Bangkok Governor And Protesters Lock Horns: Flood Conflicts

[webfact]

CONFLICTS OF FLOOD

Governor and protesters lock horns

The Nation

The dispute over the Khlong Phraya Suren sluice gate continued yesterday.

While the demonstrators led by Pol MajGeneral Sangiam Samranrat, insisted the gate be open at 1.5meterwide, Bangkok Governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra said no negotiation until the gate was narrowed to onemeterwide and said he would sue Sangaim.

Sangiam, an official at the PM's SecretaryGeneral Office, dismissed the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) claim that he used his political official position to open the gate and said that he did it as an affected citizen wishing to help the affected residents. He said his position had no authority or even a desk.

Citing the PM's order number 17/2554 that the premiere instructed BMA Governor to open sluice gates as necessary so people weren't affected, he said the premiere also verbally instructed Sukhumbhand to open the gate at onemeterwide, but he didn't do so.

Sangiam filed a complaint at the Nimitmai police station, before 4,000 residents of Pathum Thani's Lam Lukka district submitted a letter to Pracha, who then called Sukhumbhand directly.

Residents reportedly heard the governor agreeing to open the sluice gate at onemeterwide, but BMA didn't do anything, Sangiam said, he thus got the letter in which Pracha asked for BMA cooperation and filed a complaint at the Sai Mai police station before joining others to open the sluice gate. "If the governor thought what I did was wrong, he can sue me. I'm ready to fight on court, as well as floodaffected residents whose belongings were damaged because he didn't open the sluice gate. We can get police complaints I had filed and sue him too," he added.

Meanwhile the demonstrators, after getting the sluice gate to open at 1.5meterwide since Monday night, continued to camp out for fear BMA would narrow it to onemeterwide. They said the 1.5meterwide opening lowered flood at Pathum Thani's Thanyaburi, Khlong Luang and Lam Lukka districts. Currently, no FROC or BMA officials talked with them but police were present to keep order.

Sukhumbhand yesterday insisted he and Pracha agreed that the law came before the mob rule so he wouldn't negotiate until the gate opened onemeterwide. Expressing uneasiness that PM's SecretaryGeneral Office official acted without authorization from superiors, he said there was no order from the premiere or FROC and commented that if Sangiam wanted to be a protest leader he should quit his job with the government. He said he would file a police complaint against Sangiam.

BMA spokesman Wasan Meewong said Sangiam should be dealt with by his supervisor FROC and that, if FROC didn't do anything, it could lead to a copycat using mob rule.

Jirachat Chaiwong who previously led Lam Lukka protest demanding for the gate opening at onemeterwide said the group calling for the 1.5meterwide opening wasn't his and it was led by redshirts, so he couldn't stop them. He said his group was content with the onemeterwide opening as it lowered flood by 10cm a day.

Sai Mai Councillor Rattikan Kaewkerdmee said Sangaim clearly stated if people wanted which sluice gate to open but BMA refused, he would bring them to open it. She urged Sai Mai people not to confront the demonstrators as the group might use violence.

Royal Irrigation Department Chalit Damrongsak said officials' efforts to drain flood in the western side of Chao Phraya River and rehabilitate Nonthaburi's Bang Bua Thong, Bang Kruay, Bang Yai and Sai Noi districts went well. The Bang Bua Thong Market and Bang Kruay Municipality should be dry in seven days.

Bangkok's VibhavadiRangsit Road should be dried today (Nove 30) and normal traffic resume in a week but the Thonburi side would be flooded until the end of December, National Disaster Warning Centre director Somsak Khaosuwan said.

-- The Nation 2011-11-30

[bedouin1990]

I have driven through Pathum Thani twice in the last week heading to BNK. Bangkok-the parts I saw of it were bone dry, yet PT is still knee deep in water. I can well understand the frustration of people who see themselves as counting little in the overall scheme to protect BNK.. The governor and pathetic Yingluck have pushed these people to the limit. I endured the floods in Bang Pa In for 5 weeks, and moved to Siracha. Then I just received a bill for 1,800B from 3BB for internet service they did not provide during the floods. They can kiss my ankle 3 joints up. I try to keep things in perspective-the floods came and no one could have prevented that. I remember how helpless the US Government was when Hurricaine Katrina struck . What gladdened my heart was to see how Thais as a group stood up and helped their neighbors; what courage and a positive attitude they showed in the face of misery. I will remain here in spite of it all. Because the people-not their sorry government- are special.

[gregb]

My neighbors who have been under 2+ meters of water for more than a month don't really give a rats ass what Sukhumbhand or anyone else thinks, says or does. The fact is the government built a dam out of 2.5 ton sandbags and turned our houses into a storage pond for the benefit Bangkok. Nobody asked our opinion or permission. I don't discount it may have been for the greater good of the country, but I also know that if you injure people for the greater good you have to compensate them fairly. If Yingluck, Sukhumbhand, or any of the other despicable politicians out there had even an ounce of integrity they would be bending over backwards to offer proper compensation for their actions.

If you want to look at who violated the spirit of the law and justice, the politicians need to look no further than the mirror. If they aren't willing to respect the rule of law, why should anyone else? It is truly insulting to see politicians trying to paint those they have abused as the enemy. It would never even have gotten to this point if any of them understood moral rectitude. The blame can hardly be pushed off onto the residents who are suffering.

[Credo]

Mob rule is how things seem to work here. The larger the mob, the more they get their way.