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Campsite raided and vandalised

Men carried knives, inquiry underway

Porpot Changyawa Wassayos Ngamkham  Bangkok Post, Dec 6, 2002

A group of unidentified men raided and vandalised the Assembly of the Poor's campsite near Government House early yesterday but have failed to discourage the protesters from giving up their campaign to get Pak Moon dam's sluice gates opened permanently.

Chauy Leunrit, a 75-year old villager from Ubon Ratchathani's Ban Hin Sung, said she was asleep when about 30 men marched into the camp area adjacent to Government House at 3 am and began pulling down the tents.

The men were in street clothes and armed with knives. ``They kept saying: `It's okay. It's okay. It's Father's day' while they were taking down our tents,'' she said.

They were there only 10 minutes, she said, but managed to wreck 15 of the 60 tents sheltering more than 60 protesters. They also attempted to burn down the campsite, said Thippa-art Vejchasuksa, a protester from Ubon Ratchathani's Ban Kan Luem, who witnessed the incident.

Some tents were vacant since their owners had returned home to gather their harvest.

Two tents and protesters' belongings were thrown into Klong Premprachakon, a canal at the rear of the camp site. No-one was hurt.

The force also took down the assembly's ``Long Live the King'' signs as well as banners protesting at the government's decision to open Pak Moon dam sluice gates for four months a year. The group wants them opened year-round.

Sunthon Kamyan, a 78-year-old protester from Ban Kaeng Charoen, whose tent was torn down, said the protesters had not encountered any problems with police before the raid.

``Even if they keep raiding us I'll continue to protest until the dam's gates are open permanently.''

Pol Col Prutchai Jaichansukkij, of Dusit police station, where protesters filed a complaint, said the station and a team of metropolitan police were investigating.

He denied the vandals were police. ``There's no point in us raiding the protesters."

 
 

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