Action Requested || Sample Letter || Background
update
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Summary
Beginning
in early 1997, protests against the Yadana gas pipeline
project have been gaining momentum. The project is
designed to transport natural gas from the Moutaban Bay
which lies offshore of Burma. Then the pipeline proceeds
to Thailand through the Thai National Park in Khao Ta Kua.
Critics predict incalculable damage to the natural
environment as well as reporting on gross human rights
abuses because the minorities living along the pipeline
were forced by the Burmese military to provide labor.
Since last December 1997, the project has been delayed in
Thailand because of the opposition by a coalition of
villagers, students, green activists, human rights groups
and international organizations. However it was reported
that 200 security officers, including police and
soldiers, are being deployed to the mountaintop where
protesters are camped at the National Park. At the same
time, it is being reported that the authorities are
planning to kidnap the two prominent opposition leaders,
Ms. Bhinand Jotiroseranee and Mr. Pibhop Dhongchai.
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| Action Requested Please write polite letters to the Thai
government and the Petroleum Authority of Thailand:
1. expressing concern that they have ignored public
sentiment against the pipeline project;
2. supporting the calls in Thailand for the suspension of
the project ;
3. requesting that violence not be used.
SEND LETTERS TO:
1. Mr. Chuan Leekpai
The Prime Minister of Thailand
Government House, Nakhom Pathom Road, Bangkok 10300,
Thailand
Fax + 662 - 201 1443, 281 2536, 282 5131
2. The Governor of Petroleum Authority of Thailand
Vibavadi-Rungsit Road, Bangkok 10900, Thailand
Fax + 662 - 537 3498 / 9
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Sample
Letter
We write concerning the
Yadana gas pipeline. We are gravely concerned
that the pipeline through Khao Ta Kua national
park is going ahead despite public sentiment
against this aspect of the project. We wish to
add our voices to those who have called for the
suspension of the project. There are genuine
fears that the project will result in
incalculable damage to the environment and
further threaten many endangered species. At this
time of great economic crisis for your country,
we humbly suggest that it is important to keep
the future in mind. The protection of the
environment is central to your country's future
wealth and prosperity.
We also wish to express our concern at the
possibility of local authorities using violent
means to achieve their aims. We hope that
violence not to be used against any of the
protesters. |
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Background
The Yadana project is a
joint venture of the Thai and Burmese authorities. The
project totally ignores the sentiment of the Thais and
Burmese minorities along the border. The 649 kilometers
long gas pipeline has been built to carry natural gas
from the Moutaban Bay to Thailand. The project requires
the paving of a road of 8.4 kilometers in length and 20
meters in width across the Thai National Park in Khao Ta
Kua city. The two sections of construction in Burma and
Thailand were almost complete at the end of last year.
Since 21 December 1997, 50 Thai conversationists have
been camping in the National Park to protect the forest,
and this has delayed the completion of the project.
Conservation groups and human rights activists requested
the Thai government and Petroleum Authority of Thailand
to review the project for environmental and human rights
concerns. Wildlife experts point out that the
construction of the pipeline has already caused "incalculable"
damage to the surrounding environment. If the proposed
network of roads are constructed across the Thai National
Park, rare wild animals will be endangered. A spokesman
of the World Wildlife Fund of Thailand said that the
world's smallest bat (the thumb-sized hog-nosed bat), the
freshwater Queen Sirikit crab and even herds of wild
white elephants are in danger of losing their habitat.
Moreover there are many news reports of gross human
rights abuses committed by the Burmese military
Minorities living along the route of the pipeline were
forced to work as laborers. It appears that the pipeline
was intentionally routed to pass through strongholds of
the minorities. It was also reported that Burmese troops
expected that Thai Forces would help them in "ethnic
cleansing" operation. Human Rights sources believe
that great profit from selling this natural gas will
eventually be used to strengthen SPD - the State Peace
and Development Council, the military council ruling
Burma which replaced the State Law and Order Restoration
Council or SLORC-rule in Burma. A review of its past
performance will also reveal that any benefits never
reach the rest of the population in Burma.
Since 21 December 1997, about 50 protesters have been
camped in the Thai National Park. Owing to the blockage
by the protest, the project has been delayed for more
than one month and it is believed that the Petroleum
Authority has hired 200 security officers. Human rights
sources speculate that these security officers will be
used to intervene and detain the protesters if any
violence occurs. Other sources also claim that the
authority is planning to kidnap the two leaders of the
protest group.
Uncertain
Security
Under the agreement
between Indonesia, Portugal and the United Nations,
Indonesia is solely responsible for security in the
period leading to the UN-sponsored ballot. While the UN
started deploying in May to prepare for the August
ballot, the security situation remains unclear with the
recent stoning by the pro-Indonesia militiamen of the UN
office in Maliana on June 29. Furthermore, what happens
after the August ballot is also not clear as there is the
absence of a reassuring UN presence after August 31. By
then the UN mandate in East Timor will have expired
unless the UN Security Council decrees otherwise. It is
believe that the continuous international pressure can
end further violence before and after the ballot.
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