The long-awaited Second Asia-Pacific Water Summit begins today in Chiang Mai. The government and the Chiang Mai International Convention Centre will strive to welcome 1,500 foreign guests from 49 countries, and particularly the nine heads of government.
This extremely interesting international forum will examine issues that will affect tens of millions of people in Thailand, and throughout the region. What a shame, then, that the pre-summit events were so badly marred by Deputy Prime Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi and his "garbage" remarks.
Mr Plodprasop is the head of the Water and Flood Management Committee (WFMC). As the country's top official involved in planning for future threats of flood and drought, he also is in charge of organising the Chiang Mai summit. But he was incensed last weekend when asked about public participation in water management planning. He said groups planning to question or oppose his grandiose WFMC programme are "garbage" and "rubbish". Protesters at the Chiang Mai summit will be jailed, he said.
"I said it, you print it," he told reporters. "The Chiang Mai people should not allow these garbage-like people to clutter up the meeting."
It was a shocking outburst, even by the exceptionally low standards set by Mr Plodprasop in his public life. Threats to imprison peaceful protesters who have not even appeared is a scandalous threat from a minister who has no official law enforcement powers anyway.
The comments on the eve of the summit are quite unwelcome. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra will deliver the opening address, outlining her lessons from the great flood of 2011. Heads of government, foreign government ministers of Mr Plodprasop's rank and hundreds of water experts have come to discuss water management, flood suppression and drought prevention. It is certain that none of them has considered the possibility that the Chiang Mai meeting is entirely dedicated to hearing and accepting Mr Plodprasop's programme.
The water summit is "long delayed" because of serious water management deficiencies. The 2011 floods inundated vast sections of the country, shut down entire sections of industry, killed indiscriminately and caused suffering on a national scale. Mr Plodprasop lobbied to be in charge of the huge infrastructure programme meant to tame rivers and floods, and make a repeat of 2011 impossible.
His remarks serve as a timely reminder of what is happening to those plans. The WFMC has turned into an unimaginably expensive programme that is entirely the vision of one man. Anyone apart from invited guests who has the nerve to offer advice on adjusting the plan is garbage, in Mr Plodprasop's view. Any group of citizens protesting against the cost or implementation of the plan is scum, and should be imprisoned.
This outburst, in its own dark way, records Mr Plodprasop's insistence that the water management plans must be done his way. This is narrow-minded and unhelpful. Indeed, parts of Mr Plodprasop's plan are unacceptable, including erecting yet another series of dams in areas where local citizens are certain they are unneeded and, in fact, harmful. Presumably, such villagers and their opinions are garbage as well.
The deputy PM must get back in the mainstream, hopefully this morning. If he presses his threats against citizens and civil society, it will be a black mark on the summit and Thailand. It is the idea of arresting and jailing peaceful protesters which most deserves being tossed in the rubbish.