Bangkok Post
September 16, 2000
Farmers burn cotton in protest
- Developer Monsanto named in complaint

Farmers burned genetically modified Bt cotton outside Chiang Khan
district hall in Loei yesterday.

An elder among the farmers from Loei and Petchabun, where much of the
cotton is grown, cursed those responsible for introducing the crop.

The villagers, opposing trial crops of Bt cotton sown by the Department
of Agriculture, were taking part in the Asian Long March for
Biodiversity which started on Sept 6 in Bangkok.

The final leg ends today in Chiang Mai, after having travelled through
Loei, Roi-et, Maha Sarakham, Phetchaburi and Songkhla.

Members of the Isan Farmers Group filed a complaint with local police
that the department and Monsanto, the US company which developed Bt
cotton, allowed the crop to enter an open environment. They claim the
crop is an illegal import.

Pol Col Thanu Anandasukha, chief of Chiang Khan station, accepted the
complaint but said there was no evidence the crop was illegal. "We
accept it as the first step in acknowledging they believe the crop is
hazardous."

Asked if arrests would be made if Bt cotton was found in an open
environment, Pol Col Thanu said: "Police aren't scientists. So far,
there is no law on the issue."