Pipeline protesters say promises ha

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Subject: Pipeline protesters say promises have been broken 




March 8, 1999  
ENVIRONMENT
Pipeline protesters say promises have been broken
Greens label bosses and govt as liars

Kanchanaburi
Environmental and grassroots activists yesterday lambasted the Petroleum
Authority of Thailand and the government for failing to fulfil promises made
while constructing the Yadana gas pipeline.
The activists yesterday marked the first anniversary of their decision to call
off protests against the pipeline project, and branded PTT executives and top
energy and government officials as "liars".
"In the past year, Thai society has learned of the lack of truthfulness, the
failure to fulfil promises, and the management debacle of Thai government
leaders who colluded with the Burmese dictatorship in approving... this
shameful gas pipeline project," said a statement issued by the anti-pipeline
coalition.
Some 300 people attending the event yesterday included members of various
environmental and grassroots groups, representatives of ethnic minority groups
and student groups.
Among the speakers was Sulak Sivaraksa, the social critic who launched a solo
sit-in protest at the pipeline site when it was being constructed. He was
hauled to jail and charged with trespassing. His case is still pending in
court.
Mr Sulak yesterday said the peaceful struggle against the pipeline project had
not ended, and that the PTT must be forced to reveal fully what he called its
"shameful contract" to buy gas from the Yadana field in Burma.
He claimed the PTT had so far refused to reveal 60 clauses in the contract
which placed Thailand at a disadvantage in all respects.
However, he said the "real enemy" was not the PTT or the Thai government but
transnational corporations which were intent on exploiting the region's
natural
resources.
Speaking on behalf of the anti-pipeline coalition, leading opponent Pibhop
Dhongchai listed the "lies" perpetrated by the PTT and the Thai government.
These included the claim that the Yadana gas was cheaper than gas from other
sources; the fact that the Ratchaburi power plant, which was to be the sole
user of the gas, was itself not yet completed; the PTT's failure to honour its
promise to restore the environment and reforest vast areas; and the PTT's

realisation that the contract allowed for the citing of force majeure to
postpone the taking of gas deliveries, as the pipeline opponents had long
contended.
Mr Pibhop blamed Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai, PTT Governor Pala Sukhavesh and
Piyaswasdi Amranand, secretary-general of the National Energy Policy Office,
for damages incurred to the environment and the national economy.
Because the Ratchaburi power plant was not ready to take delivery of the gas,
PTT is expected to suffer an unspecified amount of financial penalties.
Mr Pibhop said the problem arose due to lack of public participation in the
planning and implementation of the country's energy policy and he demanded
that
the public be given that role in the future.
The coalition also demanded that the PTT and Electricity Generating Authority
of Thailand postpone all their projects, including the Thai-Malaysian joint
development project in the Gulf of Thailand, because it had become clear that
there was an oversupply of gas and electricity.
It also demanded the cancellation of the three power plant projects in
Prachuap
Khiri Khan.
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© Copyright The Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd. 1999
Last Modified: Mon, Mar 8, 1999
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