Stop the Mekong Dam: Voices from the Mekong River Basin

Aomboon Thipsuna, the coordinator of the Mekong River Basin Network in 7 Northeastern Provinces wrote a letter to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on the World Dam Day asking to stop participating in the construction of new dams, review of electricity trading with neighboring countries, conduct bilateral negotiations with upstream countries to respect the rights of people downstream and coexist with equal dignity.

The letter was that “I pay respect to His Excellency General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister, and hello to everyone on the World Dam Day. I used to work as a self-employed food seller on the Mekong River beaches during low tide. Since 2010, the water has been fluctuating and severe.

Up until now, up and down daily, difficult to predict and plan to trade, I lost that career.

Just like any other little person unable to plan production and have been affected by the fluctuations of the Mekong River. On behalf of those affected by the construction of a hydroelectric dam on the Mekong River and is one of 37 lawsuits against the Xayaburi dam.

We have been waiting for 10 years. The outcome of the trial is yet to be determined while the problem situation was resolved late. We are concerned that the damaged Mekong ecosystem is difficult to return. If we don’t stop building the next dam, go back to our time protest against the construction of the Xayaburi Dam, we are condemned to be virtual.

The ‘Awakening Bunny’ has been threatened with freedom of expression, yet we never give up present to the public to deliver policy decisions whenever and wherever we can. It is our right to stand up and defend the Mekong River which is like a “mother” of all things that nourish the lives of people on both sides. We have no weapon to fight except the “truth”.

Since March 14th of every year is the World Dam Day, I would like to be one of the voices of the little people pleading with the country’s leaders to help end their involvement in the construction of new dams, review of electricity trading with neighboring countries, and conduct bilateral negotiations with upstream countries to respect the rights of people downstream and live together with dignity and equal dignity.

We ask the country’s leaders make a decision at this crucial moment to accelerate, heal, compensate, replace, and restore the lost Mekong ecosystem as well as consider urgently helping villagers, communities, and those affected and concrete.”

The People’s Network of the Mekong River Basin in 7 Northeastern Provinces asked those who are involved in the exploitation of the Mekong River stop building dam because the Mekong River basin issues are very sensitive. Whether it is to build a dam to block the main line of the Mekong River either the dams in China or the dams in the Lao PDR, it has changed the Mekong River ecosystem. Traditions of people along the Mekong River disappear, fish disappear, all of them are affected by the dams on the Mekong River.Stop the Mekong Dam: Voices from the Mekong River Basin

The World Dam Day (International Day of Action against Dams) falls on March 14 every year,  begins with the awareness of the importance of the civic sector in must come together to form a global network in resisting the cataclysm of the dam. In September 1995, annual meeting of The Brazilian Dam Opposing Movement (MAB), therefore proposed an international meeting of people affected by dams, after which each region would meet with people affected by dams.

Each country in the region in Asia, the meeting was held at Narmada Dam, India in 1996 with representatives from Thailand participating as well. Finally, during the 11-14 March 1997 large network organizations in each region have jointly hosted an international conference of people affected From the first dam up in Curitiba, Brazil Representatives of people affected by the dam construction and environmentalists from 20 countries, including representatives of environmental organizations and villagers from Thailand attended the meeting.

While representatives of people affected by the dam and environmentalists from other countries such as China and Malaysia unable to travel to attend this meeting due to conflicts in the dam construction between the government and the people. The four-day meeting took place in addition to exchanging experiences in the dam battle. The meeting also agreed to have a Curitiba Declaration to “Stand up for human rights and the way of life of people who receive Dam impacts” and set March 14 of every year as a World Dam Day with the motto to be shared: “Water is for life, not for death”.

Source: Nongkhai Online News, Pattarawin Leepan