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dam-l Two articles on Rasi Salai



 Police Threaten 4 Villager Leaders at Rasi Salai

The threats to the village leaders at Rasi Salai have started again after
DEDP reduced the water level in the reservoir. 

Ms.Pha Kongdhamma, a villager leader at Rasi Salai had this to say
yesterday: The police informed us yesterday that Mr.Saksit Buapan, Mr.Pijit
Silalak, Mr.Boonmee Sopang and myself are asked to report to the public
prosecutors in Bangkok as soon as possible. They told us that we must bring
money to bail ourselves out of jail.” 

Ms. Pha Kongdhamma thinks that the police have 2 motives behind their
actions. The first is that the Chuan Government wants to discredit the
opposing politicians that remain from Gen. Chawalit’s government. Next
month, there will be a Parliamentary Hearing, in which the opposing party
(led by Gen. Chawalit’s Party) and the Government will participate in a
debate over the quality of the Government’s performance. Then there will be
a vote to decide whether or not to maintain the current government. The 4
village leaders have become scapegoats of the government.

She thinks that the second motive is to destroy the people’s movement at
Rasi Salai before it becomes a big issue, as in the case of Pak Mun.
Indeed, the government is using the same tactics of intimidation at Rasi
Salai as it did in Pak Mun.

The Chuan Government has previously accused the 4 village leaders of trying
to embezzle money from the state. 

Mr.Pijit Silalak said that the village leaders will not meet with the
public prosecutors because the public prosecutors have no official duties
regarding this issue. He also said that the government cannot arrest the
people without a court order, according to Article 237 in the Constitution. 

This case has been in the police process since 1997, after Gen. Chawalit
Yongjaiyut’s government approved compensation for 1154 villagers affected
by the Rasi Salai dam.

A secretariat has been established to determine the number of villagers who
require compensation for lost land and income, as well as the amount of
money that each affected family should receive. This secretariat is
composed of 2 NGO representatives, 2 representatives of EGAT and DEDP, and
the chairman Mr. Adisorn Piengkhet, Vice Minister of Ministry of Science,
Technology and Environment (as well as a member of Gen. Chawalit’s Party).
The 4 village leaders stated above, with the assistance of 2 other NGOs,
have been appointed by the secretariat to determine the number of villagers
affected by Rasi Salai dam. Once all members of the secretariat have
reached an agreement on the number of affected villagers and amount of
compensation that each should receive, Mr. Piengkhet presents this
information to the Cabinet for approval.

Over the course of time, the Chuan Government has repeatedly brought up the
Rasi Salai case, stating that the former government and the villagers from
Rasi Salai are guilty of embezzlement. However, the Chuan government has
never made any arrests, it has only tried to discredit the 4 village
leaders, 2 NGOs, and Mr. Piengkhet in the public’s eyes. Several times,
Maj. Seri Temiyawes has held press releases condemning these 7 people of
cheating the state out of its money. Worried that their reputations were
being destroyed by the bad publicity, all 7 people went to the police
station and asked to be arrested on charges of embezzlement, but the police
refused to arrest them. 

In 1998, Maj. Seri Temiyawes ordered a special team of around 100 policemen
from Bangkok to stay in the Rasi Salai villages for three months. They
claimed to be gathering more data from the villagers, but the villagers say
that this is a false claim and that the real reason the police were there
was to intimidate them. Many of the policemen carried machine guns. 

____________________________________________________
Burk Din Burk Faa , Rasi Salai, Novemeber 19, 1999

By: Southeast Asia Rivers Network

On November 19, the people upholding a daily struggle for their rights and
livelihoods in the Rasi Salai reservoir held a so-called “Burk Din Burk Faa
” ceremony. The ceremony was of great significance to the villagers, as it
established the permanency of their newly created village, the Mae Mun Man
Yaun 2 village, while making a firm statement that they intend to keep
their protest alive. Through the “Burk Din Burk Faa ” ceremony, they
invoked a spirit to provide their village with eternal protection.

In Thai-Isaan beliefs, there are many different gods who protect both
nature and mankind. The Mother Earth protects all land for settlement, the
goddess of the River supplies water for drinking and cleaning, and the God
of the tree produces herbs and materials for housing. Thepayada is the
supreme God who controls all other gods, spirits and the world as a whole.
Thepayada is also the god who controls the Khamma order of everything. 

Before Burk Din Burk Faa could begin, the villagers informed the guardian
spirit of the Phu Din hill area. As the ceremony was initiated, the
villagers pleaded for Thepayada to allow all of the gods and spirits to
come to their village from each of the four directions. Once they had
arrived, Thepayada selected one of the spirits to remain in the village.
The villagers had already prepared for its arrival by building a Sal
Praphum, a shrine that now serves as the spirit’s dwelling space, at which
they will worship the spirit by making special food offerings. 

A procession of the Buddha was held, three times, around the Sal Praphum.
During the procession, the villagers danced around the Sal Praphum,
knee-deep in water, while playing traditional instruments. After this, the
Buddha was installed in the spirit’s home. The Burk Din Burk Faa ceremony
ended in prayers to the Buddha and to the Guardian spirit for eternal
protection of their village.

When the Burk Din Burk Faa ceremony was finished, all of the villagers
gathered together in their boats to pay respect to Phu Din, the local
Spirit who safeguards the central area of Mun River. They prayed to Phu Din
to protect the river and give them strength in their fight. Then they stood
in their boats, dancing happily to traditional music while a boat race was
held in honor of Phu Din. This is a traditional form of worship for the
villagers living near the river, and it marks the end of the ceremony for
Phu Din. The villagers continued to dance, play music, and hold boat races
all day long, celebrating the ceremonies as they paddled their boats around
the flooded village. 

For these Thai-Isaan people the river is an important provider of food,
water and income. The Thai-Isaan name for the Mun River is Mae Mun (or the
Mother Mun), a treasure that we inherited from our ancestors, and that we
must protect for future generations. Praise and respect for the river is
deeply engrained in the local Thai-Isaan culture.