Mass rally planned against Doi Suthep judges’ residences

[rooster59]

Mass rally planned against Doi Suthep judges’ residences

By The Nation

 

 

Forty environmentalist organisations will join forces to hold a mass rally in Chiang Mai downtown and a parallel “online demonstration” on Sunday morning to demand that the government demolish judges’ residences build on forested area on Doi Suthep mountain.

 

The organisers said people nationwide would join the rally by sharing a post, which would be titled “Parallel online rally”, on the Facebook page of the network, demanding the restoration of the Doi Suthep forests.

 

Pannaros Buaklee, spokesman for the rally organisers, said it was expected that the post would be shared over 10,000 times before the count ended at noon on Sunday.

 

Speaking at a press conference at noon on Saturday, the spokesman said the number of people gathered to demand the restoration of the forest would be high, so the organisers had to prepare measures to protect the demonstrators.

The rally will start at the Tha Pae Gate in Chiang Mai downtown at 7.30am, when the organisers plan to “turn Chiang Mai green” with cyclists and motorcyclists riding in procession bearing green ribbons. 

 

Thirasak Rupsuwan, a coordinator of the network demanding restoration of Doi Suthep forests, said about 500 cyclists and 200 motorcyclists would join the rally.

 

The spokesman said the organisers agreed during a meeting on Saturday that the rally would have to be peaceful and it would have to be safe for demonstrators. And at the end of the rally, the organisers would make sure that no rubbish is left behind.

 

He said the procession from the rally site to the monument of the three northern kings would be “peaceful and beautiful”. The demonstrators plan to march from the Tha Pae Gate to the monument at 10am. The rally is scheduled to end before noon.

 

Thirasak said the organisers had coordinated with troops and police to ensure security during the rally.

 

After the end of the demonstration, the demonstrators would disperse peacefully and then wait for a decision by the government, Thirasak added. He said if the government ignored the call for the demolition of the residences, the organisers would step up more pressure on the administration.

 

Thirasak said the rally was aimed at sending a signal to the government that Chiang Mai people wanted the relevant agencies to take urgent action to end the controversy.

 

Meanwhile, Nikom Puttha, president of the Ping River Network, who has been staging a hunger strike in front of the Appeals Court Area 5 office since Wednesday, has walked from the court to the Tha Pae Gate to continue his hunger strike there and wait for the demonstrators on Sunday.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30344207

 

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-04-29

[YetAnother]

18 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

After the end of the demonstration, the demonstrators would disperse peacefully and then wait for a decision by the government,

and Wait they will, think such actions will move  an arrogant, hard-headed military general , up to his hips in megalomania ?

[colinneil]

Rally protest all you want, it will not make anything change.

These houses are for the s0-called elite, they dont give a rats a++e about joe public.

[RotMahKid]

What is the facebookpage?

 

[yellowboat]

Good for them.  Chiang Mai just seems so much more reasonable compared to Bangkok these days.  The who development looks like an ugly scar on the landscape. 

[arithai12]

Sounds good, I hope they achieve something. Although they certainly started very, very late.

[Puwa]

Demonstrating public sentiment

[Golden Triangle]

I was just listening to the news live on BBC Radio 2 back in the UK (them - not me  ) and they reported that thousands had demonstrated, most unusual for them to report on a backwater like Chiang Mai and on a subject such as this, glad it's getting out in the media at home.

Edited April 29, 2018 by Golden Triangle

[Sparkles]

Amazing turn out,who said Thais dont get pro active ?

 

Also covered on Bangkok TV Channels

[thaimelody]

so are mass rallies legal now?

Edited April 29, 2018 by thaimelody

[webfact]

About 1,000 Chiang Mai residents rally to protest against judges’ housing project

By Thai PBS

 

 

About 1,000 members of the civil society in Chiang Mai gathered Sunday morning at Tha Phae gate to protest against the housing project for judges at the foot of Doi Suthep mountain in Mae Rim district.

 

Wearing T-shirts with the slogan that reads “Rak (Love) Doi Suthep” and a green ribbon tied to their left wrists as a symbol of their opposition to the controversial project, the demonstrators later marched to the statue of three former Lanna kings to pay their respect.

 

A brief religious ceremony was held in front of the statue to seek blessing from devine power to protect Doi Suthep.

 

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/1000-chiang-mai-residents-rally-protest-judges-housing-project/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2018-04-30

[neeray]

22 hours ago, colinneil said:

Rally protest all you want, it will not make anything change.

These houses are for the s0-called elite, they dont give a rats a++e about joe public.

Colin, I think with enough protest activity, something has to give. 

I think this protest is great and a sign of the times. Seems to me like many Thais have had all the hierarchy bullshit that they are prepared to taken.

Power to the people !

[webfact]

Thai environment protesters stage largest demonstration since start of military rule

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Over a thousand people gathered in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai on Sunday, police said, to protest against the building of a government luxury housing project on forested land, in one of the largest demonstrations under military rule.

 

The gathering was one of the largest since Thailand's junta took power following a 2014 coup. The junta imposed a ban on public gatherings of over five people and has largely curbed freedom of expression through various orders and used military and police force to block public gatherings.

 

Ariel images of the housing project for judges, circulated on social media over the past few months, showed construction has carved into the forested foothills of Chiang Mai's Doi Suthep mountain, inciting public anger.

 

The police estimated over a thousand people took part in the protest on Sunday which it said proceeded in an orderly fashion.

 

"Around 1,250 people took part in the protest," Police Colonel Paisan, deputy commander of Chiang Mai Police told Reuters.

 

"The protesters were focussed on environmental issues and not politics, and they cleaned the street afterwards," Paisan said. He said the organisers made a proper request for the gathering beforehand and so the protest was allowed to proceed.

 

Protesters, many wearing green ribbons, demanded the government demolish the new buildings that encroach into Doi Suthep mountain, saying the government must comply in seven days or face more protests.

 

Public officials have defended the project, pointing out construction was legal and on state-owned land which does not encroach into the national park that covers the mountain.

 

Officials also said protesters could face legal action if the housing is demolished and that the homes should be used for 10 years before the public can reassess any environmental impact.

 

Construction started in 2015 and has faced opposition from local environmental groups who regard the mountain as sacred for Chiang Mai and as a "natural lung" for the north's largest city.

 

The military government, which has promised to hold an election next year, has faced a growing number of public protests in recent months, including a pro-democracy demonstration in Bangkok last month demanding the military withdraw support for the ruling junta.

 

(Reporting by Panu Wongcha-umEditing by Christopher Cushing)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-04-30

[YetAnother]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

A brief religious ceremony was held in front of the statue to seek blessing from devine power to protect Doi Suthep.

not sure what 'devine' is, however this is in line with superstition (not dissimilar from religion) that underbellies this place

Edited April 29, 2018 by YetAnother

[Odysseus123]

Brave people.

[YetAnother]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Officials also said ...and that the homes should be used for 10 years before the public can reassess any environmental impact.

a form of mai pen rai, counting on the short attention span of the public

[cardinalblue]

By the headline I thought it was going to be about air pollution...can't even see the mtn...

[AhFarangJa]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Officials also said protesters could face legal action if the housing is demolished and that the homes should be used for 10 years before the public can reassess any environmental impact.

 

Yeh right..........and in 10 years time they can claim them as permanent, much the same as squatter rights.

[spidermike007]

Good, good, good. Anytime a despot regime is defied by the people, that is a sign of progress. This increasing desperate "so called leadership" is clinging for dear life. Let us hope the people continue to defy them, and exert their will, show disapproval of their inane policies, and rise up.

[NextStationBangkok]

Any revolution happens, when people comes to streets.

Hope this is a starting point. Government will try to silence the people.

[NextStationBangkok]

1 hour ago, AhFarangJa said:

Yeh right..........and in 10 years time they can claim them as permanent, much the same as squatter rights.

 

People should ready to fill the jails like what happened during Gandhi time in India, against British rule.

Thai's should ready to fill the jails until UN steps in. How many millions they can jail or kill ?

Until there is public movement against regime, there will not be any change.

[webfact]

Thousands join protests against Doi Suthep project

By PRATCH RUJIVANAROM, 
NISANART KANGWANWONG 
THE NATION

 

 

Chiang Mai citizens peacefully demand that judges’ houses be dismantled and sacred mountain area is reforested

 

CHIANG MAI citizens pressed their demand to reclaim Doi Suthep forestland from a luxurious housing project for judges and court staff, as thousands of protesters showed up at a rally yesterday.

 

More than 3,000 people from Chiang Mai and elsewhere gathered at Tha Phae gate in Chiang Mai’s old town to protest against the housing project for court officials, which has encroached into the forested area at the foot of the sacred Doi Suthep Mountain.

 

The protesters demanded the total dismantling of all buildings in the forest area and the recovery of the land back to its former state.

 

The protesters gathered at Tha Phae gate at about 8am before a group of cyclists with green bows, to show the opposition to the housing project, was dispatched to cycle around Chiang Mai’s old town moat and return to the main protest site.

 

During the main protest event, the coordinator of Doi Suthep Forestland Reclamation Network, Teerasak Rupsuwan, read a declaration proclaiming that the people of Chiang Mai would accept only one condition to end the conflict: the removal of all structures on the encroached land and its return to forest.

 

Teerasak stressed that the people wanted the Court of Justice to return the land because Doi Suthep Mountain has been respected by Chiang Mai citizens as their spiritual centre for many generations.

 

He said the people have a right to protect their sacred mountain and forest from any encroachment. 

 

The people also urged the government to take action on this issue as soon as possible to stop the project and reforest the land.

 

“We will wait for feedback from the authorities on our demand.

 

But if there is still no official positive reply from the government within one week, we will step up our activism and return to the street again,” Teerasak said.

 

Yesterday also saw the performance of a Northern Thai traditional ritual cursing those who were behind the encroachment of the sacred mountain.

 

A parallel online campaign arranged for people who were too far away, or otherwise unable to attend the physical public gathering in Chiang Mai, saw 7,318 netizens participate via the official @DoiSuthepMountain Facebook page as of noon yesterday.

 

It was reported that the demonstration was peaceful, although a large group of police and military personnel were seen at the protest venue, tasked with keeping peace and order.

 

Deputy Chiang Mai Governor Putipong Sirimatya said that he was glad that the people had peacefully participated in a public gathering, as it was the right of all Thai citizens to express their opinions on public matters.

 

“Chiang Mai authorities are just the medium between the people and the government, so we have to preserve our neutral status and not comment about this matter,” Putipong said.

 

“However, I would like to encourage the people to express their opinions in public within the limits of the law and avoid politicising this conflict.

 

In the meantime, the people’s demand is being transferred to the government, and I would like to ask the people to be patient”.

 

Meanwhile, a recent poll by National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) revealed that just over 85 per cent of 1,250 survey participants thought the housing estate for judges in Doi Suthep forest was inappropriate.

 

This was because the project was damaging forests, nature and the eco-system, and the large amount of money spent on this project should have been spent on more important matters that benefitthe majority.

 

However, 14.5 per cent of the interviewees commented that there was nothing wrong with the project, because it did not encroach on nationally preserved forestland and it had been legally approved.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30344267

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-04-30

.

[Lupatria]

An overture to the real play? 

[Brickbat]

It’s pretty green now after some rain....

it took a simple, humble Gandhi ( most Thais don’t know who he is) to kick the Brits out of his country. So maybe a Gandhi is in the making. Non violence , but blood does get spilt, unfortunately. 

[Dibbler]

In addition to officially sanctioned forest encroachment, Chiang Mai residents have many issues to be protesting about; air pollution caused by unrestricted burning of rice padi on private lands, and burning of state forest land by hunters, flooding caused by official mismanagement of water resources, taxi mafia, dumping of garbage by hotels and businesses in public places, chemical sprays and pesticides used indiscriminately by market gardeners in hill tribe areas, the list goes on and on and on.  Lived for a time there 18 years ago when it was a pleasant uncrowded place before land speculation and mass commercial development began... never again. 

Edited April 30, 2018 by Dibbler

[sweatalot]

Let the voice of the people be heard

[colinneil]

Great to see people getting together to protest against the elite here.

Only thing is the protest leaders need to watch their backs, as the powers that be do not like protests and will do anything they can to stop them.

[neeray]

4 minutes ago, colinneil said:

Great to see people getting together to protest against the elite here.

Only thing is the protest leaders need to watch their backs, as the powers that be do not like protests and will do anything they can to stop them.

I agree Colin but I think strength in numbers will be powerful. Yes, they will still need to watch their backs. I applaud their "balls".

[bubba45]

While I don’t disagree with their stance, those few trees are nothing compared to the s&#@ they breathe for 3 months every year. They should protest government inaction regarding that. 

Personally, I flee during that time. But most don’t have that option. 

[Lupatria]

So far no statements like: "and for your next little peaceful waggery, we'll have snipers on the roofs?"