The monsoon rains have left the skies over Phrae for this
year, only
to be replaced by a different rumble of storm clouds,
portending a
coming season of violence.
That is the ominous trend of events set in motion by a
most shameful
act: the Banharn Cabinet's resolution giving a green light
for the
Kaeng Sua Ten Dam, passed well after Banharn and his cronies
lost the
election and without waiting for the National Environment
Board (NEB)
to review the project, as required by law. The ensuing
actions and
reactions of dam supporters and opponents have threatened
to spiral
out of control.
Villagers who are threatened with displacement by the dam
are upset
that the decision to go ahead with the project was made
without
consulting them and despite promises of full public participation.
Environmentalists around the country are equally upset
because the
Cabinet resolution was passed without even waiting for
studies
examining the social and ecological impacts of the dam
to be
completed.
Ever since the Cabinet resolution was passed, Deputy Prime
Minister
Samak Sundaravej and Science Minister Yingphan Manasikarn
have tried
to backtrack, claiming the Cabinet only ordered the Royal
Irrigation
Department to design the dam, not to construct it. But
critics point
out that designing a project does not require Cabinet
approval.
Clearly the fix is in. Vested interests have been drooling
for years
over the logging and construction contracts which the
dam will
provide, but they have been held back by public opposition
to a
project which will flood a national park containing Thailand's
richest remaining teak forest.
So in an act of supreme cowardice, Banharn Silapa-archa
and his lame
duck Cabinet approved the dam without any warning or any
transparency, without even knowing how much the
dam will cost. They have
committed violence against the law, and should be held
responsible if there is
any violence on the ground.
Emotions are running high and if past experience is any
guide, it is
only a matter of time before the conflict breaks out into
physical
confrontation. Anti-dam villagers fearing they are
targets for
assassination by vested interests who stand to benefit
from the dam
have set up patrols to keep a watch out for suspicious
strangers.
Meanwhile, pro-dam mobs are being formed and can easily
be whipped
into a frenzy to attack anti-dam villagers, as happened
at Pak Mool.
More recently, we have seen local community leaders
Prawien Boonnak
in Loei, Thong-in Kaewwattha in Rayong, and Jun Boonkoonpot
in
Chaiyaphum gunned down because of their opposition
to development
projects sponsored by influential groups. Phrae is already
notorious
for its gunmen. Its newly elected Democrat MP was driven
to tears by
the threats made against her supporters during the election
campaign.
The first priority for both sides in this struggle, therefore,
should
be to calm everyone down and ensure that the issues are
discussed
peacefully and fairly. The principles of non-violence
must be
followed strictly by both sides.
Meanwhile, new prime minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh should
clarify
his position on the project as soon as possible.
He would be well advised
to renounce the Banharn's Cabinet resolution in public,
and affirm
that no decision will be made on the dam project until
the NEB has
reviewed the ongoing studies.
With Samak and Yingphan back in charge of the environment
the
proverbial foxes guarding the chicken coop there
is little chance
that the NEB will be able to make a fair judgement. But
at least we
could believe that we are ruled by law and not just by
money.
In the final analysis, everything depends on Chavalit.
Kaeng Sua Ten
will mark the first real test of whether he will act as
a prime
minister for vested interests, or a premier for the people.