Lignite plants ignite Thai protest

Thu, 10 Dec 1998 | Source: AP

BANGKOK (AP): More than 5,000 protesters burned Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai in effigy while demanding the government back off plans to build three lignite power plants, a local paper reported on Wednesday.

Protesters in the port city of Prachuab Khiri Khan, 230 kilometers southwest of Bangkok, gathered in front of the provincial hall on Tuesday and said they would return on Wednesday, The Bangkok Post reported.

They said they were angry because lignite, or brown coal, pollutes the air and the government had ignored their opposition to the projects since 1996.

Thammayuth Suthivicha, former president of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand's employees association, said EGAT would not be able to solve the pollution problems caused by burning lignite, according to the Post.

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