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BANGKOK POST March 8 1999 Promises broken, say protesters Greens label bosses and gov't 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.
© Copyright The Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd. 1998
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