Protest at 'failure to tackle pollution'
The Network of Eastern People announced yesterday it will hold a large rally early next month to protest against Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont's failure to declare the Map Ta Phut area a pollution-control zone.
"We will wake up Rayong residents," the network's coordinator Sutti Atchasai said. "I am quite disappointed with the premier." He said the rally would be held on June 5, which is World Environment Day. Sutti said Surayud's decision was based on incomplete information and clearly favoured investors. "Now that the government doesn't listen to people, we will also look into the possibility of taking legal action," he said. A National Cancer Institute study conducted between 1997 and 2001 found Map Ta Phut residents had three to five times more reported incidences of leukaemia than people living elsewhere. National Legislative Assembly (NLA) member Nitiphoom Naowarat also expressed opposition to Surayud's decision. "At first, it seemed the premier was attentive to local people, but he made a turnaround," he said. Nitiphoom said the NLA had surveyed the Map Ta Phut area and found that industrial growth had definitely caused adverse impacts on local people's health. A source at the Natural Resource and Environment Ministry explained that the government did not declare Map Ta Phut a pollution-control zone because if all factories respected emission limits, environmental problems would be reduced. The source said the Cabinet had already approved Bt1.06 billion on projects to tackle pollution problems in Rayong this year. The Pollution Control Department said many factories had already reduced pollution.
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