(27/01/13) The leader of a protest against the controversial Kaeng Sua Ten (แก่งเสือเต้น) Dam says he is ready to die for the cause.
Speaking from a makeshift wooden shelter near a forest where the dam is scheduled to be built, protest leader Somming Muangrong (สมมิ่ง เหมืองร้อง) said he would gladly sacrifice his own life if it would put an end to construction plans.
He and other protesters have made the shelter their home as they up the ante against the planned development of the dam, which would span the Yom (ยม) River.
Opponents say the development would destroy about 24,000 rai of teak forest.
Mr. Somming and a large group of his fellow villagers left their homes late last year to stay near the forest to look out for people gathering landscape information for the dam.
They see the move as the last resort in their 24-year opposition to the dam after state officials rejected their pleas in past talks.
Residents in four villages in Sa-iab (สะเอียบ) Sub-district in Prae Province’s Song (สอง) District are concerned that the dam would threaten their livelihoods and the area’s ecology.