NIGHT SAFARI PROVIDES TOUCHSTONE FOR ATTACKING THAKSIN

UNCLAS CHIANG MAI 000132 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL SENV TH SUBJECT: NIGHT SAFARI PROVIDES TOUCHSTONE FOR ATTACKING THAKSIN REF: CHIANG MAI 233 (05) (THANKS BUT. CHIANG MAI STRUGGLES WITH DEVELOPMENT DESIGNED IN BANGKOK) ¶1. Summary: As recent flooding in Chiang Mai renewed concern over the long-term effects of the area's Night Safari and other development projects, a Chiang Mai NGO has joined with other regions to file a case in the Supreme Administrative Court against the Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (DASTA),an independent government organization appointed by the cabinet. While the case concerns the protection of public land, the politics of this issue is pointed directly at Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. End summary ¶2. An environmental protection group calling itself the Love Chiang Mai Alliance (Pakhee Khon Hak Chiang Mai) is seeking to dissolve a government entity created in 2003 to boost tourism and generate income. According to this group and its NGO partners in Koh Samet, Rayong, Phi Phi Island and Loei, DASTA's operations conflict with a legal requirement that public organizations must be non-profit. The Love Chiang Mai Alliance accuses the tourism development agency of illegally encroaching on the Suthep-Pui National Park to create the Chiang Mai Night Safari. (reftel) ¶3. Still in the drafting stage, this planned court case moves the Alliance's long standing fight against the Night Safari and Thaksin's development plans onto the national level and into the judicial system. Thaksin has pledged to help develop his hometown by turning Chiang Mai into a major tourist hub. The head of DASTA, Dr. Plodprasob Surasawadi, also heads the Night Safari. Anti-Night Safari activists view the establishment of DASTA in 2003 as part of a government plot to develop parts of the Suthep-Pui National Park for mass tourism. Wolf on the Lam Eats Chickens -------------- ¶4. The Love Chiang Mai Alliance has charged that Thaksin's ideas for tourism development are poorly conceived, environmentally harmful, not transparent and lacking community input. Approval for the Night Safari was handled in a fast-track manner, bypassing normal bidding procedures. Opponents got fresh ammunition in recent weeks after revelations of a government cover-up in the case of an escaped wolf that roamed the area for a month eating villagers' chickens. The Night Safari and other development projects have also been blamed for several flooding incidents that affected Chiang Mai in August. Not Only Is It Wrong, It's Unprofitable -------------- ¶5. In addition to environmental and wildlife concerns, opponents point out that Night Safari attendance is low and the project is losing money. Officials report 261,091 visitors since February, generating revenue of 17.49 million baht. With Thai and foreigner ticket prices set at 50 and 100 baht by day and 250 and 500 baht at night, these figures suggest many visitors are non-paying, including a reported 10,000 villagers who gathered there Monday night to welcome the Prime Minister. Now the Army is Mad Too -------------- ¶6. Angered at what it considers to be a conspiracy between Thaksin and Plodprasob to ram through not only the Night Safari but additional Disney-type projects in the national park, the Alliance is attempting to raise alarms about additional plans for a large elephant park with accommodation for tourists. Infrastructure development for the Chiang Mai World project has also created conflict with Army Region 3, which rejected a request from the Public Highway Department to construct a new road into the Suthep-Pui park area that it uses for training. The Highway Department nevertheless awarded a contract to a construction company that is owned by the father-in-law of Minister to the Prime Minister's Office Newin Chidchob. Both sides are now playing tug of war, with Third Army Commander General Saprang, already identified as a Thaksin opponent, declaring that the road will not be built. ¶7. Comment: Although the NGOs in Chiang Mai and in other communities have coalesced around protection of public lands and national parks, the true target is Thaksin. Thaksin's effort to channel development money and increase tourism to his home town, while welcomed by many local people, has inflamed environmental and cultural protection groups who feel steamrollered by grandiose projects developed without local input. Many hope that the increasingly negative publicity about the Night Safari could prove another chink in Thaksin's armor. CAMP