Witoon Lienchamroon, director of BioThai, a network of academic and community organisations concerned with the importance of biological resources and conserving biological diversity, said the government's draft bill of the Biosafety Law appeared to promote the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) instead of protecting the country's biological resources.

The first draft of the bill, drawn up by a working team appointed by Suwit Khunkitti, who was the Natural Resources and Environmental Minister in 2004, was completed recently.

Witest Srinet of the Office of Natural Resources and Environment Policy and Planning, who headed the team, said the bill aimed to protect biosafety related to the use and distribution of GMOs, but does not promote GMOs as Witoon claimed.

The bill has been strongly criticised by opponents of GMOs. Yesterday was the fourth and final public hearing, and the already heated debate reached a peak as it was the last chance to collect public suggestions for amendments to the draft.

Sairoong Thongplon, manager of the Consumers Federation, said the bill failed to consider the issues of consumer rights or the impact of GMOs on people's health and the environment.

"The issues have been controversial in the country for almost a decade, so why did the bill not focus on it? It seems the government wants to ignore all controversial issues on GMOs so the approval of the bill can be accelerated.

"Once it is enforced, the law will be used to open the country to GMOs," Sairoong said.

Somchai Rattanachaisakul, a law academic at the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, said the bill ignored the so-called precautionary principle accepted as the basis of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, to which Thailand is signatory.

The principle states that when there is reasonable suspicion of harm, lack of scientific certainty or consensus must not be used to postpone preventative action.

Witest said he and his team would review the bill in light of the public's comments and draw up a new draft bill, but Witoon said activists would go ahead with drafting their own version.

"We need a comprehensive law on biosafety, not a separate law that only focuses on GMOs and products thereof," Witoon said.

Witoon said the "people's version" of the Biosafety Law would be submitted for the Parliament's consideration, either through opposition parties or by collecting 50,000 signatures and submitting it directly as prescribed by the Constitution.

Pennapa Hongthong

The Nation