the independent commission was made following a decision by the House of Representatives (Lower House) at its 5th session approving a proposal by Daw Khin San Hlaing, an MP of Pale constituency, last Friday, urging the government to form the state-level commission to investigate into the cooper mine project.

According to the release, strike at six camps in the project area is underway despite curfew order and the project work have been halted since Nov. 18.

The Monywa copper mining project comprising Latpadaung and Kyayzintaung projects in Myanmar's northwestern Sagaing region has been undertaken by the Myanmar Economic Holding Ltd ,China's Wanbao Mining Ltd and Yang Tze Copper Ltd after the approval of the Ministry of Mines in March 2010.

For the past few days, demonstration by locals against the continued implementation of the project escalated. Some protestors also staged demonstrations in Yangon city Monday, demanding that the foreign-invested project be stopped.

The intermittent demonstrations since February this year disrupted the ongoing project and caused big monthly losses, said Wai Lwin at the Lower House session. warning that it would be a deterrent to the influx of foreign direct investment (FDI) if contracts with foreign countries were broken by Myanmar without keeping promises.

Meanwhile, Myanmar's opposition leader and parliamentarian Aung San Suu Kyi also warned that unilateral break-off of ongoing foreign projects would risk loss of international trust.

She noted that if Myanmar was considered unable to keep its promise, no investors would have interest in investing in the country.

Project officials of investing companies of Myanmar and China maintained said the Monywa copper mine project has been carried out strictly and scientifically in accordance with Myanmar's law, international standard and religious procedure.

The project is supervised by the third party of Singaporean experts who inspected the project every six months. Endi

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