Give Power to the People

Posted by AsiaViews | Oct 2, 2017 | 0 |

THAILAND

Bangkok Post

Sept 26, 2017

The government has once again turned opportunity into needless confrontation over its stubborn stance on energy. Its decision to go ahead with an Egat-run coal-fired plant in Songkhla’s Thepa district speaks volumes about the problem.

The Thepha project has drawn criticism from locals, activists and academics over its public hearings, a condition set in the EIA and/or EHIA study process. But Egat dismisses the concerns, and despite the dispute the Office of Natural Resources and Environment Policy and Planning (ONRE) has endorsed the project and defended its stance

In its explanation, the state officials said concerns over the problematic EHIA process for the Thepa project were a non-issue.

While questions remain over the the controversial project’s EHIA, the ONRE, an arm of the National Environment Board, has proposed changes to public-hearing regulations in the Environmental Protection Act that will give more freedom to state authorities and operators of megaprojects to come up with schemes which mostly do more harm than good.

This has prompted activists under the Peoples Network for Sustainable Development to oppose the move. Last week they turned up in Bangkok to voice their concerns.

Currently, public hearings are mandated and, to be blunt, the government and operators of megaprojects go through the motions, a process rendering the studies as meaningless. This was evident in the cases of Thepha and also Krabi, another designated site for a coal-fired plant which has been shelved after irregularities in the EHIA were revealed.

Energy policy is remarkably outdated despite numerous promises made by Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha to update it and make it of vital importance.

The government has pursued tired old strategies from the last century. Huge national projects and numerous deals with foreign governments are the mainstays. The highly disputed coal-fired plants planned for the South are just some of many controversial projects in the pipeline.

Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia have all been co-opted to build hydro-electric projects. Those governments are even more cavalier towards public opinion than Thailand. The Mekong and Salween Rivers in particular are being affected by Thai-backed projects which this government, like others, liken to “the battery of Thailand”.

With energy reserve margins exceeding 40%, Egat’s ongoing pursuit of new power plants is not justifiable, given the damage they will cause local communities. What we need is a revision of the National Power Development Plant that is more realistic and doesn’t unnecessarily burden local people but also consumers in towns.

The Thepa project will — no argument on this — destroy Gulf fishing communities in lower Songkhla province, and upper Pattani. Equally destructive, the proposed coal-fired plant in Bamnet Narong district of Chaiyaphum also faces strong opposition as the project will displace hundreds of people and sap much of the region’s water to cool the plant.

But if the state insists on continuing to push this, it must pay heed to activists and local people who only ask for meaningful public hearings and proper, modern health and environment impact studies.

These are too much, however, for a government operating under policies fashioned for the industrial revolution of the past. Indeed, experts conclude that Egat’s desire to wildly expand power generation is misplaced. The country will not need most of the proposed electricity coming online.

The government and Egat continue to resist implementing a modern energy policy that’s more in line with its own “Thailand 4.0” programs. That would mean, for starters, that alternative energy would get top billing instead of coal. But the government risks potentially dangerous showdowns in the near future, and not just with civil society. The public must have influence in any large and possibly harmful projects.

(source:http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/1331179/give-power-to-the-people)

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EXTRICATING NDONESIAN CHILDREN FROM ISIS INFLUENCE ABROAD

Indonesia urgently needs to revisit the possibility of repatriating the neediest of its young citizens stranded abroad, whose families had earlier joined ISIS. Most of these children are in camps in northern Syria but there are also small numbers in the Philippines, Afghanistan and Iraq. “Extricating Indonesian Children from ISIS Influence Abroad”, the latest report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) argues that the government could begin by bringing back small groups of unaccompanied children under ten years of age, who pose minimal security risk and are most vulnerable to deteriorating conditions in the camps.“The problem is that health and security conditions are worsening by the day in the Syrian camps, and the children are growing older,” says Dyah Kartika, IPAC analyst. “They need access to schools, a nurturing environment, and medical attention. If the government waits too long, the children will be further exposed to ISIS ideology.” The new report examines a 2019 list of Indonesians in camps and prisons run by the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Indonesian government has been trying to verify their citizenship, but with pseudonyms, misspellings and bad transliterations, it is a daunting task. At the time the data was collected, between March and June 2019, there were 555 Indonesians in SDF camps and prisons, including 367 children. Among the children, approximately 277 were under the age of ten and 34 were unaccompanied. In June 2021, there are fewer than ten children who are both unaccompanied and under the age of ten that could be prioritized for return. Bringing back children of ISIS families is no easy task. The report analyses the main challenges faced by the Indonesian government. These include definitional issues, bureaucratic competition, the difficulty of verifying nationality, evaluating the toll of exposure to conflict, assessing security risk, and finding relatives or others willing to provide care once the children are returned. In addition, COVID has meant stringent restrictions on travel, placing further obstacles in the way of repatriation. There are several models for rehabilitation of children exposed to violent extremism in Indonesia that could be modified to accommodate the needs of children repatriated from abroad. The report examines these models and argues that the government does not need to have every detail of rehabilitation programs in place before it starts extricating children from ISIS influence. It can start by bringing back the most vulnerable children and then modify programs as needed.

“It’s important that the government see these children as victims” says Dyah. “They deserve a chance to be children again.”

Give Power to the People