Chulalongkorn University economist Narong Petprasert is leading unprecedented class lawsuits filed by flood-affected residents against the government.
Speaking to King-oua Laohong, he does not think the government will have the money to settle the suit if it loses the legal battle. But, he says, the government cannot avoid the responsibility.
This action to be taken against the government is being politicized, is it not?
There's political pressure for sure. It's unavoidable. But that's fine because I've worked for the poor for a long time. I only want to seek fairness for people in need. My house is not flooded but my workplace is.
My question is if one can't get to work on account of the floods, what kind of damage will that cause? The vendors can't hawk their goods. What will their lives be like? Who is taking care of them?
In the very beginning, the Flood Relief Operations Command (Froc) and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) insisted Bangkok would be spared the floods. Even if there was flooding, water would be ankle deep.
Now the government is handing out 5,000 baht of compensation for each affected household]. Is that amount even worth the grievances we face?
The citizens have never sued the government. If the government acts with recklessness and causes us damages, we must sue.
The government claims there have been excessive amounts of rainfall this year and that the natural disaster could not be predicted. Is this true?
Natural disasters are partly to blame. But the problem is the government never explained clearly about water management.
Agencies such as the Royal Irrigation Department and Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand did not disseminate water information before the heavy floods reached the Central Plains provinces and eventually Bangkok.
The great floods resulted from heavy downpours from multiple tropical storms. This is beyond human control. But we cannot accept that the government did not tell us why, despite the rain, the storms and the huge amounts of water flowing into dams, it failed to manage water in those dams.
Instead it let the problems degenerate into public calamities prompting people to flee left and right from their homes.
Originally you planned to represent in the lawsuits only residents outside of the flood walls. Is that right?
At first, we wanted to seek justice for people outside the flood walls such as those living along Khlong Sam Wa. They have made sacrifices. But when the news spread (about the suits), it turned out the damage to people was enormous and many were in despair.
The charges to be filed are quite a few and they have been brought up for discussion with the Lawyers Council of Thailand. The issues to consider are, example, who should be liable. The council is gathering details from experts and related agencies before drafting the suit.
The charges to be pressed are both civil and criminal.
(The citizens) have never sued the state for damages from acts of natural disasters before, have we?
Isn't it time we did? The lawsuit is unavoidable because the damage is far-reaching. Anyone joining the class suit can come on board.
The government hasn't said anything about compensating people living in areas where floodwater has been retained. The government must offer them extra compensation.
When the government is negligent, the people have the right to sue it. The government knew all along there would be flooding but did not set off the alarm.
Does the government have enough to pay for the suits?
That's interesting. The damage occurs across the country. I don't know if the government has enough in its budget to cover it if the government can't foot the bill (in the event it loses in court), is it possible that perhaps a bond could be issued to raise money to pay for damages or find financial sources so people can borrow? It will help.
No comments:
Post a Comment