State officials accused of dereliction of duty

General News - Saturday December 22, 2007

STEEL PLANT ATTACK / NHRC PROBE

State officials accused of dereliction of duty

PONGSATORN SINGNOY

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) will look into alleged negligence by Prachuap Khiri Khan police and state officials, who failed to prevent supporters of the Sahaviriya Group's steel plant from attacking opponents of the controversial project. Commissioner Sunee Chaiyarose said she was contacted by opponents of the project shortly before violence broke out and informed governor Prasong Pithoonkijja about a possible clash.

Ms Sunee said she asked the governor to beef up security for the protesters, who were surrounded by hundreds of supporters of the project brandishing wooden clubs and sharp pieces of steel.

''The police and state officials' failure to protect the unarmed villagers who held a peaceful gathering was unacceptable and must be investigated,'' the commissioner said after receiving a petition from representatives of the Mae Ram Pueng conservation group, which is leading the protest against the steel smelting plant in Bang Saphan district.

Ms Sunee said the NHRC would call for the firm to stop all construction work until tension between the two groups eases and the environmental impact study is approved by the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (Onep).

Wednesday's clash broke out after 10 opponents of the project submitted a letter to the Mae Ram Pueng Tambon Administration Organisation (TAO) opposing the filling in of a local peat swamp. The TAO had been holding a meeting to consider a land fill proposal to accommodate the project.

The victims said supporters of the steel plant project attacked the 10 men and women with knives and wooden sticks. The injured were taken to hospital.

Seksan Veerakul, a representative of the conservation group, urged authorities to offer protection to the project's opponents because more people had been mobilised to join the supporters group.

He said the number of people supporting the project had increased from about 100 to 500 over the past two days and were reportedly roaming through local villages in red T-shirts and threatening opponents of the project.

''We are living in fear. We don't know when these people in red will attack us again. We need urgent protection from state authorities,'' said Boonchu Pluemkratok, another opponent of the project.

Tambon Mae Ram Pueng residents have been opposing the planned construction of the 500-billion-baht smelting plant since last year. They say the project will destroy the pristine Mae Ram Pueng peat swamp, and their livelihoods.

Protests intensified after the giant steel manufacturer obtained land rights documents for the site, as the villagers questioned its legality.

Despite the fact that the project's environmental impact study has yet to be approved by Onep, the local contractor has already started filling in land at the site. The move prompted the local conservation group to step up their protests, leading to frequent confrontations between the project's supporters and its opponents.

Bangkok Post