PRESS RELEASE
Wednesday, June 14, 2000
Aviva Imhof
E-Mail: aviva@irn.org
South-East Asia Campaigner
International Rivers Network
"Remove
the Dams, Restore the River"
Protest at Thai Embassy and World Bank
Wednesday June 14, 2000
IRN and the 50 Years is Enough Network protested today
outside the Thai Embassy to show their support for thousands of villagers
who have been occupying the Pak Mun and Rasi Salai dams in Thailand since
May 15. The villagers, some of whom are risking drowning in the rising
waters of the Mun River, are demanding that the gates on both dams be
permanently opened and the river restored.
The protestors presented Thai Ambassador Nitya
Pibulsonggram with a letter asking him to respect the demands of the
villagers. Several protestors then proceeded to the World Bank to present
Bank President James Wolfensohn with a letter from the villagers affected
by Pak Mun dam.
Protest organizer, Ms. Gila Neta, said, "We are
here today to show our support for the villagers who are currently
occupying two dams in Thailand and to encourage the Thai government to
concede to their demands. The Thai government must understand that the
international community will not tolerate any violence against the
villagers currently occupying Pak Mun and Rasi Salai dams, and that their
demands must be respected. Several of the protestors here today are
intending to fast if the villagers' demands are not met."
The World Bank funded the Pak Mun dam project in 1991.
The project has destroyed the fisheries of the Mun River, affecting 25,000
people. More than 1,000 people are currently occupying the Pak Mun dam and
say they will not move until their demands are met. They are demanding
that the dam be opened to allow fish migrations to occur. A recent study
by the World Commission on Dams shows that the project is not economically
viable, and that the losses in electricity generating capacity from
opening the gates would be marginal.
A committee set up to mediate between the villagers and
the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) has recommended
that the gates of Pak Mun dam be opened for 4 months per year during the
wet season, but EGAT has not yet accepted the recommendation. The
government will be deciding on June 15 whether to direct EGAT to open the
gates. The protest at the Thai embassy is timed to coincide with this
meeting.
At Rasi Salai dam, more than 200 people remain perched
in make-shift huts as the waters of the reservoir rise around them. They
have vowed not to move until their demands are met, even if the waters
drown them. Others have started to take down the dam itself by digging up
portions of the road which forms part of the dam. Their demands are for
the dam's gates to be opened, and for the river and freshwater swamp
forest to be restored.
Ms. Njoki Njoroge Njehu of the 50 Years is Enough
Network says: "The Pak Mun dam project is yet another example of a
World Bank-funded disaster. The World Bank must be held responsible for
its role in promoting and building the Pak Mun dam, and should work with
the Thai government to decommission the dam and restore the river."
The villagers are fearful that the government may destroy their
makeshift protest camps and arrest the leaders, and that they may use
violence to do so. Because of the gravity of the situation, they have
called for international support.
Similar actions are taking place at the Thai consulate in Sydney,
Australia and the Thai Embassy in Tokyo, Japan. In Tokyo, protesters
delivered a letter to the Thai Ambassador signed by several members of the
National Diet.
--30--
The
protest is co-sponsored by IRN and the 50 Years is Enough Network. |
