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dam-l LS: Activists float together calling for river to be set free
Bangkok Post, April 4, 2000
Rituals and rivers
PROTEST: Activists float together calling for their river to be set free
during a traditional ceremony
Prasittiporn Kan-Onsri
If culture is defined as a way of life, the culture of fishing villages
along the Moon River in Ubol Ratchathani has been severely eroded by the
construction of the Pak Moon Dam completed 10 years ago.
The uprooted Pak Moon villagers, however, have refused to let their fate
fade from public consciousness. Apart from using political means the Pak
Moon dam villagers have employed local traditions and customs to make their
voices heard.
Banking on the power of rituals, more than 3,000 people gathered recently
at the Pak Moon Dam to perform the Sueb Chata Maenam and to lobby
authorities to let the Moon River run free again.
Sueb Chata Maenam means extending a river's life. It is a modern adaptation
of an old ceremony which pays homage to rivers-the life blood of Thai
traditional society.
Pak Moon Dam is at the mouth of the Moon River where it meets the Mekong.
The dam obstructs the passage of fish between the two rivers and so the
fish population has declined. Furthermore, environmental degradation, the
inundation of water over farm land, and displacement of people have led to
severe social problems.
Thongdee Prathumchai of Baan Ta Pae in Ubol's Khong Chiam district said
many affected villagers had been forced from the area to work in sugarcane
plantations elsewhere for a meagre income.
The villagers' traditional livelihood of fishing has also been severely
undermined.
The Sueb Chata Maenam also provided an opportunity for academics and
environmentalists to exchange views with the displaced people about the
adverse effects of development projects on local people.
Seree Somchob, vice rector of Ubol Ratchathani University, said the
widespread problems of amphetamine abuse and HIV/Aids in the areas might
also be linked to projects like the Pak Moon Dam construction since it
undermined society by robbing local people of their livelihood.
Nikorn Visapen, lawyer and environmentalist, said the government's promises
that the Pak Moon Dam would bring prosperity have proved empty and false.
He urged the authorities to accept responsibility for their mistakes and to
stop doing more harm to people by pursuing megaprojects that damage the
environment, local communities and their culture.
During the Sueb Chata Maenam ceremony, dam victims issued a consensus
urging the authorities to stop operating the dam.
"We Want to Return Freedom to our River," one of the banners read. Others
read: "Rivers are life, not death".
On April 20 and 21, there will be a seminar entitled "The Poor and Answers
for Thai Society", at the Mae Moon Mun Yuen village, where people affected
by the Pak Moon Dam have lived in a protest village for a year. Below is a
tentative programme of events.
April 20
- 9:30 a.m. to noon: Panel discussion "The Poor and the Answers for
Thailand" to be attended by Anand Panyarachun, Saneh Chamarik, Prawase
Wasi, and Sulak Sivaraksa. Chermsak Pinthong will be the moderator.
- 2 to 4:30 p.m.: "Analytical Views on Poverty" discussion.
Speakers include Chainarong Sresthchua on the World Bank's export economy;
Surichai Wankaeo on the political sociology of poverty; Pasuk Phongpaichit
will discuss economic policy structures biased against the poor; and Kasian
Techapira on power structures which discriminate against the poor.
Chaiphant Prapasawat will be the moderator.
April 21
- 9 a.m. to noon: A panel discussion entitled "The Answers-What Should the
Government and the People Do?'
Speakers include Worawit Charoenloert, Phra Paisal Wisalo, Pittaya Wongkul,
Ubonrat Siriyuwasak, Prapas Pintoktaeng, and Naruemol Tabchumphol. Pramual
Phengchan will be the moderator.
- Noon to 4 p.m.: Fifteen-minutes of comment by Nidhi Eiewsriwong, followed
by an open discussion with the Pak Moon villagers.
- For more information call:
In Bangkok:
Ms Suphapan at 691-0408
Ms Wallapha at 860-2194
Bunlom Khunwattana at 281-2595 or 281-1916.
In Ubol Ratchathani:
Mae Moon Mun Yuen village at (01) 916-1478
Pak Moon Agricultural Cooperatives at (045) 441-565 and (01) 999-1860
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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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