highlights the strategic importance of Rakhine State; the social and political implications are abundant. Most crucial is the fact that this development project appears to be a driving force behind claims of genocide being carried out in northern Rakhine against the Rohingya population. While it is not the purpose of this thesis to argue whether there is or is not genocidal intent behind the Tatmadaw’s actions, it must be noted that there does appear to be a significant correlation between important locations of the Kaladan Project and areas where there have reportedly been massacres, forced evictions, and other gross human rights violations. As seen in Figure 1, the project route in Rakhine begins in Sittwe and cuts through the middle of the northeastern portion of the state, which is home to nearly all of Burma’s Rohingya population. The three townships most impacted by the military’s clearance operations are Buthidaung, Rathedaung and Maungdaw. Satellite images show visual evidence of the destruction of entire villages along the Kaladan Project corridor. The site is also extremely close to the massacre at Inn Din (refer to Appendix 1) and other regions known for grave human rights abuses committed by the Tatmadaw and its partner entities. These actions support the assertion that the military has not actually changed the way it operates or its overall ideology. Much like the modus operandi of previous military regimes, the Tatmadaw continues to function in ways that support its overall survival and the economic ambitions of its highest ranking generals with little or no regard for the sanctity of human life. 92