Mool
River villagers get global support
Mailbag
The
Nation, November, 4, 1999.
An open letter to
Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai.
We write to express
our support for the 1,850 people currently facing submergence at the Rasi Salai
dam on the Mool River in the Northeast. These people intend to stay in their
village, Mae Mool Man Yuen Village 2, and face the rising waters, until their
demands are met.
The Department of
Energy Development and Promotion is currently filling the reservoir and the
water level is at 117.5 metres above sea level. Already four houses and 100 per
cent of the village's rice fields and vegetable gardens have been flooded. If
the level reaches 117.7 metres, the village will be entirely submerged and
people will drown.
We are writing to
urge you to direct the DEPD to immediately stop filling the reservoir, and to
give due consideration to the people's demands. The villagers are demanding that
the government re-examine the impacts of the project, drain the reservoir,
determine the exact number of people affected by the dam, pay compensation to
all affected people, and correct the environmental problems caused by the dam.
If the government refuses to pay compensation, the villagers demand that the dam
be removed.
These people have
been demonstrating for more than six years, yet the government has refused to
listen. On April 20 of this year, more than 1,000 villagers affected by Rasi
Salai dam occupied the dam site. Still the government did not listen. Now 1,850
people are prepared to die in order to get the attention of your government.
They have lost everything and they feel they have nothing more to lose.
Rasi Salai has been
plagued by problems and deceit ever since it was first conceived. DEPD failed to
release any information to the public prior to construction, and stated that
they would only build a small rubber weir 4.5 metres high, not a concrete dam 9
metres high.
More than 100 square
kilometres were inundated, yet no Environmental Impact Assessment was conducted,
contrary to the Environment Act. Even though the dam was completed in 1994, and
DEPD is currently filling the reservoir, the irrigation system is not
operational, so the dam is effectively useless.
The dam destroyed the
fresh water swamp forest along the banks of the Mun River and blocked the
migration of fish. The reservoir has been plagued by salination problems because
it is located on top of a big salt dome. More than 3,000 families have lost
their farmland to the reservoir, and compensation was paid for private property
only, not for lost customary land rights. After a long struggle Gen Chavalit's
government paid compensation to 1,154 families, yet more than 1,800 families
remain uncompensated.
Please act now to
protect the lives of these people and respect their demands. Thank you for your
consideration of these important matters.
Aviva Imhof
South-East Asia
Campaigner
International Rivers
Network
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA
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