Police spray teargas to end KL dam protest

Police spray teargas to end KL dam protest

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuter): A peaceful demonstration over the
controversial Bakun hydroelectric dam turned ugly yesterday when
police sprayed the crowd with tear gas following a scuffle.

More than 20 people including children were directly hit by
the spray, and many were seen washing their eyes with water to
reduce the burning sensation.

A scuffle apparently started when one of the protesters
allegedly hurled abuses at the police. The man was later
detained.

"I came here with my children because I was expecting a
peaceful demonstration. I can't believe this happened," said
Ahmad Sham, a supporter of the call to stop the Bakun project.

One of those directly hit by the spray was Josie Zaini,
president of the Education and Research Association for Consumers
and a winner of the National Award for Environmental Protection
two years ago.

"I was doing nothing, not even shouting. A police officer
passed by holding something like a mobile phone, I looked at him
and before I knew it, he squirted something straight into my
eyes. I think it's inhuman," she said.

About 200 protesters from 40 non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) had gathered in front of the headquarters of Ekran Bhd,
the main contractor for the 15 billion ringgit (US$5.9 billion)
dam project in Sarawak state on Borneo island.

They wanted to hand over a memorandum protesting the
construction of the dam, which they say will be an ecological
monstrosity, but they were told by the police to disperse as the
gathering was illegal.

"We did not anticipate this. All we wanted to do was to gather
peacefully, hand the memorandum over and go off. This was totally
unnecessary, unprovoked violence by the police," said Sivavasa
Rasia, one of the organizers of the demonstration.

The NGOs had criticized the government for allowing work to
begin on the project before an Environmental Impact Assessment
(EIA) was completed.

The first phase of the EIA had been approved by the Sarawak
state government, which has a stake in the project, allowing
Ekran to clear-cut some 80,000 hectares of rainforest and
farmland in what would be the dam's reservoir.

Approvals for the second and third parts of the EIA relating
to the dam's construction and transmission of electricity are
still pending.

Environmentalists and other critics said the study should have
been approved as a single package, since if the second and third
parts were rejected, a large area of rainforest would have been
cleared for nothing.

Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim last month challenged
activists to give an environmentally-friendly energy alternative
to hydroelectric power, and ruled out stopping work while holding
consultations with the NGO groups.

Bakun dam, which would be second only in size to China's Three
Gorges Dam, will eventually flood an area the size of Singapore
and displace 9,000 tribespeople.

Electricity will be transmitted from Borneo to Peninsular
Malaysia via a 650-kilometer long cable under the South China
Sea.

Activists said local residents had not been adequately
consulted about resettlement.

They said industrialized nations no longer build big dams
because of safety concerns and the government has not shown a
vital need for the Bakun project.

Three tribespeople from the area have brought a suit against
the government in the Kuala Lumpur High Court to stop the dam.