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dam-l LS: Thai dam occupations seen as peaceful protest



The Nation, June 9, 2000

Occupation seen as peaceful protest

                     AN ADVOCATE of non-violence yesterday
                     defended the occupation of the Pak Mool Dam
                     power plant by villagers as a peaceful protest. 

                     Chaiwat Satha-anandh of Thammasat
                     University's faculty of political science said that
                     even though the protest is a violation of the law,
                     it is not violence. 

                     "If you raise the issue of law, you have to
                     question the process drawing up the law. Many
                     laws are unfair to people," he said. 

                     Chaiwat, who has devoted himself to promoting
                     peaceful movements for years, said a peaceful
                     protest was merely a means to communicate to
                     the public. 

                     "If Thoncharoen [Sihatham, a leader of the
                     protesters] could have talked directly to Prime
                     Minister Chuan [Leekpai], the protest would not
                     have occurred. But because he never listened
                     to the villagers, they had to speak louder [by
                     taking any action that would make the
                     government listen]," he said. 

                     But while Chaiwat tried to get the public and the
                     government to understand the protesting
                     villagers' point of view, other parties appeared
                     to be trying to foment trouble. 

                     A letter was faxed to media stating that the
                     Assembly of the Poor had fired Wanida
                     Tantivittayapitak from the position of adviser to
                     the assembly due to her decision to lead the
                     villagers' to occupy the plant. The letter was
                     purportedly signed by many academics
                     including Chaiwat and three others in the
                     neutral committee set up to resolve the Pak
                     Mool Dam conflict. 

                     However the letter did not anger Wanida,
                     Chaiwat or the other academics who were
                     named in the letter. 

                     "We will not dignify this with a response, we
                     simply laugh at it," said Chaiwat. 

                     Dr Nirand Pitakwatchara, a senator from Ubon
                     Ratchathani and a member of the neutral
                     committee set up to collect and examine facts
                     related to the issue, said the letter had vitiated
                     the atmosphere for resolving the conflict. He
                     added that the committee is trying to prevent
                     violence and to find a solution, but someone is
                     trying to stir up trouble. 

                     "If both sides don't stop misleading the public,
                     we the committee cannot work at our best," he
                     said. 

                     Meanwhile, Witoon Pirmpongsacharoen,
                     director of the Towards Ecological Recovery
                     and Regional Alliance forum, said the Pak Mool
                     Dam could stop operating for five years without
                     causing any power problems. 

                     Witoon, who has monitored the electricity
                     reserves of the country for years, said he had
                     just discovered that the Electricity Generating
                     Authority of Thailand (Egat) had last year
                     bought electricity from Laos' Huay Hoh Dam,
                     which could be used instead of the electricity
                     generated from the Pak Mool Dam. 

                     Moreover, he said, Egat figures show that the
                     country has about 40 per cent of electricity
                     reserves for the period 2000 to 20006, while
                     the national energy policy requires only 25 per
                     cent. 

                     "There is no reason to refuse the villagers'
                     request. No side will lose, except for Egat
                     which may lose face," he said. 

                     BY PENNAPA HONGTHONG 

                     The Nation 

                     LAST MODIFIED: Thursday, 08-Jun-00 13:48:40
                     EDT 

        


        


        


        









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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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