Cambodians protest Xayaburi in Bangkok
Cambodians were among anti-Xayaburi dam protesters who demonstrated outside Thai Parliament in Bangkok yesterday, urging Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to halt construction and tear up an agreement to buy the proposed dam’s power. A group of Cambodians travelled to Bangkok especially to raise their concerns about the proposed hydroelectric dam, joining protesters from seven provinces in Thailand’s northeast. They were out of luck, however, as the Thai government – which would buy the majority of the dam’s power, if built – refused to hear their calls, which accompanied 8,000 signatures on giant catfish petition postcards. … A statement released by NGO Towards Ecological Recovery and Regional Alliance (TERRA), said meeting with the Thai premier could be “an important turning point for [the] Xayaburi campaign for the Mekong regional civil society networks and, even more important, for the Thai people who live along the Mekong River.”
