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dam-l LS: Protest at Thai Embassy and World Bank in support of Thai

villagers
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Press release and letter to Thai Ambassador follows.

INTERNATIONAL RIVERS NETWORK

PRESS RELEASE
Wednesday June 14, 2000
Washington contact: Gila Neta
510.682.1118 (cell)

PHOTOS AVAILABLE, EMAIL aviva@irn.org

Protest at Thai Embassy and World Bank: 
"Remove the Dams, Restore the River"

IRN and the 50 Years is Enough Network protested today outside the Thai
Embassy to show their support for thousands of villagers who have been
occupying the Pak Mun and Rasi Salai dams in Thailand since May 15. The
villagers, some of whom are risking drowning in the rising waters of the
Mun River, are demanding that the gates on both dams be permanently opened
and the river restored. 

The protestors presented Thai Ambassador Nitya Pibulsonggram with a letter
asking him to respect the demands of the villagers. Several protestors then
proceeded to the World Bank to present Bank President James Wolfensohn with
a letter from the villagers affected by Pak Mun dam.

Protest organizer, Ms. Gila Neta, said, "We are here today to show our
support for the villagers who are currently occupying two dams in Thailand
and to encourage the Thai government to concede to their demands. The Thai
government must understand that the international community will not
tolerate any violence against the villagers currently occupying Pak Mun and
Rasi Salai dams, and that their demands must be respected. Several of the
protestors here today are intending to fast if the villagers' demands are
not met."

The World Bank funded the Pak Mun dam project in 1991. The project has
destroyed the fisheries of the Mun River, affecting 25,000 people. More
than 1,000 people are currently occupying the Pak Mun dam and say they will
not move until their demands are met. They are demanding that the dam be
opened to allow fish migrations to occur. A recent study by the World
Commission on Dams shows that the project is not economically viable, and
that the losses in electricity generating capacity from opening the gates
would be marginal.

A committee set up to mediate between the villagers and the Electricity
Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) has recommended that the gates of
Pak Mun dam be opened for 4 months per year during the wet season, but EGAT
has not yet accepted the recommendation. The government will be deciding on
June 15 whether to direct EGAT to open the gates. The protest at the Thai
embassy is timed to coincide with this meeting. 

At Rasi Salai dam, more than 200 people remain perched in make-shift huts
as the waters of the reservoir rise around them. They have vowed not to
move until their demands are met, even if the waters drown them. Others
have started to take down the dam itself by digging up portions of the road
which forms part of the dam. Their demands are for the dam's gates to be
opened, and for the river and freshwater swamp forest to be restored.

Ms. Njoki Njoroge Njehu of the 50 Years is Enough Network says: "The Pak
Mun dam project is yet another example of a World Bank-funded disaster. The
World Bank must be held responsible for its role in promoting and building
the Pak Mun dam, and should work with the Thai government to decommission
the dam and restore the river."
The villagers are fearful that the government may destroy their makeshift
protest camps and arrest the leaders, and that they may use violence to do
so. Because of the gravity of the situation, they have called for
international support.

Similar actions are taking place at the Thai consulate in Sydney, Australia
and the Thai Embassy in Tokyo, Japan. In Tokyo, protesters delivered a
letter to the Thai Ambassador signed by several members of the National Diet.
 
--30--

For information on Pak Mun and Rasi Salai dams, see www.irn.org or contact
Ms. Aviva Imhof , South-East Asia Campaigner with International Rivers
Network - aviva@irn.org, 510.848.1155. 

For information about the vigil, contact Gila Neta, 510.682.1118 

PHOTOS AVAILABLE: EMAIL aviva@irn.org

The protest is co-sponsored by IRN and the 50 Years is Enough Network.

____________________________________
 June 14, 2000


Ambassador Nitya Pibulsonggram
Thai Ambassador to the United States
Embassy of Thailand, Washington DC


Dear Ambassador:

Re: Pak Mun and Rasi Salai Dams, Thailand

We are here today to show our support for the villagers at Pak Mun and Rasi
Salai dams. At the Pak Mun dam, more than 1,000 villagers occupied the dam
crest and fish ladder on May 15 and intend to stay until the dam’s gates
are opened. At Rasi Salai, more than 200 people remain perched in
make-shift huts as the waters of Rasi Salai reservoir rise around them.
They have also vowed not to move until the dam’s gates are opened. Others
at Rasi Salai are starting to remove the dam themselves. 

We wholeheartedly support the efforts of the villagers to recover their
lost livelihood and restore the ecology of the Mun River. The construction
of these dams has inundated the farmland and destroyed the fisheries of
over 40,000 people, leaving them without means of livelihood subsistence.
Allowing the river to flow unimpeded by opening the gates is the first step
towards restoration, enabling the migration of fish from the Mekong to the
Mun to occur. 

The villagers’ demands are reasonable given that these dams are not
effective for their intended uses. The Pak Mun dam is not performing well
economically, and contributes only marginal amounts of power to the grid.
The independent international agency, the World Commission on Dams, found
that the dam was supposed to have an electricity-generating capacity of 136
megawatts but today generates only an average of 40 MW. Thailand currently
has a surplus of power, making it technically feasible to forfeit Pak Mun's
generating capacity without causing interruptions to power supply. 

The WCD study also indicates the dam has detrimentally affected 169 out of
265 species of fish in the Mun River.  Of these, 56 species have completely
disappeared. Installation of a fish ladder as a mitigation measure has
proven to be ill-conceived. According to the WCD case study, “it is now
clear that the fish ladder is not accommodating seasonal fish migration
from the Mekong River into the Mun/Chi watershed.”

The Rasi Salai Dam was built in 1993 as part of a grand irrigation plan for
northeastern Thailand. The dam destroyed the largest freshwater swamp
forest in the Mun River Basin, as well as flooding fertile agricultural
lands. Despite these impacts, the project is currently useless and likely
to remain so. The reservoir area is now plagued by salination, making the
water unsuitable for irrigation. The dam’s gates should be opened immediately.

The international community is closely monitoring the situation to ensure
that the police do not take violent action against the protesters. There is
absolutely no justification for use of force since the villagers have vowed
to remain non-violent. We request that you convey our demands to your
government: that the police remain non-violent and the gates of both dams
be permanently opened, in accordance with the wishes of the affected
villagers. 

We thank you for your attention to these important matters.

Respectfully yours,

Gila Neta and Dan Beeton, action coordinators

Endorsed by the following organizations and individuals who are present
here today:

Organizations:
Fifty Years is Enough Network
1247 E Street, SE 
Washington, DC 20003 
phone: 202-IMF-BANK (202-463-2265) 
fax: 202-544-9359 
email: wb50years@igc.org

International Rivers Network
1847 Berkeley Way
Berkeley, CA 94703
phone: +1 510 848 -1155
fax: +1 510 848-1008
website: www.irn.org

Rights Action
1830 Connecticut Av, NW 
Washington DC 20009, USA 
phone: 202-783-1123 
fax: 202-483-6730 
email: info@rightsaction.org

Bank Information Center 
733 15th Street, NW, Suite 1126 
Washington DC 20005, USA 
phone: +1 202 737-7333 
fax: +1 202 737-1155 
website: www.bicusa.org

Center for International Environmental Law
1367 Connecticut Avenue, NW Suite #300
Washington, DC 20036
phone: (202) 785-8700
fax: (202) 785-8701 
email: ethenard@ciel.org

Center for Economic Justice
1830 Connecticut Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20009 
phone: (202) 299-0020 
fax: (202) 299-0021 
website: www.worldbankboycott.org

Free Burma Coalition
P.O. Box 19405
Washington, DC 20036
phone: +1 202 837-8030
fax: +1 202 234-5176
website: www.freeburmacoalition.org

Friends of the Narmada
website: www.narmada.org

Individuals:
Soren Ambrose
Njoki Njehu
Graham Russell
Joyce Kim
Pam Jennings
Abby Giles
Jessica Friedrichs
Neil Watkins
Sara Pipher
Mark Weisbrot
Bob Naiman
Dean Baker
Jean Choi
Michael Bornstein
Manoj Saranathan
Venu Govindu
Kadd Stephens
Lelia Spears
Adam Eidinger



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Aviva Imhof
South-East Asia Campaigner
International Rivers Network
1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley CA 94703 USA
Tel: + 1 510 848 1155 (ext. 312), Fax: + 1 510 848 1008
Email: aviva@irn.org, Web: http://www.irn.org
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