Sakhon Nakhon: Anti-mine protesters ordered to pay Bt1.5m in compensation

[webfact]

Anti-mine protesters ordered to pay Bt1.5m in compensation

By The Nation

 

 

The Sawang Din Daen Provincial Court on Wednesday ordered nine people who allegedly led a village protest against plans for a Chinese mining project to pay a combined Bt1.5 million in compensation to the company, a lawyer for the defence team said. Some Bt3.61 million had originally been demanded.

 

The villages had been fighting the plan for a potash mine in Sakhon Nakhon's Wanon Niwat district.

 

Lawyer Sor Rattanamanee Polkla said the court viewed that the villagers’ gathering at the entrance to China Ming Ta Potash Corporation’s exploration site to protest was a violation of the law because the company's survey team had received permission to carry out the exploration work. 

 

As for the compensation, the court counted the salaries of engineers over the period of obstruction, from May 9-15, when they were prevented from working. Some Bt2 million was demanded as damages for the company’s inability to conduct further surveys. This demand was negotiated down to Bt450,000, leaving the total compensation for the nine defendants to pay at Bt1.5 million plus interest. 

 

Eight defendants - Kitthakorn Noitasaeng, Sutta Khamnoi, Samrit Boranmul, Mali Saenboonsiri, Chaisap Buapinthu, Nongchai Panda, Sawai Ayukhong, and Pissamai Sukkha – heard the verdict in the closed-door courtroom; Olarn Butsaenkhom had notified the court that he was sick and unable to attend.

 

Kitthakorn said the villagers were surprised that they were ordered to pay the compensation but vowed to appeal against the ruling to a higher court. Sutta said the experience showed that the villagers needed to learn more about the law in order to fight the mining project.

 

Sor Rattanamanee also said there were various legal points that required this case to go to an appeal. The lawyer cited the police claim that these nine defendants were leading the protest because they were photographed as being at the protest site every day. But she said the act of photographing the villagers could suggest a form of bullying by the police in identifying them as protest leaders, rather than the police investigating their actual behaviour.

 

Plaintiff lawyer Watcharin Srithaporn said the court had given both sides justice based on the evidence and the parties’ behaviours. He said that the court also had the mercy to reduce the compensation that the villagers had to pay. Although the compensation was lower than that requested, the plaintiff side was generally content with the verdict, he added.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30373999

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-08-01

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[ezzra]

Serves them right, teach all those people villagers all around this country that disturbing lawfull companies from carrying on work unimpeded as they have been allowed by the government has its consequences and price to pay...

[malathione]

1 hour ago, ezzra said:

Serves them right, teach all those people villagers all around this country that disturbing lawfull companies from carrying on work unimpeded as they have been allowed by the government has its consequences and price to pay...

So you believe the Environmental Impact Statement filed by the Chinese mining company is accurate? Do you know anything about the effects of Potash mining on surrounding farmland, water sources? You'd trust a Chinese company operating in Thailand to adhere to best practices? I'd suggest you're very gullible if you would.

[zyphodb]

 

That'll teach em, going around thinking they've got rights,

 

     bloody peasants!!!

 

 

(sarcasm alert)

[Rhys]

...hmmm they are still walking?

[ChrisY1]

A Chinese mining company has more rights in Thailand than villagers.....!

Hit 'em with a fine and they'll go away.....rich over poor and as always, the rich win!

[robblok]

16 minutes ago, zyphodb said:

 

That'll teach em, going around thinking they've got rights,

 

     bloody peasants!!!

 

 

(sarcasm alert)

Of course they have rights, but the way i read it they blocked entrance so people could not work. The right to protest does not mean you can just shut down companies that have followed the rules set. 

 

It can be debated of course if they truly did and so on but then fight them on that not block them down. Still i get the villagers for protesting but they could have done it differently. 

 

Unless they really did not block it then its a crazy verdict. 

[edwinchester]

There is a very long history of mining in Thailand <deleted> up and destroying the lives of those living in the surroundings. Small wonder that villagers choose to protest when objections are overruled and environmental damage ignored in favour of big business.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Kinda have to wonder why the Thai government is handing out mining rights to a Chinese company, and what influential Thais may be partners (public or not) in the project?

 

Likewise, whether any legitimate environmental impact assessment has been done. Heck, the other day in the news, there was an article about the BMA getting ready to award a multi billion baht contract to build a trash incineration project contract in the OnNut area, and apparently no EIA/EIR done.

 

[Assurancetourix]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

The Sawang Din Daen Provincial Court

Don't know where is Sawang Din Daen ......I'm leaving not far สว่างแดนดิน Sawang Daen Din in english ...

 

Do the editors of Thai newspapers read each other sometimes? 
It reminds me of the question asked by the military at the first checkpoint on Highway 1149 in Chiang Rai Province when they read the plate of our pickup a few years ago:
Sakon Nakhon .. !! ?? where is that? Is it in Thailand?

[Srikcir]

22 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Likewise, whether any legitimate environmental impact assessment has been done.

It's debatable and perhaps not required under a new law first proposed in 2014.

• In 2015, the company obtained from the Thai government an exploration license covering over 110,000 rai (17,600 hectares) of land. Local villagers have demonstrated for years to oppose the project [3] [9], accusing the company of bypassing the Environmental Impact Assessment process. https://ejatlas.org/conflict/sakhon-nakhon-potash-mine
• [3] A new minerals act, enacted in August, makes it easier for the government to grant mining licenses while curbing public participation, activists say. Locals say government agencies have provided far too little information about the exploration project.
• New Mining Legislation - makes it easier to grant mining licenses to companies by speeding up the approval process to 60 days. Before the process could take up to five years. But mining officials respond that the new law will ensure public participation as two representatives of local community organizations will be part of the provincial committees. According to Thai Lawyer for Human Rights noted that these public hearings in the Northeast tend to be moderated by the military. Citizens are often not allowed to voice their opinions or ask questions. (sound familiar?)

[Krataiboy]

2 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Kinda have to wonder why the Thai government is handing out mining rights to a Chinese company, and what influential Thais may be partners (public or not) in the project?

 

Likewise, whether any legitimate environmental impact assessment has been done. Heck, the other day in the news, there was an article about the BMA getting ready to award a multi billion baht contract to build a trash incineration project contract in the OnNut area, and apparently no EIA/EIR done.

 

 

1 hour ago, Srikcir said:

It's debatable and perhaps not required under a new law first proposed in 2014.

• In 2015, the company obtained from the Thai government an exploration license covering over 110,000 rai (17,600 hectares) of land. Local villagers have demonstrated for years to oppose the project [3] [9], accusing the company of bypassing the Environmental Impact Assessment process. https://ejatlas.org/conflict/sakhon-nakhon-potash-mine
• [3] A new minerals act, enacted in August, makes it easier for the government to grant mining licenses while curbing public participation, activists say. Locals say government agencies have provided far too little information about the exploration project.
• New Mining Legislation - makes it easier to grant mining licenses to companies by speeding up the approval process to 60 days. Before the process could take up to five years. But mining officials respond that the new law will ensure public participation as two representatives of local community organizations will be part of the provincial committees. According to Thai Lawyer for Human Rights noted that these public hearings in the Northeast tend to be moderated by the military. Citizens are often not allowed to voice their opinions or ask questions. (sound familiar?)

It's a fast track to fascism.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

...

 

 

[justin case]

stand up for your right and get sued to make you shut up, thailand