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Raided campsite to be reinforced by
thousands
Dam protesters hold govt
responsible
Yuwadee Tunyasiri and Ampa Santimatanedol, Bangkok
Post, Dec 7, 2002
Thousands of Pak Moon dam opponents will return to the
capital on Dec 15, to reinforce their protest campsite raided by an unknown
group of men near Government House early Thursday morning.
The protesters, largely from the Assembly of the Poor grassroots movement,
believe the raid was engineered by state officials.
About 30 men marched into the campsite near Government House around 3am on
Thursday and began pulling down the protesers' tents, some of which were
empty because their owners had left for home to harvest. Nobody was injured
in the incident.
Somkiat Ponpai, a protest leader, held the government responsible saying
what happened was a violation of individual rights.
``We believe the raid was carried out by state officials, judging from the
way the raiders were dressed and the words of command from their leader. So
far, no police have showed up at the raid scene after the complaint was
lodged (with Dusit police),'' he said.
Mr Somkiat said the raid appeared well-planned. There was a power blackout
as the men went about wrecking the protesters' tents, and light did not
return until about 20 minutes later.
Also, there were no police patrolling the area as usual.
Thousands would arrive in Bangkok from Ubon Ratchathani, where Pak Moon dam
is located, on Dec 15 to push their demand that all the dam's eight sluice
gates be opened permanently to restore the river's ecology and their
livelihood.
The protesters say the dam was blocking the path of fish swimming upstream
to spawn, thus depleting the Moon river's fish stock.
They demand the government review the Oct 1 cabinet decision to keep the
dam's sluice gates open for only four months each year, from July to
October.
The decision was reached as a compromise between the competing goals of
producing electricity and restoring the local environment.
Nitirat Sapsomboon, adviser of the Assembly of the Poor, yesterday lashed
out at the prime minister'secretary-general, Yongyuth Tiyapairat, who said
the raid might have been the work of the protesters themselves to ``create a
situation'' in order to draw the attention of state authorities.
Mr Nitirat said there was no reason for the protesters to do something like
that, and challenged Mr Yongyuth to find and punish any of the protesters he
believed to be behind the raid.
Suriyasai Katasila, the Democracy Confederation secretary-general, called Mr
Yongyuth's comment ``an insult on the poor''.
He said the raiders were probably ``men in uniform'', but added he had
nothing to back up his suspicion.
Mr Suriyasai called on the government to set up a panel to investigate the
incident.
Somkiat Pongpaiboon, another Assembly adviser, said he did not think the
raid was ordered by the government.
He thought it was more likely to be the work of a right-wing group to
instigate unrest.
A group of dam opponents, led by Assembly adviser Wanida Tantiwitthayapitak,
yesterday lodged a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission over
the raid on their campsite.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday denied the government had
anything to do with the raid.
Mr Thaksin, saying he had yet to receive an official report about the
incident, promised an investigation.
However, the premier said his government would not review the decision on
the opening of the dam's gates.
Opening the gates four months a year would not really damage the livelihood
of any local groups, and the four-month period should be enough for fish to
swim upstream to spawn, he said.
The government had already taken into consideration the views of all the
affected parties before making that decision, he said
The Federation of Students of Thailand and 17 activist groups, meanwhile,
submitted a letter to the prime minister demanding the government take
responsibility over the camp raid.
``The government, as a source of the problem, must take responsibility over
the incident. Villagers have staged a gathering because the Oct 1 cabinet
resolution has affected their livelihood,'' said Pongsathorn Sonpechanarin,
secretary-general of the students' federation.
He denounced the raid on the campsite and demanded the government launch an
investigation |
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