Chiang Rai News
Save the Mekong Coalition Boycotts Consultation Process of the Pak Lay Dam
CHIANG RAI – Save the Mekong, a coalition of non-governmental organizations, community-based groups and concerned citizens within the Mekong region, issued a statement on Friday announcing their intention to boycott the Mekong River Commission’s (MRC’s) Prior Consultation for the proposed Pak Lay dam.
Pak Lay is the fourth dam planned on the main stream of the Mekong River in Laos.
Prior Consultation is a requirement of the 1995 Mekong Agreement for countries jointly to review any development project proposed for the mainstream Mekong, with an aim to reach an agreement on whether or not it should proceed, and if so, under what conditions.
The Save the Mekong coalition is boycotting the Pak Lay Prior Consultation because serious and outstanding concerns regarding each of the mainstream dams that have undergone the process to date – the Xayaburi, Don Sahong and Pak Beng dams – remain unresolved.
Furthermore, the Pak Lay Prior Consultation began just one day after the Laotian government announced a suspension of new hydropower projects in the wake of the tragic Xe Pian-Xe Nam Noy hydropower project disaster in Attapeu, southern Laos.
Wora Suk of Thai Extraterritorial Obligation-Watch Working Group (Thai ETO-Watch) and a member of Save the Mekong explained, “Previous Prior Consultations have been regarded as a rubber stamp to satisfy community consultation obligations. In reality, these processes have not taken community concerns into account.”
The Pak Lay dam threatens to compound the impacts of existing dams on the Mekong mainstream. These dams are expected to cause irreversible damage to the livelihoods and cultures of tens of thousands of people living along the Mekong and its tributaries, whose lives and traditions are closely linked to the river system and its rich natural resources.
Tongsuk Intavong, headman of Huay Leuk village in Chiang Khong district, Chiang Rai province, Thailand, just upstream of the proposed Pak Beng dam, said, “We have worked with Thai and Lao communities on both sides of the Mekong River to restore fish habitats and manage fish conservation. If plans for dams on the mainstream Mekong proceed, our livelihoods and fisheries will be irrevocably impacted.”
Local fisherman Por Bun added: “We rely directly on the Mekong, and stand to lose everything.”
Riparian villagers’ fears are well founded. An MRC council study released in February starkly shows that the series of 11 large hydropower dams on the Mekong River’s lower mainstream and 120 tributary dams planned by 2040 pose a serious threat to the ecological health, economic vitality, and food security of the region.
“Laos is building and planning a series of nine dams on the mainstream Mekong and up to 120 dams on Mekong tributaries. These dams are already causing huge impacts on biodiversity and local livelihoods, as this rich legacy is stolen from the current generation of youth,” said a Lao representative of the Mekong Youth Assembly who wishes to remain anonymous.
Plans for another large-scale hydropower project are of particular concern in light of the collapse of an auxiliary dam of the Xe Pian-Xe Nam Noy hydropower project in southern Laos.
“The Xe Pian-Xe Nam Noy disaster clearly shows the huge risks to life, livelihoods, environment and economies from hydropower projects in the areas surrounding the project, as well as downstream and across national boundaries,” said Shalmali Guttal, executive director of Focus on the Global South.
“At a time like this, the MRC should be helping the [Laotian] government to address gaps in past Prior Consultation processes and implement the council study recommendations, not embarking on a consultation process for a new hydropower project that is likely to compound these risks.”
In response to the dam collapse, the Laotian government announced an independent investigation of built and under-construction projects and a suspension of new hydropower investments pending a review of the country’s hydropower strategy.
A key recommendation of the MRC’s council study is consideration of emerging energy technologies, such as solar and wind, that are competitive with hydropower. Rather than embarking on another flawed Prior Consultation process, the Save the Mekong coalition in its statement urges the MRC to support the Laotian government to re-evaluate plans for further dams in favor of alternative sources of energy generation and development revenue.
“The Lower Mekong Basin holds great potential for renewable and decentralized electricity technologies,” said Nguy Thi Khin, director of the Green Innovation and Development Center Vietnam (Green ID) and 2018 Goldman Environmental Prize winner.
“By adopting national energy policies that encourage investment in renewable energy, Lower Mekong governments can usher in an era of truly sustainable growth, placing highest priority on healthy rivers and the safety and well-being of riparian communities.”
Read a copy of the Save the Mekong statement here.
By Maureen Harris
Police in Wiang Kaen District of Chiang Rai Province have arrested a 50 year old man after the threatened to rape a 20 year-old woman and the proceeded to murder her 2 and half month old baby.
Police with doctors from Wiang Kaen Hospital and the Chao Luang Wiang Kaen Welfare Association were summoned to the scene of the incident to a 2-story cement house, Village No. 2, Tha Kham Subdistrict, Wiang Kaen District of Chiang Rai
On arrival they found Ms. Chanikarn, age 20, in a state of distress crying uncontrollably beside her 2 and a half month baby girl (Linlada) that was dead on the floor.
After calming Ms. Chanikarn, the child’s mother, said that at approximately 2:30 p.m she was out to collect diapers that had been dried in front of the house, while her 2 and a half month old daughter was sleep on the ground floor of the house.
She said she was suddenly approached by a Mr. Lee, about 40 years old, who lived on the opposite side of the road. He came towards her and grabbed her arm and threatened her saying if she didn’t sleeping with him he will go and kill his daughter.
Miss Chanikan refused and ran away, then Mr. Lee then walked into the house and grabbed Ms. Linlada’s leg, smashing the child’s head against the cement floor of the house. The infant died immediately.
Mr. Lee then just walked away and returned to his own home, leaving Miss Chanikan and her dead baby.
When police went to Mr. Lee’s home he immediately confessed killing the infant and was taken to Wiang Kaen Police Station for further questioning. Under caution he told police that he was sexually attracted to Miss Chanikan‘s and when her husband leave for work he took the opportunity to approach her.
He said when he saw her husband leave he crossed that road and found Miss Chanikan in the yard alone, he then threatened her to sleep with him, saying he would kill her child if she didn’t have sex with him. However when she refused he flew into a fit of rage walked into her home and murdered he baby. He said he was out of control with rage.
After killing the infant he walk across the street to his home and waited for the police to arrive. The police have charged him with premeditated murder and attempted rape. He is being held without bail at the local remand center.
Meanwhile, Miss Chanikan and her family were preparing a religious burial ceremony for the child.
Other Chiang Rai News:
Machete Wielding Man Shot an Killed by Police in Chiang Rai
https://www.chiangraitimes.com/chiangrai-news/machete-wielding-man-shot-an-killed-by-police-in-chiang-rai/
CHIANG RAI: Prime Minister Settha Thavisin has authorized the establishment of an emergency cyber center operated by the Royal Thai Police to combat transnational crimes committed by call center gangs along the Thai border in Chiang Rai province.
On July 19, Prime Minister Settha Thavisin directed the Center to combat information technology crimes. The Royal Thai Police (Royal Thai Police) will crack down on call center gangs in Myanmar, Laos, and along the border.
His directive comes as call center gangs ratchet up their scams to defraud people of their money, causing concern among Thais and jeopardizing the country’s economic and social stability.
Pol. Gen. Kittirat Panphet, Deputy Commander and Director of the Police Crime Suppression Division, Assigned Pol. Lt. Gen. Thatchai Pitanilabut, Assistant Commander-in-Chief of the Police/Deputy Director of the Police Crime Suppression Division, has launched the operation ‘Bombing the Thieves’ Bridge’ in collaboration with the CAT Office, G., mobile phone network operators AIS DTAC TRUE NT, and local security agencies to cut the mobile phone signal and WiFi internet that criminals illegally use to deceive Thai citizens.
Pol. Lt. Gen. Thatchai stated that they will begin pressing the first action of the ‘Explosion of Thieves’ Bridge’ in Chiang Rai Province toward the thieves’ base of operations in the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone.
The territory surrounding King Roman in Laos. King Roman is now a full-service entertainment destination with an airport that welcomes travelers from Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar, he explained.
According to Pol. Lt. Gen. Thatchai, this operation will have no influence on honest people along the Thai border, and it will only target cyber criminals.
They will also increase the arrest and prosecution of unlawful service towers, such as SIM booths, which allow gangs register SIM cards to swindle the people. Dealing with criminal organizations of foreigners and Thais who band together to deceive and damage Thais.
The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) suspended more than three million SIM cards on July 16 because the holders had not verified their identities with their mobile phone operators by the deadline, in accordance with the NBTC’s measures to combat alleged fraudsters’ mule accounts.
The names of the holders of 80 million mobile phone numbers used for mobile banking transactions did not match the names associated with the mobile banking accounts.
The NBTC would require mobile phone companies to authenticate SIM card holders and the names of their mobile banking accounts. The verification procedure is expected to be completed by the end of September this year.
In addition, the NBTC and Royal Thai Police have collaborated to combat illegal telecom towers throughout the country’s borders, disconnecting signals at 465 places, altering antenna direction at 470 towers, and dismantling antennas at 179 locations.
They are certain that the move will disrupt contact center gangs and other types of technology-based crime.
Other Chiang Rai News:
Machete Wielding Man Shot an Killed by Police in Chiang Rai
https://www.chiangraitimes.com/chiangrai-news/machete-wielding-man-shot-an-killed-by-police-in-chiang-rai/
Police in Mae Chan, Chiang Rai, shot and killed a 28-year-old man who allegedly attacked a police officer with a machete. The officer was slashed in the right leg with the machete.
According to police, the culprit, known only as Mr. Toon, had been harassing local villagers in Mae Chan district, Chiang Rai, threatening them with a knife and using violet insults.
The village headman arrived on the scene to try to calm Mr. Toon, but he was shouting hysterically and taking swipes at him with the machete, so he contacted the police.
When the responding officer arrived at the site about 9 p.m., he attempted to calm the man, but he instead assaulted the officer, slashing his right leg with the machete. In self-defense, the cop had to fire his gun at Mr. Toon, striking him in the chest.
Mr. Toon and the policeman were taken to Mae Chan Hospital, where Mr. Toon died of a gunshot wound. Pol Sgt. Sutthikiat Phanomphraisakul was released from the hospital after receiving numerous stitches for his injuries.
Local police received a tip around 9.30 p.m. yesterday that a guy was causing mayhem in the village. When authorities arrived, they discovered 28-year-old Toon strolling along a public road, holding a large knife and threatening people. Mae Chan district officials attempted to contain the incident.
During a search of Mr. Toon’s home, authorities discovered methamphetamine consumption equipment. Locals told authorities that the man was addicted to Yaba (Methamphetamine) and an alcoholic.
The authorities are conducting an inquiry to determine Toon’s motivations and whether any underlying issues contributed to his violent outburst.
Other related news:
Chiang Mai Police Offer Cash Reward After Officer Killed
https://www.chiangraitimes.com/crime/chiang-mai-police-offer-reward/
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