Man Goes on Hunger Strike Outside of Courthouse to Protest Scar of Doi Suthep

[snoop1130]

Man Goes on Hunger Strike Outside of Courthouse to Protest Scar of Doi Suthep

by CityNews

 

 

CityNews – A man has pitched up outside the Court of Appeals Region 5 and is planning to remain there for five days while he refuses to eat anything in protest, asking both side of the ‘scar of Doi Suthep’ case to seek solution peacefully.

 

Nikom Putsa, an environmentalist of the Upper Ping River Network pitched up a tend in front of Court of Appeals Region 5 on April 25th asking both side of the ‘scar of Doi Suthep’ case to work together to come to an agreement in a peaceful manner. He will reman under his tent for five days while he conducts a hunger strike. He will pass the time by mediating and talking to people who visit him.

 

Full Story: http://www.chiangmaicitylife.com/news/man-goes-hunger-strike-outside-courthouse-protest-scar-doi-suthep/

 

-- © Copyright Chiang City News 2018-04-27

[Tilacme]

Bobby Sands lasted 66 days on hunger strike. Just sayin.

 

[Puwa]

I've known Nikom for 15 years. He's one of Thailand's most experienced conservationits. Native of Chiang Dao, started career as forest ranger, conducted Thailand's first-ever wild elephant census, founded the Wildlife Protection Foundation, uncovered natinoal park encroachment and animal abuse by th CM Night Safari, and now runs environmental education programs at a facility he set up in Chiang Dao. Over the past few years, thousands of middle-class Bangkok folk have learned about conservation. He's a well-known, popular leader with many friends and supporters (a few enemies, too). He's formidable.

[yellowboat]

15 hours ago, Puwa said:

He's formidable.

We can only hope.   The fact he is not willing to wait 10 years is a plus. 

 

On one of my visits to Chiang Mai, I was saddened to hear how farmers there saw elephants as pests.   Asked questions about deforested lands in Thailand vs. farmland to see what the size of a potentially restored habitat would be.   Was asked for a donation many times but never given an answer to my question.

[Ruffian Dick]

6 hours ago, yellowboat said:

Asked questions about deforested lands in Thailand vs. farmland to see what the size of a potentially restored habitat would be.  

I'd imagine that the answer would be "as large as possible". The issue right now is trying to save or restore any habitat at all.

[Puwa]

On 4/27/2018 at 7:00 AM, Puwa said:

I've known Nikom for 15 years. He's one of Thailand's most experienced conservationits. Native of Chiang Dao, started career as forest ranger, conducted Thailand's first-ever wild elephant census, founded the Wildlife Protection Foundation, uncovered natinoal park encroachment and animal abuse by th CM Night Safari, and now runs environmental education programs at a facility he set up in Chiang Dao. Over the past few years, thousands of middle-class Bangkok folk have learned about conservation. He's a well-known, popular leader with many friends and supporters (a few enemies, too). He's formidable.

7

Here's more about Nikom. After he left the forest service, one of the first things he did was to reorganize the system for trekking and tourism at Doi Luang Chiang Dao. He knows how sensitive the Doi's ecosystem is and thus wanted to avoid commercially-driven trekking like that we see all over the north. So he came up with a system that limits the number of tourists allowed on the mountain at any time. Then, crucially, he struck a deal between the park service and communities around the Doi to only employ locals as guides and porters. Offering relevant employment was a great way to boost his local conservation efforts. The system has largely held, although lately I have read complaints of garbage etc, and pressure on quota. After all, this is still Thailand, but at least there is a structure in place to deal with problems rather than an unaccountable free-for-all.

 

Nikom's experience working with locals for conservation then came in handy when, from the blue, the government floated the idea of constructing a cable car to the top of the mountain. It was rumored and perhaps proven that an MP held a concession with a European cable-car firm and was scouting for a project (Doi Suthep later became a potential site). Public debate was divided. Project supporters seeded dreams of new wealth for all and dismissed concerns about any damage. Opponents eventually discovered that the plan called for blasting a section of the famous limestone cliffs. Nikom and friends launched a campaign focused on the spiritual connection between the people of Chiang Dao and the mountain, which figures heavily in regional history and is considered one of the four sacred mountains of the North. When the public weighed the irrevocable harm of the project against their own history and culture, they unified, resisted, and won. A small Thai book has been published about this whole affair.

 

For the last many years, Nikom has been working to protect the Ping watershed. Northern Thais had a traditional irrigation system in which small check-dams (fai) were co-managed by villages strung along a river. It was actually a democratic system that grew from the egalitarian nature of paddy cultivation. Reviving these systems where possible, salvaging at least the spirit of them where not, has been Nikom's strategy. He ran up against another white-elephant project in Chiang Dao-- a large dam using inflatable bladder technology that had never been tested for local conditions. It disrupted the flow of the Ping, never worked right, and now sits unused looking like a bad tooth. He lost the battle against this ill-advised project, which reportedly had not only the customary political influence behind it, but a team of crooked consultants affiliated with a "famous regional university" paid by the company and no independent EIA. 

 

Nikom is a veteran who knows what he is getting himself into. It was over ten years ago when he and a fellow guest were attacked on set while guests on a live TV show. The situation was a longstanding conflict between Nikom's movement and a former forestry official (who shall remain nameless here). Nikom's friend pulled a poem out of his pocket and read it aloud. It compared the actions of some kinds of people to animals, the target and implication being rather clear. The official's assistants rushed the stage and started throwing punches. 

 

Now in his fifties, Nikom has taken the path of many Thai activists and dedicated himself equally to Buddhism and social change. His conservation-education programs in Chiang Dao use nature, culture, and dhamma.

 

Anyway, that's the "man" sitting in front of the court.