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Flood victims to take legal action

Government under fire for 'mismanagement of disaster'
Flood victims to take legal action
Flood victims navigate high waters in Bangkok last month
Published: December 19, 2011 05:48 AM GMT
Updated: December 19, 2011 05:48 AM GMT

Victims of devastating floods that hit Bangkok and central Thailand over the past few months are to take legal action against the government over what they say was its “incompetence and gross mismanagement” of the disaster. “The government totally mismanaged the situation resulting in huge losses in life, property and livelihoods. The effects of the devastating floods will be felt for a long time,” said Srisuwan Chanya, director of Stop Global Warming Thailand. The group, which is representing many of the victims, recently held a meeting in Bangkok attended by 400 people to plot their course of action. “In handling the flood crisis, the government had the wrong people trying to do the job, for example assigning the justice minister, who did not have any experience or skills in this field,” Srisuwan said. “There was no coordination among government departments and units. Each province, district or even village had to solve problems by themselves. This led to conflict among the people,” he explained. “Moreover, there was lack of relevant information, coupled with misinformation and also conflicting information. Often people in a certain area were told their area was safe, only to be suddenly flooded,” Srisuwan continued. According to Srisuwan, his group will file a case on December 21 at the Administrative Court. Suriya Prom-inthira, an orchid farmer from Bangkok’s Taling Chan district, said his area was flooded without warning. “That fateful day, the water came at around 3pm By 7pm it was two meters high and there was no time to move my orchids. I lost my entire source of income.” Suriya said he believes the crisis was largely due to mismanagement of water resources along with a failure to disseminate correct information. Catholic activists are throwing their support behind the move. “Taking the government to court might not make it accept its mistakes but it will highlight the political bickering that was taking place during this crisis,” said Chuensuk Asaithammakul, a committee member of the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace. Catholic lawyer Sarawut Prathumraj agreed. “I would encourage people to take legal action to make public the facts on how the flood crisis was managed,” he said. Related reports Church responds to flood disaster

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