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Published on July 16, 2007

The 100-strong group of protesters, mostly residents of building 21 to 32, also vowed not to take part in the hearing scheduled for them today.

Pornsak had said earlier that the NHA would hear the views of residents of building 1 to 8, which house nearly 600 families, on July 14 and of the tenants of buildings 21 to 32 today.

The governor insisted that the NHA's decision to demolish the 20 buildings was not predetermined but based on concerns about the residents' safety. Although experts have said the condemned buildings are repairable, the NHA board said it feared that they might still be unsafe because there was no certainty that they would not deteriorate further after the repairs.

Most residents at yesterday's hearing insisted that the flats should be repaired rather than demolished. The residents outside the Labour Ministry monitored the talks closely before burning Pornsak's effigy because the NHA governor kept insisting the flats were unsafe.

They also threatened to hold a ritual drowning of Pornsak's spirit in a river if the NHA governor organised further hearings.

NHA board member Kwansuang Atipothi said there was no conclusion from yesterday's hearing.

Kwansuang said the NHA would continue to hold hearings for another 3-4 months so that residents were fully informed before a final decision was taken on whether to demolish or repair the buildings.