Villagers unwilling to meet PM on mine
Worry about being used as 'political tool'

SURASAK GLAHAN

Udon Thani _ Opponents of an Udon Thani potash mine have cancelled a meeting with Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, but say they will wait to air their grievances another day.

They cancelled the meeting to avoid being used as a "political tool," they said.

"We will not give up our effort to meet the prime minister to tell him about our suffering. We just wait for the right time," said one villager involved in the protest.

It was difficult to make the decision because the villagers had been looking forward to meeting Mr Thaksin.

They want to ask him to scrap the multi-billion-baht project.

"We agreed it was better to call off the meeting, because with the present political turmoil, we are at risk of being branded Mr Thaksin's supporters. We prefer to stay away from him," said one villager.

The meeting was arranged following an encounter between Mr Thaksin and 200 villagers affected by the proposed potash mine in Roi Et last month, when Mr Thaksin ran the At Samat poverty eradication workshop.

The meeting was viewed by villagers as a milestone in their decade-long protest against the underground mining project in Udon Thani.

However, the decision to call off the meeting would not deter them in their fight against the project, said Lertsak Kumkongsak, of Udon Thani Conservation Group.

The protest started about a decade ago after the government signed a concession agreement with Asia Pacific Potash Corporation (APPC), the investor, in 1993.

The firm is now applying for a mining licence that will allow it to run the potash mine in the Udon South deposit for 22 years.

The mining will be carried out under farmland and residential areas, which are home to more than 26,000 villagers from 51 villages. Santiparb Siriwattanapaiboon, of Udon Thani Rajabhat University, said local people could suffer from land subsidence.

Soil and fresh water salinity was also a concern as mining could damage thousands of rai of paddy fields.

"Around 10 tonnes of salt dust generated by ore processing will be emitted into the air each day. These salt particles can contaminate the environment," said Mr Santiparb.

Salt tailings, the by-products of potash mining, would pile up in the area, and could be washed by rain onto farmland and into reservoirs, he said.

The company, however, said measures had been designed to mitigate the mine's environmental impact.

Water will be sprayed over the salt waste to form a stable mass of solid flakes, which will be kept in a contained area. Various emission control methods will also be implemented, the APPC says on its website.

The villagers have also expressed fears about a drinking water shortage.

"I have not slept well at night for years through worry about how our lives will be affected," said villager Janta Satya, 58.

Somporn Pengkam, coordinator of the National Health System Reform Office, the Ministry of Public Health, shared concerns about possible salt contamination in water sources, saying the problem could pose a threat to villagers' health as consumption of salt-contaminated water over the years could lead to kidney failure.

Mr Lertsak said if the government granted the mining licence, APPC could be allowed to expand its mining empire to the Udon North deposit in just a few years.

From The Nation - Breaking News

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PM to dissolve parliament if situation worsens

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said he will dissolve parliament if the nation's political situation deteriorates further,

but rejected escalating calls for his resignation, the government spokesman said Monday.

The remarks came a day after Thaksin's influential political mentor, Chamlong Srimuang, called for his resignation and announced he

will join a mass anti-Thaksin protest Sunday.

Thaksin called an emergency Cabinet meeting Sunday night after Chamlong's announcement, and told his ministers "he will not resign,

but if the situation deteriorates, he will dissolve the parliament," said government spokesman Suraphong Suebwonglee.

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It brings back memories of all those conservative party leaders in the UK - starting with John Major who succesively publicly stated "I will not resign" and "I have been elected to do a job which I intend to do so" etc etc
Hmmmm where are they now?

So one can only hope

his days are numbered ,they must be,surely!!!!
but as you say paul, one can only hope........

Well there's a bit of a lesson in history in Thailand, lets hope he does not dig his heels in too hard

yep ,lets hope it dosent get like may 1992 bkk..............

The thought of putting such a massive mining project in is mind-boggling. So for you Udon forum members here's some info:
Proposed location of mining project: About 15-20km south of Udon east of Rte 2 near the village of Nong Ta Kai (east of Non Soong). This area is a topographical high point that is the watershed break between the Mekong River and Moon River. If the fears of environmentalists come true, the salt pollution from the mining would probably kill rice farming south of the area and pollute the Nong Han Kumphawpi which is a huge lake and wetlands. If any pollution breaks to the north it will pollute most fields south of Udon. The mining will NOT be Open pit mining but shaft mining with the Potash being extracted from over 1000 feet below the surface. The studies say that there's over 20 years of extractable deposits.
Here's the deal.. The Thai gov't gave this Canadian mining conglomerate permission to mine back in 93 based on a totally skewed environmental impact study. The study projected the mining to be significantly smaller than it will actually be. Farmers and activists in Udon province have actively fought against it for years. About 4 years ago, the BKK Post ran an Outlook spread on the issue which showed what this type of mining, when done improperly can do.. It seems the same company ran a medium sized Potash project near Chaiyaphum and when the deposits ran out, left a moonscape of a mess behind. Activists in Udon (including many in the monkhood) see the usual commercial shenanigans behind the original skewed impact statement.
Looking positively though, IF, and that's a mighty mighty big IF, the company was true to their word and ran a totally tight operation, it would result in hundreds of jobs created in an area that certrainly needs employment. Based on other environmentally unsound projects, I'd wager that money money money will dictate if it goes forward or not.

for in-depth studies on both sides of the issue, GOOGLE: Udon potash mining