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dam-l LS: Pak Mun protesters in jail
Protesters choose to stay in jail
THE 84 female protesters arrested over the weekend for trespassing on
Government House grounds refused yesterday to leave their jail cells unless
their grievances are addressed and their male counterparts also freed.
The female detainees, some of them minors, were offered their freedom in
return for pleading guilty to the charge of trespassing. They refused to
accepted the deal.
The jailed protesters were among the more than 1,000 farmers and fishermen
from the country's poor Northeast who arrived in Bangkok last week to
campaign for authorities to open sluice gates of the Pak Mool dam in Ubon
Ratchathani to allow fish upstream.
They clashed violently with police on Sunday as they tried to scale the
wall into the Government House compound. More than 40 were injured during
the confrontation.
Sompan Kuendee, a leader of the female villagers, said she was willing to
remain in jail until the government promised to seriously consider their
plight from the loss of fishing, brought about by the Pak Mool dam.
"I am urging the government to follow the recommendation of the committee
[of inquiry] to open the sluice gates at the Pak Mool dam to restore
fisheries in the river," she said.
Last month, Deputy Prime Minister Banyat Banthadthan appointed a central
committee of academics, biologists and engineers to look into the
protesting villagers' proposal to restore fisheries in the Mool River by
opening the dam's floodgates.
The committee resolved this month that the Electricity Generating Authority
of Thailand (Egat) should open the floodgates for four months during the
rainy season to allow fish from the Mekong to feed and spawn in the Mool
River.
However, Banyat said yesterday the appointment of the central committee
should not be taken seriously as he only intended to "ease the tension"
when an earlier confrontation between Egat and the protesting villagers was
deadlocked.
"The committee did a good job," he said. "But whether their recommendations
will be put into practice depends on the [government] agencies responsible
for the problem," he said.
Prasitiporn Karn-onsri, from the Assembly of the Poor, which represents the
protesters, said friends and supporters were allowed to visit the women
detainees, locked up at the Police Private School in Nakhon Pathom.
But the 141 males detained at the Border Patrol Police's command centre in
Pathum Thani, on the other hand, were denied visitors. They were allowed to
meet with their lawyers for only 20 minutes, said Sarawuth Pathumraj, of
the Law Society of Thailand.
Sarawuth said he and his fellow lawyers were closely monitored and
videotaped by police while offering consultation to the detainees. He
condemned the action as against the constitution.
"This cannot be interpreted as anything else, but an attempt to threaten
lawyers who are performing their duties provided by law," he said.
Leaders of the 225 arrested Pak Mool villagers could face up to five years
in jail. They have been charged with invading the Government House
compound, an illegal gathering of more than 10 people, and masterminding a
demonstration, police said.
National police chief Gen Pornsak Durongkapibul led a group of reporters to
visit the male detainees yesterday morning. But reporters were not allowed
to speak with the villagers.
Another group of reporters who attempted to see the detainees later in the
evening were denied access to the centre by about 40 policemen armed with
batons and shields.
Police said the 221 adult detainees would be sent to Klong Prem Remand
Prison today, while four teenagers were sent to Baan Karuna Juvenile
Detention Centre yesterday.
More than 30 groups representing academics, human rights and democracy
activists, as well as newly-elected senators yesterday released statements
condemning the government for using force to suppress the unarmed and poor
villagers.
They demanded the unconditional release of all detained villagers. They
also urged the government to seriously consider the plight of the
protesters and open the sluice gates at Pak Mool.
Scores of Bangkok office workers showed up in front of Government House
yesterday to support the remaining Pak Mool villagers, who are still camped
in the area.
"I was saddened by the scenes on TV of the violent crackdown of the
villagers," said Tassanee Tonpaisan, a finance company worker. "I feel
partly responsible for it because, after all, I am a consumer of the
electricity generated by the Pak Mool dam.''
Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai yesterday continued to defend the use of force
against the villagers.
"Injuries were not only sustained by the protesters' side," he said.
"Police officers were hurt as well. One had his finger broken."
BY CHAIYAKORN BAI-NGERN,
SUBHATRA BHUMIBRABHAS and
PENNAPA HONGTHONG
The Nation
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