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dam-l Press Release from SEARIN <fed>
----- Forwarded message from Aviva Imhof -----
From owner-irn-mekong@netvista.net Tue Jul 4 01:32:12 2000
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Date: Tue, 04 Jul 2000 12:17:28 -0700
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From: Aviva Imhof <aviva@irn.org>
Subject: East and SE Asia Activists Unite to Protect Rivers, Stop Dams
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Southeast Asia Rivers Network (SEARIN)
25/5 Moo 2, Soi Sukhapiban 27
Changkhien-Jed yod Rd., Chang Phuek
Chiang Mai 50300, THAILAND
Tel&Fax: (66) 53-221157
Email: searin@chmai.loxinfo.co.th
PRESS RELEASE
July 4, 2000
East and SE Asia Activists Unite to Protect Rivers, Fight Dams
Anti-dam and river protection organizations in East and SE Asia have united
to form a regional network to fight dams and protect rivers in East and SE
Asia. At the First East and SE Asia Regional Meeting on Dams, Rivers and
People, held in Kong Jiam, Ubon Ratchathani Province from June 28-July 2,
more than 60 participants from fourteen countries announced their intention
to _unite our struggle at the local, national and international level so as
to stop the funding of dam projects in East and SE Asia and to restore
rivers to the communities who depend on them._
Mr. Chainarong Srettachau, Director of Thai NGO Southeast Asia Rivers
Network, the local organizer for the meeting, said, _the joining together
of groups from all over East and SE Asia will provide a powerful force to
protect the rights of communities who depend on rivers for their survival.
We have recognized that we share common problems caused by dams the
appropriation of local communities_ rights to their rivers and water
resources by governments and private developers. By joining forces we will
drive a stake through the heart of the dam-building industry in this region._
Participants at the meeting, which included dam-affected people from
Malaysia, Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, Taiwan and Cambodia, together
with allies from across the region, produced the Pak Mun Declaration, which
calls for:
_ a moratorium on large dam construction until the problems created by
existing dams have been rectified and reparations made to affected
communities.
_ the decommissioning of dams which have created irreversible social,
environmental and cultural destruction, and
_ an immediate stop to the financing of dam projects by bilateral and
multilateral organizations, particularly the World Bank, Asian Development
Bank and Japan Bank for International Cooperation.
Participants visited Pak Mun and Rasi Salai dams in Thailand, where
villagers have occupied the dams and are demanding the permanent opening of
the gates. Participants told the villagers that they would work to support
their struggle to restore the Mun River.
Ms. Joan Carling, Secretary-General of the Cordillera Peoples_ Alliance, an
indigenous peoples_ organization in the Philippines which is fighting the
Japanese-funded San Roque dam, told the villagers at Pak Mun and Rasi Salai
_You are not alone. People from 12 countries in the East and SE Asia
region, and from the United States, Norway and Australia, have come here
today to express our support for your struggle. We can see that the Pak Mun
and Rasi Salai dams serve no useful purpose, and that the gates should be
permanently opened to restore the Mun river. We call on the Thai government
to stop hesitating and comply with your demands, for the sake of the people
and the river._
ENDS
For further information, please contact Mr. Chainarong Srettachau, Director
of South-East Asia Rivers Network, + 66 53 221157, searin@loxinfo.co.th.
A copy of the Pak Mun Declaration follows.
Pak Mun Declaration
Approved at the First East and SE Asia Meeting on Dams, Rivers and People
Demanding a moratorium on dam construction, decommissioning of existing
dams, reparations for dam-affected people
Mae Mun and Mekong Rivers,
Kong Jiam, Thailand
July 1, 2000
We, the people from 12 countries of East and Southeast Asia namely Korea,
China, Japan, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Burma, Taiwan, Vietnam,
Cambodia, Malaysia and Hong Kong, representing organizations of
dam-affected people and their allies, have gathered here at the mouth of
the Mun River (Pak Mun) in order to express our unity in strengthening the
people_s power and supporting our struggle against the injustices that we
are now encountering.
We have exchanged our experiences both at the local and regional level and
recognize that all of us are facing similar kinds of problems caused by
dams. Dams have brought about the destruction of rivers and the lives and
livelihoods of villagers. Dams undermine the rights of people, their
community and culture as well as destroying the environment, all of which
are basic needs for their survival.
In order to protect the rights and livelihood of people and rivers, our
demands are as follows;
1. A moratorium on large dam construction in East and SE Asia until the
problems created by existing dams have been rectified and reparation made
to affected communities. Further, dams which have created irreversible
social, environmental, and cultural destruction must be decommissioned and
the rivers restored.
2. The bilateral and multilateral organizations must stop financing dam
projects. Development assistance should not be spent on destroying the
lives of the people. The transnational corporations, private companies and
private banks must also abolish their investment in dam-building projects
that do not do justice to people.
3. Governments, dam-building companies, dam industry consultants, the World
Bank, private banks and the Asian Development Bank, who are all
responsible for the havoc wreaked upon our communities by large dams, must
pay proper reparations to all dam-affected communities.
4. Critical and independent inquiries on the rationale and justification of
proposed dam projects should be carried out. Integrated Resource Planning,
demand side management and conservation of natural resources should be
prioritized. Cheaper, cleaner and better alternatives to dams should be
undertaken to meet actual needs of people for energy and water.
5. No development projects should be built without the voluntary, prior and
informed consent of all affected people. Information regarding proposed
projects must be disclosed, in a timely and transparent manner, to the
general public and, especially, to people directly impacted from such
projects. Further, we demand democratic reforms throughout the region to
increase freedom of speech, press and assembly so that people can
participate without fear in the decision-making process regarding the use
and management of their resources.
6. The oppression of indigenous peoples by dams and other projects should
be stopped. We demand that the cultural, social, economic and land rights
of indigenous peoples be fully recognized and respected.
7. We oppose the privatization of rivers and water resources. We also
oppose the control of rivers and water resources by illegitimate and
repressive governments, as in Burma. Access to water is a basic human
right. Rivers must be in the hands of the people, not the private sector or
military regimes.
In order for our demands to be implemented, we declare that we will unite
our struggle at the local, national and international level so as to stop
the funding of dam projects in East and SE Asia and to restore rivers to
the communities who depend on them.
Water for Life, not for Death!
Ao Khuan kuen bpai, ao Dhammachat kuen ma! Take your dams back, give us
nature!
Endorsed by
_ Asian Regional Exchange for New Alternatives, Hong Kong
_ Assembly of the Poor, Thailand
_ Cambodia Environmental Preservation Association, Cambodia
_ Church World Services, Cambodia
_ Coalition of Concerned NGOs Against Bakun Dam, Malaysia
_ Committee Against the Yongwong Dam Project, Tong River, Korea
_ Cordillera Peoples_ Alliance, Philippines
_ Earth Rights International, Thailand
_ Friends of the Earth, Japan
_ Friends of the People, Thailand
_ Group of Villagers Affected by Hua Na Dam, Thailand
_ Group of Villagers to Protect the Yom River (Kaeng Sua Ten), Thailand
_ Indigenous Peoples Development Centre, Malaysia
_ Korean Federation for Environmental Movement, Korea
_ Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center (LRC-KSK/Friends of the
Earth-Phils), Philippines
_ LRA, Indonesia
_ Meinung People_s Association, Taiwan
_ Mekong Watch, Japan
_ National Dam Opposition Network, Japan
_ Sagami River Campaign-Symposium, Japan
_ Sahabat Alam Malaysia
_ SOS Selangor, Malaysia
_ South-East Asia Rivers Network, Thailand
_ Taiwan Environmental Action Network, Taiwan
_ TUNOD KSM Alliance of Indigenous Organizations in Sierra Madre Mountain,
Philippines
_ Villager Committee to Restore the Mun River, Thailand
_ Villager Committee to Protect the Lam Dom Yai River, Thailand
_ Villager Committee to Protect the Rub Ror River Basin, Thailand
_ WALHI, Indonesia
_ WALHI Papua, Indonesia
_ Wildlife Fund Thailand
_ Yayasan Tanah Merdeka, Indonesia
******************************************************************
Aviva Imhof
South-East Asia Campaigner
International Rivers Network
1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley CA 94703, USA
Tel: 1 510 848 1155, Fax: 1 510 848 1008, www.irn.org
I AM CURRENTLY TRAVELLING - URGENT MESSAGES SHOULD BE SENT TO
AVIVAIMHOF@HOTMAIL.COM
----- End of forwarded message from Aviva Imhof -----