Answers
By The Assembly Of The Poor To Accusations.
The
Assembly of the Poor has sent out an open letter to clarify a number of points.
The following is an excerpt:
1) On Egat's
accusation that affected villagers are not suffering and simply want more money.
Over the past five
years villagers have witnessed the disappearance of fish, which has disrupted
the traditional way of life. This led to our demand that the government and Egat,
which are responsible, demonstrate their responsibility by opening the
floodgates to allow fish to swim up and lay eggs. This demand is based on the
interests of the people of the Northeastern region who depend on fish for
protein. This will also restore the natural ecological condition of the river.
All of this clearly
has nothing to do with money.
2) Regarding the
accusation that the protesters are not natives of Ubon Ratchathani province.
The Assembly of the
Poor wishes to explain that its members comprise a network of people who have
been affected by various state development projects that cover the entire
nation. Back in 1997, when 20,000 to 30,000 people camped out in protest against
the Chavalit administration, villagers from 38 provinces who were affected by
121 projects were present. In the ongoing Pak Mool protest, villagers affected
by 12 dam projects gathered at the site. All of these problems were made known
to the Chuan administration in 1997, but they have yet to be addressed.
3) Regarding the
accusation that no fish swim up the ladder because affected villagers catch fish
in front of the fish ladder.
The fact has been
stated simply by the recent World Commission on Dams report, which revealed that
over the last five years the number of fish has decreased by around 60 to 80 per
cent. The main factor is the dam, which is a 200-to-300-metre-wide concrete wall
blocking the river. The report also stated that less than one out of 10 species
managed to swim up the ladder and lay eggs and most of those which made it up
the ladder were only five centimetres long.
4) On the accusation
that villagers who have been compensated for falling fishery income are still
protesting.
Compensation paid to
4,000-plus households in cash amounted to about Bt30,000 per family, while
Bt60,000 was paid in the form of cooperative stocks. The money was meant to be
compensation for the three years it took to construct the dam. During that time,
the government and Egat assured the public that when the dam was completed there
would be more fish and people would have a good life. The fact is that this is
not the case. What is more, the amount of electricity generated by the Pak Mool
dam has been much lower than expected, and it is no longer needed as Thailand
has abundant electricity reserves.
5) Regarding the
report that protesting villagers are not the original group of protesters.
The Assembly of the
Poor wishes to clarify that the affected fishing villagers are made up of two
groups. The first comprises those who joined the Assembly of the Poor's protest.
The second consists of those who did not join the protest in the beginning but
who later came to the decision that they needed to unite and fight for their
rights, for their communities and for the future of their children and
grandchildren.
We, the Assembly of
the Poor, will continue our peaceful struggle until justice is served.
The Nation, May 28th,
2000
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