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Protests Mars Mahathir’s Thailand Trip For Economic, Security Talks
Kazi Mahmood, IOL Southeast Asia Correspondent
KUALA LUMPUR, July 6 (IslamOnline) - Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed arrived in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai on Saturday for a three-day official visit focusing on economic cooperation and security amid protests against a Malaysian pipeline project, officials said.
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra officially welcomed Mahathir at Chiang Mai’s military airport. It is the first time the Thaksin administration has hosted a visit by the long-serving Malaysian Prime Minister.
Thaksin paid an official visit to Kuala Lumpur in April 2001. Mahathir, who has caused a stir in Malaysia with his resignation announcement, is scheduled to visit the village project in Chiang Mai before heading to Bangkok late on Saturday.
Opponents of the gas pipeline on Friday staged peaceful protest demonstrations in the Bangkok and Songkhla province, where the pipeline is to come onshore. About 100 protesters gathered in front of the Malaysian consulate in Songkhla to lodge a complaint against the project.
In Bangkok, their counterparts handed a letter to Mahathir through the Malaysian embassy, calling for the cancellation of the pipeline project. “The Thai government's decision-making process had been made against the will and provisions of the 1997 constitution that guarantees communities the right to participate in efforts to conserve and manage their natural resources, environment and livelihood,'' the opponents said in their letter.
“Section 59 of the constitution requires full consultation with local people who would be affected by large-scale infrastructure and development projects prior to government approval,” the letter said.
The opponents also claimed the government's decision went against environmental study reports that called for a review of the project because of its potential environmental and social impacts.
Doubts also were raised about the transparency of contracts and agreements made by the project partners Petroleum Authority of Thailand and Malaysia's petrol giant Petronas, as well as foreign contractors involved in the project.
On Sunday, Mahathir will hold bilateral talks with Thaksin in the capital before being granted a royal audience with Thailand's Queen Sirikit at Chitralada Palace, AFP reported.
Thaksin told reporters he would reassure Mahathir that the controversial billion-dollar gas pipeline project linking southern Thailand with an offshore field being jointly developed with Malaysia would go ahead.
"The government wants to reaffirm that the project will not cause anyone hardship, and we are confident that the environmental impact will be controlled," he said as reported by the AFP.
The pipeline was originally due to begin operation this year, but the plan has been stalled by strong opposition from Thai environmental groups, who were planning protests during Mahathir's visit, they said in a statement.
The leaders would also discuss security problems along their common border, Thaksin said.
Some 12 police officers have been killed in recent months in the south of Thailand, and although authorities have not pinpointed its catalyst, Thaksin has suggested that Thailand or Malaysia could revoke either the dual citizenship of known troublemakers in the region.
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