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dam-l LS: Sign-on letter: Rasi Salai Dam in Thailand
Dear friends
South-East Asia Rivers Network (SEARIN) and the Committee for Save Tam Mun
have asked IRN to coordinate an international open letter to the Prime
Minister of Thailand, regarding Rasi Salai Dam. Currently 1850 people are
facing submergence due to the rising waters in the reservoir, which has
already flooded four homes and destroyed more than 80% of their farmland.
The villagers are demanding that the government reexamines the impacts of
the project and compensate the 1800 families affected by the dam who have
still received nothing. The protesters, who are affiliated with Assembly of
the Poor, were inspired by the Satyagraha conducted by the Narmada Bachao
Andolan this year and are prepared to stay until their demands are met. The
irrigation dam was completed in 1994, but is effectively useless as the
irrigation network has not been built. The government is currently filling
the reservoir in an attempt to cover the villager's farmland, so the
villagers cannot prove how much land was affected.
As of tomorrow there will be more information about this project on IRN's
website www.irn.org, including photos of the flooded village and protesters.
Please send your endorsement of this letter to aviva@irn.org by Monday
October 26, US Pacific Time. Include your name and organization name.
If you have any more questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Thanks very much,
Aviva Imhof
South-East Asia Campaigner
International Rivers Network
______________________________
October 1999
The Hon. Mr. Chuan Leekpai
Prime Minister of Thailand
Fax:
Dear Mr. Chuan
We write to express our support for the 1850 people currently facing
submergence at the Rasi Salai dam on the Mun River in North-Eastern
Thailand. These people intend to stay in their village, Mae Mun Man Yuen
Village #2, and face the rising waters, until their demands are met.
The Department of Energy Development and Promotion is currently filling the
reservoir and the water level is at 116.8 meters above sea level. Already
four houses and 80 per cent of the village's rice fields and vegetable
gardens have been flooded. If the level reaches 117.5 meters, the village
will be entirely submerged and people will drown.
We are writing to urge you to direct the DEPD to immediately stop filling
the reservoir, and to give due consideration to the people's demands. The
villagers are demanding that the government reexamine the impacts of the
project, drain the reservoir, determine the exact number of people affected
by the dam, pay compensation to all affected peoples, and correct the
environmental problems caused by the dam. If the government refuses to pay
compensation, the villagers demand that the dam be removed.
These people have been demonstrating for over six years, yet the government
has refused to listen. On April 20 of this year, more than 1000 villagers
affected by Rasi Salai dam occupied the dam site. Still the government did
not listen. Now 1850 people are prepared to die in order to get the
attention of the government. They have lost everything and they feel they
have nothing more to lose.
Rasi Salai has been plagued by problems and deceit ever since it was first
conceived. DEPD failed to release any information to the public prior to
construction, and stated that they would only build a small rubber weir 4.5
meters high, not a concrete dam 9 meters high. More than 100 square
kilometers were inundated, yet no Environmental Impact Assessment was
conducted, contrary to the Environment Act. Even though the dam was
completed in 1994, and DEPD is currently filling the reservoir, the
irrigation system is not operational, so the dam is effectively useless.
The dam destroyed the fresh water swamp forest along the banks of the Mun
River and blocked the migration of fish. The reservoir has been plagued by
salination problems because it is located on top of a big salt dome. More
than 3000 families have lost their farmland to the reservoir, and
compensation was paid for private property only, not for lost customary
land rights. After a long struggle General Chawalit's government paid
compensation to 1154 families, yet more than 1800 families remain
uncompensated.
Please act now to protect the lives of these people and respect their
demands. Thank you for your consideration of these important matters.
Yours sincerely
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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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