Andrew MacGregor Marshall Retweeted
Hundreds of indigent Thais from across the kingdom gathered for a 16th day today in front of the #GovernmentHouse to renew demands they be compensated for lands lost among other things. #สมัชชาคนจน #AssemblyofThePoor
Members of the Assembly of the Poor have gathered since Oct. 6 to renew long-standing demands for compensation for lands lost decades ago to hydro projects as well as protest land-use regulations they believe will lead to more evictions.
Representatives today said they were angered by a government decision to postpone a direct meeting scheduled for this morning.
The top issue for the rural Thais, who represent five regional groups claiming 35 grievances, is the long-running battle over compensation over several dam projects that led to mass evictions in the 1990s.
Thailand all but abandoned new dam construction due to community resistance to those past projects, according to NGO International Rivers, with communities still demanding that those built be removed.
Earlier this year, the cabinet approved nearly THB600 million (US$19.8 million) in compensation for farmers affected by the construction of the Rasi Salai Dam, which was finished in 1992 and no longer functions. Most compensation settlements have excluded people who lived or worked informally on the land.
Others are still protesting another nearby dam finished 25 years ago.
“I am here to talk about how the residents’ lands, where they make a living, were affected by the Hua Na Dam that was built by the government … We want compensation for our relocation. … There are about 300 of us here advocating for the Hua Na issue,” an unidentified woman from Si Sa Ket province told reporters.
Another issue is how new land-use laws for protected lands will affect their livelihoods.
“The newly declared national park zones infringe on the land where we live and make a living,” said a man representing 60 people from the northeastern province of Chaiyaphum. “People will be forced to move, causing them to suffer greatly, because that’s their livelihood. This has been a problem for a long time now, but the government is issuing a new law right now that will evict people soon,” he said.
The new or revised laws strengthen punishments for those encroaching on national park lands. Though there are concessions for those currently residing or working in such areas, critics say the new law imposes even stricter limitations and hands the fates of such people who’ve lived or worked on such lands over to the government.
An untold number of Thais living informally on land, sometimes for generations, have been evicted since the 2014 coup. Reclaiming public lands was a top priority of the ruling junta, whose policies continue under today’s military-backed government. Over the years, people have been evicted from national parklands, informal communities along Bangkok’s rivers and canals, as well as areas designated by the government for economic development.
Some protesters suggested the government find ways to share the land, saying they would be just as good – or better – stewards of it than the government.
Assembly representatives said they were marching due to the lack of response from the government but apologized for any traffic caused.
The Assembly of the Poor was founded in 1995 as a voice for the rural poor after previous dams led to the destruction of thousands of communities along the Mun River, according to a 2000 book by historian Chris Baker.
(หมายเหตุผู้เรียบเรียง-สมัชชาคนจน(NGO)??? )
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