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SALWEEN WATCH HOTMAIL OUT Salween Watch Update February 2003, Volume 13 XXxx<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<o0XxxX0o>>>>>>>>>>>>>>xxXX 6. Senate panel wants dam plans scrapped Human rights abuses `likely to increase' Kultida Samabuddhi, Bangkok Post: December 19, 2002 The Senate foreign affairs panel has called on the Electricity Generation Authority of Thailand (Egat) and MDX Plc, a construction group, to scrap projects to build dams on the Salween river in Burma, citing concerns for national security and image. Panel chairman Kraisak Choonhavan yesterday said the projects would lead to more human rights violations in Burma, thus forcing more oppressed Burmese people to seek refuge in Thailand. Thailand already had to deal with more than four million illegal Burmese immigrants. If the government gave the projects the go-ahead, the problem of illegal labour and refugees would worsen, the senator said. MDX is set to sign a memorandum of understanding with Rangoon on Friday
on the construction of a 3,600-megawatt dam, called Ta Sang, on the Salween
river in Burma's Shan state. The Salween project was discussed at a recent Asean summit in Cambodia, where energy ministers agreed the project would go ahead. Rangoon is encouraging other Asean states to help develop basic infrastructure in Burma. Mr Kraisak said the government would be condemned by the international community if it decided to do business with the Burmese military junta. "International forums had already blamed Thailand for implementing theYadana gas pipeline project, which led to the use of forced labour and rape of ethnic people in the project area. The government should not repeat this mistake,'' Mr Kraisak said. |
