Villagers
on symbolic one-day fast
Top
officials stick to their guns after meeting protesters
Post Reporters, Bangkok Post, July 27,2000
Sixty-seven protesters at
Pak Moon dam yesterday staged a symbolic one-day fast in support of their
comrades in Bangkok who are poised to stage a protest fast.
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Pak Moon villagers wait
anxiously for the results of a meeting they attended with government
representatives. In Ubon, 67 protesters left behind at Pak Moon dam
went on a symbolic one-day fast yesterday in support of their
comrades in Bangkok who are poised to stage a hunger strike. - Sarot
Meksophawannakul
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They were part of some 700 villagers who stayed at the make-shift
village near the dam site and took part in meditation to convey their
spiritual support to their comrades at Government House.
Thawee Thongthep, a leading villager, accused the government of being
insincere in its attempt to address the 16 problems raised by the
protesters for the government to solve.
The villagers took part in the one-day fast to test their physical
fitness ahead of the protest fast in Bangkok, he said.
"Poor people are not the government's enemies.... We simply want
the government to solve our problems in a concrete fashion," Mr
Thawee said.
Protest leaders in Bangkok have tried to point out that what the
Democrat-led government claimed to have done towards solving the problems
was in reality not much at all.
The cabinet resolution on the Pak Moon dam is symbolic of their
complaints. The dam stood centre in the dispute between the government and
the protesters. The protesters' demand that its sluice gates be opened met
with fierce government opposition, particularly from the Electricity
Generating Authority of Thailand.
While the cabinet agreed to allow the dam gates to open until August as
recommended by a government-appointed committee, the time remaining is
seen as insufficient to achieve its objective.
The original recommendation was for the gates to be opened for four
months from May to August to allow fish to spawn upstream.
Even Yon Musik, dean of Kasetsart University's fishery faculty and a
committee member nominated by the Interior Ministry, agreed that the
remaining one month was not enough to allow a study of fish migration.
He said he proposed from the beginning that the gate opening be done
next year so that sufficient preparations could be done.
Egat warned that the opening of all eight gates for four months would
cost consumers 212 million baht.
Amnart Chotechuang, Egat public relations director, said the gate
opening would result in the loss of 120 million units of power. This must
be compensated by purchases from Laos and power generation fuelled by oil
with the cost passed on to consumers.
He also claimed it would cause damage to fisheries to the tune of 80
million baht and the loss of fish and shrimp stocks released into the Moon
river by the Fisheries Department to help fishing villagers.
Several high-ranking officials, including ministers, held talks with
the protesters yesterday. They included Deputy Interior Minister Chamni
Sakdiset, Deputy Science Minister Pornthep Techapaibul, Deputy Agriculture
Minister Newin Chidchob, and forestry chief Plodprasop Suraswadi.
Villagers pleaded with them that the cabinet reconsider their decision
to reject recommendations on land and forest encroachment issues.
While the ministers appeared to be sympathetic, they continued to
insist the cabinet resolution must be upheld.
Banthorn On-dam, chairman of the government-appointed committee, urged
the government to be courageous in tackling the problems, particularly the
land and forest encroachment issues.
The Chuan government issued a resolution on June 30, 1998 which
effectively cancelled two resolutions earlier issued under the government
of Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh.
The Chavalit cabinet resolutions allowed the villagers to live in the
forests while verification of their claims were done by way of testimony
of witnesses.
The Chuan resolution required verification by aerial photos.
Mr Banthorn believed the reason the Chuan government was non-receptive
to the villagers' plea was mostly political.
"They may be afraid they have to give credit to their political
opposition," he said. |
