THE NATION: PTT decision makes a

[suriya@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

Mailbag 

      PTT decision makes a
      mockery of good govt

      Unocal operated the offshore well that
      produced the infamous 1969 Santa
      Barbara oil spill. The enormous damage
      caused became a rallying point for the
      growing US environmental movement and
      led to the establishment of the
      Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in
      America in the early 1970s. 

      It is becoming evident that Unocal will also
      play an important role in establishing
      environmental standards in Thailand. The
      panel chaired by the much respected
      Anand Panyarachun concluded that PTT
      was not ''transparent'', a much-needed
      ingredient of good governance, in the
      construction of the Unocal natural gas
      pipeline. PTT failed to carry out a full and
      complete environmental assessment study.
      Permission for PTT to continue construction
      without complying with Thailand's own
      environmental laws makes a mockery of
      ''good government'' in Thailand. 

      Columbia like Burma is a major narcotics
      producing country with rebel armies and
      drug warlords. The major oil pipeline in
      Columbia had been dynamited 474 times
      during the past 11 years. Clearly there are
      significant risks in trying to build and
      operate a pipeline in the middle of a civil
      war. 

      In time it will become clear that no
      investment will be profitable until and unless
      there is a political settlement in Burma. 

      Myint Thein 

      Dallas, Texas