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DAM-L LS: Pak Mun: villagers on symbolic fast (fwd)
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subject: LS: Pak Mun: villagers on symbolic fast
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Bangkok Post, July 27, 2000
Villagers on symbolic one-day fast
Top officials stick to their guns after meeting protesters
Post Reporters
Sixty-seven protesters at Pak Moon dam yesterday staged a symbolic one-day
fast in support of their comrades in Bangkok who are poised to stage a
protest fast.
Pak Moon villagers wait anxiously for the results of a meeting they
attended with government representatives. In Ubon, 67 protesters left
behind at Pak Moon dam went on a symbolic one-day fast yesterday in support
of their comrades in Bangkok who are poised to stage a hunger strike. -
Sarot Meksophawannakul
They were part of some 700 villagers who stayed at the make-shift village
near the dam site and took part in meditation to convey their spiritual
support to their comrades at Government House.
Thawee Thongthep, a leading villager, accused the government of being
insincere in its attempt to address the 16 problems raised by the
protesters for the government to solve.
The villagers took part in the one-day fast to test their physical fitness
ahead of the protest fast in Bangkok, he said.
"Poor people are not the government's enemies.... We simply want the
government to solve our problems in a concrete fashion," Mr Thawee said.
Protest leaders in Bangkok have tried to point out that what the
Democrat-led government claimed to have done towards solving the problems
was in reality not much at all.
The cabinet resolution on the Pak Moon dam is symbolic of their complaints.
The dam stood centre in the dispute between the government and the
protesters. The protesters' demand that its sluice gates be opened met with
fierce government opposition, particularly from the Electricity Generating
Authority of Thailand.
While the cabinet agreed to allow the dam gates to open until August as
recommended by a government-appointed committee, the time remaining is seen
as insufficient to achieve its objective.
The original recommendation was for the gates to be opened for four months
from May to August to allow fish to spawn upstream.
Even Yon Musik, dean of Kasetsart University's fishery faculty and a
committee member nominated by the Interior Ministry, agreed that the
remaining one month was not enough to allow a study of fish migration.
He said he proposed from the beginning that the gate opening be done next
year so that sufficient preparations could be done.
Egat warned that the opening of all eight gates for four months would cost
consumers 212 million baht.
Amnart Chotechuang, Egat public relations director, said the gate opening
would result in the loss of 120 million units of power. This must be
compensated by purchases from Laos and power generation fuelled by oil with
the cost passed on to consumers.
He also claimed it would cause damage to fisheries to the tune of 80
million baht and the loss of fish and shrimp stocks released into the Moon
river by the Fisheries Department to help fishing villagers.
Several high-ranking officials, including ministers, held talks with the
protesters yesterday. They included Deputy Interior Minister Chamni
Sakdiset, Deputy Science Minister Pornthep Techapaibul, Deputy Agriculture
Minister Newin Chidchob, and forestry chief Plodprasop Suraswadi.
Villagers pleaded with them that the cabinet reconsider their decision to
reject recommendations on land and forest encroachment issues.
While the ministers appeared to be sympathetic, they continued to insist
the cabinet resolution must be upheld.
Banthorn On-dam, chairman of the government-appointed committee, urged the
government to be courageous in tackling the problems, particularly the land
and forest encroachment issues.
The Chuan government issued a resolution on June 30, 1998 which effectively
cancelled two resolutions earlier issued under the government of Gen
Chavalit Yongchaiyudh.
The Chavalit cabinet resolutions allowed the villagers to live in the
forests while verification of their claims were done by way of testimony of
witnesses.
The Chuan resolution required verification by aerial photos.
Mr Banthorn believed the reason the Chuan government was non-receptive to
the villagers' plea was mostly political.
"They may be afraid they have to give credit to their political
opposition," he said.
__________________________________________
RURAL DISPUTES
Woman fasts to highlight plight of poor
Anchalee Kongrut and Ampa Santimatanedo
A woman began a hunger strike yesterday while protest leaders were planning
a response to the cabinet's resolution on their problems, which they said
fell short of expectations.
Sa-ing Thawaisin, 46, said she was fasting to "communicate our suffering"
to the government and the people.
She did not expect the government to begin helping poor people or the
public to have much sympathy, but hoped for understanding one day.
Mrs Sa-ing once worked as a maid in Bangkok but now organises 21 villages
in Kalasin. Going into the fast, she said she had to cleanse her mind.
"I'm not supposed to have bad thoughts about the prime minister. It will be
hard but I will try." More villagers are expected to join her today.
Chaiphan Praphasawat, an adviser of the Assembly of the Poor, said the
cabinet had conceded very little while appearing to have agreed to many of
the recommendations made by the government-appointed committee to solve the
problems of the poor.
"It may sound good to Bangkok's middle class who may feel the government
has shown much mercy to the villagers," Mr Chaiphan said.
"But if you read it really carefully, it does not help the poor that
much."uFull report page 5uCommentary page 13
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