[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
dam-l LS: Two reports on Pak Mun Protest (fwd)
----- Forwarded message from owner-irn-mekong@netvista.net -----
From owner-irn-mekong@netvista.net Tue May 16 12:55:44 2000
Return-Path: <owner-irn-mekong@netvista.net>
Received: from DaVinci.NetVista.net (mjdomo@mail.netvista.net [206.170.46.10])
by lox.sandelman.ottawa.on.ca (8.8.7/8.8.8) with ESMTP id MAA09456
for <dianne@sandelman.ottawa.on.ca>; Tue, 16 May 2000 12:55:42 -0400 (EDT)
From: owner-irn-mekong@netvista.net
Received: [(from mjdomo@localhost)
by DaVinci.NetVista.net (8.10.0/8.8.8) id e4GGo7q07988
for irn-mekong-list; Tue, 16 May 2000 09:50:07 -0700 (PDT)
(envelope-from owner-irn-mekong@netvista.net)]
Date: Tue, 16 May 2000 09:50:07 -0700 (PDT)
Message-Id: <200005161650.e4GGo7q07988@DaVinci.NetVista.net>
subject: LS: Two reports on Pak Mun Protest
Sender: owner-irn-mekong@netvista.net
Precedence: bulk
Dear colleagues,
Below are two news reports on Pak Mun Protest coverage by Thailand's
newspaper. The villager still seige the dam-crest and they will continue
their struggle until they met their demand. You can support us by sent the
moral support letter to them via searin email address at
searin@chmai.loxinfo.co.th
In solidarity,
Chainarong(Fiat)
Bangkok Post, May 16, 2000
Villagers lay symbolic siege to dam
Moving under the cover of early morning darkness, more than 1,000
protesting villagers yesterday occupied a parking lot next to the power
generation plant at Pak Moon dam in Khong Chiam district.
One group of 100 villagers staged a symbolic siege of the dam on its crest.
Another group took to the river below the dam in 50 boats.
It was the culmination of a threat to seize the dam and "let the Moon river
run free" by the villagers who have demanded that their traditional way of
life be restored.
Authorities had anticipated the siege but the protesting villagers took
advantage of the darkness at 2am to move into the parking lot.
Protest leaders and activists made speeches aboard a truck equipped with a
loudspeaker system and blasted the authorities for neglecting the plight of
the poor.
Hundreds of policemen and defence volunteers were on hand to respond to any
untoward incident but remained at a distance to avoid any appearance of
provocation.
Led by the Assembly of the Poor, the villagers have occupied an empty lot
on the river bank at the dam site and set up a makeshift village called Mae
Moon Man Yuen where they have stayed since February last year.
The villagers claimed to be affected by various state projects, including
Pak Moon and Sirindhorn dams, and a development project at Chong Mek pass
on the Thai-Lao border.
Activists and villagers have condemned the construction of Pak Moon dam,
which began operating in 1994, for decimating the fish population in the
Moon river.
The World Commission on Dams released a report in March this year showing
the loss of up to 80% of fish in the river. The WCD was created and funded
by the World Bank, the main financier of Pak Moon dam, to study the impact
of dams.
The findings confirmed the accusations of environmentalists and protesters
that the "fish ladder", which dam authorities built to allow fish to travel
up the river, was a total failure.
Yesterday's action was designed to force the dam authorities to open all
eight spillways to restore the river to its original level and allow fish
from the Mekong river to travel up and spawn in the Moon river once again.
Protest leaders said the activity was not meant as a demand for
compensation as officials had alleged, but was a genuine demand that the
river's ecology be restored so that villagers could go back to their
original occupations of fishing and farming by the river.
The protesters stressed that their intent was non-violent and they would
not resort to destroying property, blocking roads or taking any action
which might be construed as causing violence.
They alleged that the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, the dam
developer, would try to take advantage of the situation to instigate
violence in a bid to dislodge them from their make-shift village.
Pol Lt-Gen Laemthong Yan-ubon, regional police commander, said the
villagers would be able to continue their protest as long as they remained
non-violent.
Senior provincial officials have accused the protesters as being
belligerent and insincere. Praphat Bunyindee, the deputy governor, said
provincial authorities had earlier requested the protesters to send
representatives to meet officials to discuss their demand, but the
protesters had spurned the request.
------------------------------------
The Nation, May 16, 2000
By Pennapa Hongthong
Giant catfish in protest against dam
UBON RACHATHANI – Fishermen yesterday released a young Mekong giant catfish
into the Mool River to demand the river’s rehabilitation.
The Mool is blocked by the Pak Mool Dam, built by the Electricity
Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat). Fishermen say the dam has
contributed to dramatic depletion of fish species in the river. The dam
prevents fish from migrating between the Mool and Mekong rivers, they said.
Before the release of the 25 kilogram catfish, more than 500 villagers
staged an early morning protest at the dam site. They want the government
to order Egat to open all of the dam’s gates to restore fisheries.
“We would like to call the government’s attention to the loss of our
livelihood,” said community leader Thongcharoen Sihatham. “We have long
attempted to discuss our problem with Egat, but it just does not listen.”
The villagers said opening the gates was a peaceful way to decommission the
Pak Mool dam because it did not involve removing the concrete structure
itself.
Meanwhile Egat took a group of 10 journalists to the dam site and denounced
the protest. Egat officials said the villagers were trespassing as the site
was state property.
The villagers’ demand to have the gates opened cannot be met because it
would result in power shortages or even blackouts in a number of
Northeastern provinces, the officials said.
Egat assistant governor Supin Panyamak denied the fishermen’s claim that
construction of the Pak Mool dam had affected fisheries in the river.
“They will have to prove their claim. From the information we have received
from the Royal Fisheries Department, local income from fisheries has
increased [from stocking the reservoir],” he said.
The migration of fish from the Mekong into the Mool is a myth, said
Theeraphat Thongkham, Egat’s aquatic biologist. He said there was no
evidence of fish from the Mekong migrating to feed and spawn in the Mool.
However, he could not explain why Egat had built a fish ladder at the dam
site in the first place. The ladder was installed at the Pak Mool dam after
fishermen and ichthyologists said the dam would affect fisheries and the
genetic diversity of the Mool River basin.
“Probably the only change since the dam’s construction has been in the
structure of the fish population in the Mool River,” he said. “This is
because the dam created a reservoir, which changed the river’s condition
from flowing to still.”
***********************************
Southeast Asia Rivers Network (SEARIN)
25/5 Moo 2
Soi Sukhapiban 27
Changkhien-Jed yod Rd.
Chang Phuek
Muang Chiang Mai 50300
Thailand
Tel&Fax (66) 53-221157
Email: searin@chmai.loxinfo.co.th
----- End of forwarded message from owner-irn-mekong@netvista.net -----