Hundreds of Thai people have taken legal action against
relevant authorities and officials, including the prime minister, over the
flood crisis.
For the first time in Thailand,
hundreds of people have taken legal action against relevant authorities and
officials, including the prime minister, over the flood crisis.
The Stop Global Warming
Association (SGWA) has represented them in bringing the case to the Central Administrative
Court Wednesday.
"It's going to be a
historic case," SGWA president Srisuwan Janya said.
He said 350 people were there
in the first batch of flood victims who had authorised his association to
represent them at the Central Administrative Court.
"There will be more
batches," he added.
This year, severe flooding
raged across many provinces in the country and turned millions of people into
flood victims. Many of them have seen their houses under flood water for more
than one month.
"We will file a complaint
against 11 authorities and officials on grounds of negligence, delayed delivery
of services and committing actions that cause damages," Srisuwan said.
He said the government had the
Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Act in place but failed to enforce it for
the flood-prevention and flood-relief operations. He said the government was
also too slow in sending relief items to flood victims.
Srisuwan said the construction
of big-bag floodwalls has also hurt many people who then have had to face
prolonged flooding.
SGWT believed Prime Minister
Yingluck Shinawatra, the Flood Relief Operations Centre, Agriculture Minister
Theera Wongsamut, Interior Minister Yongyuth Wichaidit, the director-general of
the Royal Irrigation Department, the director-general of the Disaster
Prevention and Mitigation Department, the director-general of the Water
Resources Department, the director-general of the Pollution Control Department,
the director of the National Disaster Warning Centre, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration,
and the Department of Public Works and Town & Country Planning) should be
held responsible.
The SGWT has described the
government's offer to pay Bt5,000 compensation to each flood-hit household as a
contemptuous sum.
"That amount of money is
hardly enough to replace a door," Srisuwan said.
He said each of the 350 flood
victims in the first batch wants the compensation amount to be no less than
100,000 baht (US$3,191). Some even wanted a seven-digit compensation amount, he
added.
"We have decided to sue
the relevant authorities on behalf of the flood victims because it may be hard
for people to fight the case against the government on their own," he
said.
Srisuwan said SGWT had already
prepared a team of legal experts for the case.
Among them were Warn Tiamjaras,
a former senator, Kamon Srisawas, Padungsak Tienpairoj, Jakkrit Wilaisomsakul,
Chaiwanrat Paisan, Thanawat Tasak, Anan Amornthammawut, Chokchai Saeng-aroon,
Tewait Chotecharoenporn, Kris Thamkunakorn, and Sanit Noraheem.
So far, Srisuwan said SGWT
would represent the flood victims in the Administrative Court only.
"After the Administrative
Court issues a ruling, they may use it in the Criminal and Civil courts,"
he said.
Srisuwan has been conducting a
campaign for flood victims to come forward and take action against relevant
authorities and officials over what they see as the mismanagement.
SGWT held a seminar on
"2011 Flood Crisis: Inevitable or a Result of Poor Management?" at
the Imperial Queen's Park Hotel on December 15.
On its website, it also tells
flood-hit people unhappy with the compensation amount from the government to
exercise their right to sue.
Srisuwan said after SGWT had
finished the paperwork for more victims, it would lodge more complaints on
behalf of the flood victims with the Central Administrative Court.
"From next week onward, I
will visit more flood-hit communities in Bangkok and its adjacent provinces to
inform them of the process to sue relevant authorities if they want to,"
he said.
Chularat Saengpassa
The Nation
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