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Thaļ power plants
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Financial Times
Friday December 11th 1998
Thailand power plant clashes hurt 70
by Ted Bardacke in Bangkok
Bloody clashes between police and demonstrators protesting against the
construction of three new power plants left at least 70 people injured
along Thailand?s main north-south motorway yesterday.
The protesters? blockade of the motorway was ended later yesterday after
a cabinet minister promised that the plants - among the country?s first
privately owned electricity generating stations and worth over $2bn -
would not be built.
The clashes are a worrying sign for the government, which is facing
mounting rural discontent over falling commodity prices, a perceived lack
of attention from the central government and disregard for environmental
protection regulations.
The new coal-fired power plants were due to be built in Prachuab Khiri
Khan province, south of the resort town of Hua Hin, by Gulf Electric, a
consortium of Edison Mission Energy of the US, Thailand?s Lanna Lignite
and Siam City Cement, owned by Switzerland?s Holderbank ; and Union
Energy, a consortium of Thailand?s Saha Union, the Japanese group Tomen
and Imatran Volma Oy of Finland.
Residents in the area fear a duplication of the situation near the Mae
Moh coal-fired plant in northern Thailand, where villagers have suffered
from lung disease, birth defects and soil and water contamination.
Thousands of villagers began gathering on Tuesday in the provincial
capital after several government agencies refused to hear their complaints
about the plants.
On Wednesday, still getting no response, they began to block the motorway
and were subsequently confronted by about 3,000 police, who drove
transport trucks into the crowd.
They lifted their blockade late yesterday after the deputy interior
minister, Pinit Charusombat, who has responsability for land issues but
not energy policy, said he would not allow the power plants to be built.
Local police claim that some village environmental groups had been paid
by the companies not to oppose the power plants projects, which led more
redisents to take an interest in the situation and spurred on the
protests.
A protest leader, Chintana Keakoa, said she did not believe the
government?s assurances but wanted to prevent violence.
« I don?t believe the government will really scrap the plants, but at
this moment I prefer to break up the crowd in order to avert violence and
save lives, » she said.
When the protests began on Tuesday demonstrators backed by environmentl
groups burned effigies of Chuan Leekpai, the Thai prime minister and other
senior government officials.
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<B><FONT SIZE=+1></FONT></B>
<P><B><FONT SIZE=+1>Financial Times </FONT></B>
<BR><B>Friday December 11th 1998</B>
<P><B><FONT SIZE=+2>Thailand power plant clashes hurt 70</FONT></B>
<BR>by Ted Bardacke in Bangkok
<P> Bloody clashes between police and demonstrators protesting against
the construction of three new power plants left at least 70 people injured
along Thailand?s main north-south motorway yesterday.
<P> The protesters? blockade of the motorway was ended later yesterday
after a cabinet minister promised that the plants - among the country?s
first privately owned electricity generating stations and worth over $2bn
- would not be built.
<P> The clashes are a worrying sign for the government, which is facing
mounting rural discontent over falling commodity prices, a perceived lack
of attention from the central government and disregard for environmental
protection regulations.
<P> The new coal-fired power plants were due to be built in Prachuab
Khiri Khan province, south of the resort town of Hua Hin, by Gulf Electric,
a consortium of Edison Mission Energy of the US, Thailand?s Lanna Lignite
and Siam City Cement, owned by Switzerland?s Holderbank ; and Union Energy,
a consortium of Thailand?s Saha Union, the Japanese group Tomen and Imatran
Volma Oy of Finland.
<P> Residents in the area fear a duplication of the situation near
the Mae Moh coal-fired plant in northern Thailand, where villagers have
suffered from lung disease, birth defects and soil and water contamination.
<P> Thousands of villagers began gathering on Tuesday in the provincial
capital after several government agencies refused to hear their complaints
about the plants.
<P> On Wednesday, still getting no response, they began to block the
motorway and were subsequently confronted by about 3,000 police, who drove
transport trucks into the crowd.
<P> They lifted their blockade late yesterday after the deputy interior
minister, Pinit Charusombat, who has responsability for land issues but
not energy policy, said he would not allow the power plants to be built.
<P> Local police claim that some village environmental groups had
been paid by the companies not to oppose the power plants projects, which
led more redisents to take an interest in the situation and spurred on
the protests.
<P> A protest leader, Chintana Keakoa, said she did not believe the
government?s assurances but wanted to prevent violence.
<P> « I don?t believe the government will really scrap the plants,
but at this moment I prefer to break up the crowd in order to avert violence
and save lives, » she said.
<P> When the protests began on Tuesday demonstrators backed by
environmentl
groups burned effigies of Chuan Leekpai, the Thai prime minister and other
senior government officials.
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