Dam
protesters will stay put
The
Nation, June 19, 2000
PROTESTERS at the Pak Mool Dam will not abandon the site but will facilitate the
transportation of equipment the Electricity Generating Authority of
Thailand (Egat) needs for power-plant maintenance, a protest leader said
yesterday.
The Assembly of
the Poor and protesters have discussed the recent request made by new Ubon
Ratchathani Governor Rungrit Makarapong and Egat representatives, Somparn
Khuendee said.
Rungrit and
Egat have asked protesters to move away from their protest site to allow
Egat to move in machines and equipment necessary for the upkeep of the Pak
Mool power plant.
Protesters will
allow Egat's maintenance staff to enter the power plant and work. The
staff's safety will be guaranteed, she said.
They agree to
remove the shelters and belongings obstructing the transportation
operation. However, they will not give up the site until the authority
agrees to open the dam's eight sluices for four months, as the protesters
have demanded, Somparn said.
Protesters,
with support from the Assembly of the Poor, have occupied the power plant
since May 15. They are camping in Mae Mool Man Yuen 7 village in front of
the plant. Somparn said that if Egat opened the eight sluice, protesters
would agree to move the rally to Mae Mool Man Yuen 1 village.
The power
plant's four generators have been idle during this period, along with the
dam's five sluices, which the villagers cannot open themselves. Villagers
occupying certain areas along both sides of the Mool River are now
suffering from flooding due to large volumes of water accumulating as a
result of the closed gates, reports said.
Rungrit has set
up a neutral committee of people acceptable to both sides to examine the
facts. The committee will meet for the first time on Wednesday.
Meanwhile a
15-year-old girl drowned at Rasi Salai Dam on Saturday while swimming in
the dam's reservoir with friends, a protest leader said.
Paijit Silarak,
a key member of the Assembly of the Poor supporting a villagers' protest
at Rasi Salai Dam, said Pairin Booranmool had recently joined the rally
after her mother had left the protest site and gone home to tend their
paddy field.
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