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dam-l LS: SEARIN Updates on Pak Mun Protest



Urgent message from Pak Mun

Dear colleagues,
We would like to inform you that EGAT and Ubol provincial governor have a
plan to attack the villager at Pak Mun dam. They hired about 2000 people
form the other group lead by Mr.Tiang Bantao and the headman to disturb the
villager. The plan will start at 11.00 am, local time. 
To support the villager at Pak Mun, the Academic for the Poor led by Prof.
Nithi Ewsriwong, NGOs, POs and student in the North will hold the press
conference in Chiang Mai University at the same time. 
Tomorrow morning, Student Federation of Thailand also has plan to
demonstration against the violent in front of the Gov. House.

In solidarity, 
Chainarong 


Update on Pak Mun Protest: On May 18, villager established Mae Mun Man Yuen
Village No.7
 
By Southeast Asia Rivers Network(SEARIN)
 
In March of last year the first village of resistance against the Pak
Mun Dam was founded.  Since then more villages have been
established by the people who have lost their river and the fish it
provided--and thus their livelihoods--to the dam. Today the 7th
Mae Mun Man Yuen village was officially opened on the
dam itself, occupied since May 14 by more then 1000 villagers.
Three Buddhist monks led the villagers in chanting and praying the
traditional ceremony to bless the new settlement.  Having their prayers
answered is what must happen, and happen soon: tomorrow is
the deadline set by the provincial governor for the demonstrators to
leave the dam.  Reading the some newspaper yesterday,
villagers were falsely described as armed and violent!  And in a
press release from EGAT last night the villagers were, again falsely,
accused of having destroyed EGAT property and smashing windows.
Nothing could be further from the truth--the villagers have a firm
non-violent stance exemplified by the presence of the Buddhist
monks. The government's statements quoted in the newspaper 
give the impression that the police or other EGAT-supported
forces are prepearing to remove the 7th village with the amount of
force considered necessary.  They would then blame the villagers for
starting the violence, a not uncommon tactic used by the Thai
government in the past. The use of violence to solve this situation will
most likely have a bloody outcome since a majority of the demonstrators
are old men and women or little kids and are quite vulnerable.
Protesting against the biased reporters, a number of young villagers
today demonstrated under banners reading "Reporters: Stop spreading
lies about what is happening here at Pak Mun".

 
***********************************
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