[asia-apec 1493] Open the Pak Mun gates: Sign-on letter sent to Thai Prime Minister Chuan

[Kevin Yuk-shing Li]

July 24, 2000

The Honorable Mr. Chuan Leekpai
Prime Minister of Thailand
Fax: 662-2475417 or 66-2801443

Drop charges for arrested protesters - stop violent police actions -
open
the Pak Mun gates

We write to express our support for the Assembly of the Poor (AOP)
villagers who have been protesting at Government House these last two
weeks, and at the World Bank-funded Pak Mun dam these last sixteen
months. We were shocked to learn about the use of batons, shields and
tear gas against protestors on July 16-17, especially against the
elderly, women and children. This police violence was unnecessary given
that the villagers were unarmed and non violent. These people are not
criminals. They are exercising their legitimate right to protest.

The members of Assembly of the Poor have been protesting for 16 months,
but their grievances have been consistently ignored or downplayed by
your government. Faced with this situation, the villagers have been
given no other choice but to demonstrate peacefully in order to make
their voice heard. Therefore, we request that all charges against the
protesters be immediately dropped. Moreover, the government should take
responsibility for the violence inflicted on the Pak Mun villagers last
week and ensure that it is not repeated.

We also strongly urge the Government to comply with the recommendations
made by the committee established by the Interior Ministry to
investigate the issues raised by Assembly of the Poor. The committee
recommended that the gates at Pak Mun Dam be opened for four months
during the rainy season in order to allow fish migration and restore
fisheries in the upstream areas. There are also 15 more issues on dams
and land rights that should be addressed by the government. We request
that during tomorrow s Cabinet meeting, the recommendations of the
committee be accepted without any
conditions, and the remaining 15 unresolved issues be immediately
addressed.

The international community strongly supports the villagers efforts to
recover their lost livelihood and restore the ecology of the Mun River
and will be closely monitoring the situation.

Respectfully yours,

Aviva Imhof
South-East Asia Campaigner

Endorsed by the following organizations:
(74 organizations from 21 countries)

Read the whole letter:
http://www.irn.org/programs/pakmun/000724.signon.html


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Southeast Asia Rivers Network (SEARIN)
78 Moo 10
Suthep Rd,
Tambol Suthep,
Muang
Chiang Mai 50200
Thailand
Tel 66-53-278334, 66-53-280-712
Fax 66-53-283609
Email: searin at chmai.loxinfo.co.th
Web site www.searin.atfreeweb.com


-- 
Kevin Li
Researcher
Three Gorges Campaign and China Program
International Rivers Network
http://www.hk-sanxia.org