Thailand - Thai govt must talk to public, rights chief advises

In order to prevent further destruction of floodwalls in the days ahead, the Thai government needs to communicate clearly with disgruntled residents and offer them tangible compensation, Nirand Pitakwatchara, National Human Rights Commissioner, said.

"They need to talk as to how the compensation will be provided," Nirand told The Nation Friday, adding that failure to do so might lead to more conflicts and clashes. The rights commissioner said many affected communities did not have access to government leaders, unlike the businessmen who met the premier on Thursday to suggest that some roads be blasted through to create waterways.

Nirand said this conflict was just a symptom of a deeper human-rights issue involving the lack of public participation in the direction rural and national development takes.

"Development begins with the violation of rights," he said, explaining that local communities have practically no say as to where dams, industrial estates and roads will be built and this has resulted in homes and factories being submerged and the capital facing inundation.

He added that villagers who have been affected in 26 provinces have little or no access to information, so they are unable to prepare for floods.

"They have no access to information, so their right to data is also being violated," he said, adding that another issue was how blue-collar workers, both Thai and non-Thai, were being cared for.

"How will the government deal with the impact of the floods?" he asked.

Pravit Rojanaphruk in Bangkok/The Nation | ANN

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