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THE NATION: PIPELINE SHOWDOWN/ Mot
- Subject: THE NATION: PIPELINE SHOWDOWN/ Mot
- From: suriya@xxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 14 Mar 1998 16:42:00
Editorial & Opinion
PIPELINE SHOWDOWN/
Motives aside, Sulak
knew right from wrong
Is noted social critic Sulak Sivaraksa
selfishly eager for the limelight -- or did he
carry out his recent solo sit-in in the
interests of the country? Nantiya
Tangwisutijit explores the reasons behind
the protest that led to his arrest.
TO his detractors, there seemed no better
opportunity for Sulak Sivaraksa, prominent
social critic and a recipient of the Right
Livelihood Award (the ''alternative Nobel
Prize''), to raise his international profile than
with his arrest the Friday before last.
Those who are suspicious of Sulak can't
come up with any other reason for his solo
sit-in protest obstructing the construction of
the controversial Yadana gas pipeline in
Kanchanaburi forest, which led to the
arrest. They simply assume he is aiming to
be reconsidered for the Nobel Peace Prize,
after his nomination in 1994. According to
this line of thinking, when Sulak raised the
issue of human rights abuses in Burma, it
was merely a means to a selfish end.
In terms of timing, the Buddha seems to be
on Sulak's side. His arrest took place a few
days before Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai
left for Washington DC, and human rights
activists staged a protest in front of the
American Embassy in Bangkok in support
of Sulak.
But even if Sulak does seem eager for the
limelight, that is beside the point. No one
should insult Thais and the international
community by assuming that Sulak could
fool them. If his agenda were truly selfish, it
would have no impact.
That has not been the case. His actions
have had a huge impact, legally and
morally, because the points he has made
are valid. Plenty of people do not admire
Sulak's actions, but they do admire the man
for his courage to stand up and fight for
what he believes in.
In the end, it is not only the forest that Sulak
is trying to protect, but the truth. His
message -- and it is a strong one -- is that
society should not be ruled by lies, and liars
should not be allowed to escape
unpunished.
Sulak's actions have sparked a new round
of debate about the pipeline project,
debate that will no doubt culminate during
his trial in May. That is according to his
stated intentions: he plans to use the trial as
an opportunity to denounce the Petroleum
Authority of Thailand (PTT) because the
agency has mishandled the project and
misled the public.
For example, the PTT long claimed that it
would have to pay stiff fines -- as much as
Bt40 million a day -- to the Burmese gas
production consortium if it did not complete
the pipeline by July.
The claim was used as an excuse by the
government to turn down proposals from
conservation groups to suspend the project
temporarily while an alternative route was
sought that might have less impact on the
country's few remaining forests.
But when the Electricity Generating
Authority of Thailand (Egat) announced last
month that the power plant that will receive
the gas might be delayed, PTT revealed
that the ''fines'' would actually be
considered payment for future purchases of
gas. The only money the PTT would lose, in
other words, is the interest it would have
received by keeping the money in the bank.
PTT also failed to explain why its private
subsidiary, PTTEP, is a part of the gas
production consortium. How can Thais
make sure that the price PTT agreed on
with the consortium is a good deal when it
is both buyer and major shareholder in one
of the producers?
PTT also violated the country's
environmental law and regulations by
allowing workers from the contractor Tasco
Manessmann Co to transport equipment
into the forest even before the project's
environmental impact assessment (EIA)
was approved by the National
Environmental Board.
Meanwhile, thousands of villagers who will
have to risk living along the pipeline route in
Kanchanaburi and Ratchaburi have never
been consulted about the project.
Instead of criticising Sulak, Thais should
stand by him to criticise the national
committee led by former prime minister
Anand Panyarachun for lacking the courage
to suggest a delay in the construction until
the surrounding problems are solved.
The committee's own conclusion states that
''the project's decision-making [process] is
not transparent, and the EIA was conducted
without public participation. Instead, there
was only public relations.''
All too often, society has allowed those who
caused social and environmental damage
to get away with what they were doing
simply because the project is almost
finished and it would be a pity to lose the
money that has been invested in it.
Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai is no
exception. He allowed PTT to go ahead
with construction after visiting the project
site and getting a briefing from PTT
officials.
His schedule did not include a visit to the
jungle camp of project opponents who were
waiting and had prepared lunch for him and
his team.
Chuan wanted to show that he is a decisive
leader who thinks about the country's
energy security. But he lacks the necessary
quality of a democratic leader -- sensitivity
to the voices of the minority. He mistakenly
believed the committee's resolution would
tame all the project's opponents.
It is not surprising to see that Chuan was
upset when reporters asked for his
comment about Sulak's arrest. The premier
lashed out that he had warned PTT to move
cautiously against Sulak.
Chuan no doubt realises that Interior
Minister Sanan Kachornprasart and the
PTT have fallen into Sulak's trap to draw
international attention to the project. He is
aware that Sulak's arrest will make his
government look bad in the eyes of the
international community, especially at a
time when Chuan is visiting the United
States.
Chuan's anger prompted PTT to hold a
press conference in defence of the
government. The state oil company said it
was responsible for soliciting the arrest of
Sulak as he refused to follow the
conservationists' pledge to abide by the
resolution of the Anand committee.
If people think Sulak moved in his own self
interests, they should also consider that
Anand has far more at stake in the project
than Sulak. Anand holds an honorary
position in Unocal Thailand, a subsidiary of
Unocal Oil, which is a part of the Yadana
gas development consortium.
The Nation