Thousands of Thais gathered at the Kok River Bridge in Chiang Rai, Thailand on Thursday to protest the increasing level of toxic pollution in the water on World Environment Day. They called on Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra to shut down mining operations on the Burma side of the border.

“We, the people, living along the Kok, Sai, Ruak and Mekong river basins in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai  are currently facing severe contamination of our rivers with heavy metals originating from Shan State, Myanmar,” stated a June 5 press release issued by the People’s Network to Protect the Kok, Sai, Ruak and Mekong river basins.

Thailand will hold a bilateral meeting with regime officials in Kengtung, Shan State, June 17-20 to address concerns over toxic contamination of the Kok and Sai rivers, which flow from eastern Shan into northern Thailand’s Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai provinces. Protesters included Thai civil society, environmentalists, activists, and residents.