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SALWEEN PROJECT

Kraisak warns dams may blur borderline

Rights violations were also likely

Wasant Techawongtham - Mae Hong Son

Bangkok Post > > 29 April 2003

The planned construction of Salween dams would change the Thai-Burmese borderline and therefore require deliberation by parliament, the chairman of the Senate committee on foreign affairs said yesterday.

``The boundaries would definitely change,'' said Kraisak Choonhavan. ``The dams would create large reservoirs. How could we then tell where the Thai-Burmese border is?

``It is a matter that parliament will have to consider.''

Mr Kraisak said he would discuss the matter with the National Security Council, which he believed would be concerned.

The NSC had expressed similar concern over the planned blasting of rapids, reefs and shoals in the Mekong river to widen and deepen the navigation channel for use by large cargo barges from China.

Blasting was scheduled to begin on the Mekong on the Thai side on April 15 but was suspended after the Defence Ministry expressed concern over the potential boundary change.

Thailand and Burma have achieved less than 1% in talks on setting the boundaries, Mr Kraisak said. The current border settlement was largely an unofficial agreement between the military authorities of the two countries.

If the dams issue was referred to parliament it would likely complicate the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand's plan to build two dams on the 130km section of the Salween river that marks the Thai-Burmese border.

The first dam, called the upper dam, would be on the border of the Salween wildlife sanctuary and able to generate 4,540 megawatts of power. The lower dam on the Salween national park would generate 792 megawatts. Together, they would flood about 20,000 rai of prime forest land on the Thai side and about 35,000 rai on the Burmese side. They would cost an estimated 277 billion baht (US$6.15 billion).

Witoon Permpongsacharoen, a member of the National Advisory Council on Economic and Social Development, said the upper dam would create a reservoir 380km long.

Mr Witoon questioned the amount of land which would be flooded by the proposed dams. The Bhumibol dam inundated over 100,000 rai of land but the Salween dam would be six times larger in terms of capacity.

The two men were speaking while on a three-day inspection trip of the planned dam construction area in Mae Sariang district. They were accompanied by Senator Imron Maluleem, Pho Luang Joni Odorshao, a national advisory council member, and Sunee Chairot, a national human rights commissioner, among others.

Mr Kraisak said since the project would require consent and participation by the Burmese government, human rights violations relating to the project were likely and would affect Thai-Burmese relations.

He said his trip was also aimed at ensuring that local people were aware of their constitutional right to participate in the decision-making process of any project that affected their lives.

``It is every senator's duty to monitor all matters that affect the country. What's important is not simply public relations but public participation,'' he said.

``There has yet to be a single project that respects the public's right to participation as stated in section 56 of the constitution. I hope this project will be the first to allow the public full participation."

 
 

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