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Bailed
protesters wonder if they were duped
BY SUBHATRA
BHUMIPRABHAS,PENNAPA HONGTHONG
The Nation July 20, 2000
THE 221 jailed Pak Mool Dam protesters cheered yesterday when they were
freed from prison, but it was the government that had the last laugh.
The villagers, arrested for invading the grounds of Government House on
Sunday, left Klong Prem Remand Prison on what they thought was an
unconditional release arranged for them by their lawyers from the Law
Society of Thailand.
Only later did they find out that Chamroen Waraporn, chairman of the Law
Association of Thailand, had stood bail for them without consulting their
lawyers.
Chamroen is a close friend of Niphon Boonyamanee and Taworn and Winai
Sennium, Democrat MPs who are in the advisory team of Interior Minister
Banyat Banthadthan.
"I did not know Chamroen," said Jirasak Saentaweesuk, 40, who was
among
those released yesterday. "I thought he was our lawyer and we would be
able
to go home free of charges."
Nonetheless, Jirasak and the others released from jail appeared happy to be
able to reunite with relatives and fellow protesters in front of Government
House.
But equally happy, if not happier, was the government side, which seemed
desperate to end the "battle" with the villagers. Its use of force
on the
unarmed protesters over the weekend was denounced by academics, human
rights groups, democracy activists and senators-elect.
The authorities earlier set a bail of Bt30,000 per protester. When the
villagers showed no interest in being bailed, police told them that they
could leave only by showing their ID cards.
The protesters refused to leave their cells unless their complaints over
the loss of fisheries in the Mool River due to the Pak Mool dam were
addressed. They also demanded an unconditional release to ensure they would
not face any legal consequences in the future.
Their lawyer, Yaowarak Anuphan from the Law Society of Thailand, denounced
Chamroen for bailing the protesters without consulting her.
"It is against the code of conduct of professional lawyers," she
said. "I
doubt his intentions for violating the code."
Chamroen denied any conspiracy. He said he merely sympathised with the poor
villagers.
But Yaowarak pointed out that by being bailed by Chamroen, the villagers
have no guarantees that no further legal action will be taken against them.
Four teenagers, who were separately released on bail from the Ban Metta
Juvenile Detention Home by the Children Protection Foundation, alleged that
they were beaten by the wardens.
In an attempt to save face and end the controversy, Banyat called an urgent
meeting with several ministers yesterday to discuss a solution to the
problem.
The meeting resolved that the problems raised by the Assembly of the Poor,
including the Pak Mool dam, should be discussed at next Tuesday's Cabinet
meeting.
Banyat said that only some of the demands could be met.
Alongkorn Polabutr, adviser to Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai, explained that
demands like compensation for completed dams and other government projects
could not be met.
Suriyan Thongnuead of the Assembly of the Poor said the government's
attempt to further "buy time" by throwing the issue back into the
bureaucratic system was "unacceptable".
He said the government should seriously consider the recommendations made
by a non-partisan committee appointed by Banyat last month to find
solutions to the Pak Mool dam and other problems of the poor.
Meanwhile, Sanphasit Koompraphant, a human rights activist, proposed an
amendment of the law governing the Electricity Generating Authority of
Thailand (Egat), which allows the agency to deal solely with social and
environmental impacts of dams, saying that Egat maximises its profit from
power generation at the expense of the rural poor.
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