Slain village leader fought firms dumping industrial waste in Chachoengsao
PONGPHON SARNSAMAK
THE NATION

CHACHOENGSAO: -- The battle against the illegal disposal of toxic waste took an ugly turn in Chachoengsao's Tambon Nong Nae this week, where locals have been fighting a three-year battle against firms in industrial estates outside their village.

On Monday afternoon, village headman Prajob Naowa-opas,43, was shot dead while waiting to get his car at a garage behind the local department store.

Prajob was a village leader who stood up to fight against the disposal of toxic and industrial waste being dumped in the area.

"He was a nice guy. He had no problem with other people," his older brother Jon Naowa-opas, 46, said.

Villagers have protested against the disposal of toxic and industrial waste in the area - on Bangkok's eastern fringe - for three years.

Jon said many villagers were affected, especially those with animal farms hit by pollution from a toxic waste disposal site.

Chachoengsao has about 11 toxic waste disposal sites located in the province. Some of these have released hazardous substances that can cause cancer into a natural reservoir which local people use for drinking water and their daily lives.

Provincial public health officials have found many reservoirs in local areas are tainted with hazardous chemicals that can cause cancer at levels 20 to 30 times standards deemed safe. Local health officials later announced a ban on people using water from the reservoirs.

"Our farms were affected and many animals died from unknown causes," Jon said.

In Nong Nae village in Phanom Sarakham district, there are nine sites for the disposal of industrial waste. But only a third of them are legal.

Villagers found that a private recycling company had bought an abandoned pond in which to illegally dispose of waste from Amata industrial estate in Chon Buri since February last year.

Due to pollution problems across the province, over 3,000 villagers gathered in a protest to call for the Pollution Control Department, Industrial Works Department and Department of Special Investigation to investigate the illegal disposal of toxic waste at the site.

Companies or people involved in waste disposal, or dumping, appear to have been plotting revenge.

Jon said: "We have been spied on since protesting over disposal sites. Some people have taken our photo and asked about us."

Despite this, there has been no protection for villagers fighting against groups illegally dumping waste at disposal sites.

With local people having asked relevant authorities to provide help to eliminate pollution from toxic waste disposal sites, local officials drafted a plan to eliminate toxic waste being dumped in the area.

However, the plan was contested by a group of disposal companies. They wanted to eliminate pollution in toxic waste by spraying it with special chemical substances and trying to reduce the bad smell. They also wanted to build an embankment around disposal sites and to treat tainted water retained at the sites.

But local people feared these moves would just provide a cover at disposal sites instead of actually eliminating toxic waste.

To date, some toxic waste disposal sites have been covered up since last year but there are still illegal disposal sites in the area.


-- The Nation 2013-02-27

So will there just be another useless committee formed and then it all goes away or will these industrialists be held to account? Sad when a man does the right thing by leading protest and these cowards take him down. Sadly life in Thailand is cheap if it gets in the way of criminal activities affecting their [the criminals] pockets.

Exhibit A as to why Thailand is a dangerous place for people who care about the public interest. The modus operandi of the public is to keep quiet about the illegal, corrupt behavior of the higher-ups in every community from Bangkok to Nakhon Si Thammarat (the recent murder of the prison guard who consistently reported corruption to his superiors by fellow guards comes to mind). This is quite often out of concern for basic, personal safety. Journalists, soldiers, anyone who speaks out against abuses by authorities faces calculated murder followed by the requisite cover-up for cases that go public. For those that don't, well, there's tangled mess of Thailand's judicial bureaucracy for them. RIP Mr. Naowa-opas. You barked up the wrong tree when you tried to do right by those you cared about. The poo yai can't have folks getting too uppity, now, can they?

Edited February 27, 201313 yr by Unkomoncents

They wanted to eliminate pollution in toxic waste by spraying it with special chemical substances and trying to reduce the bad smell??? <deleted>?

Sad for a guy trying to do the right thing. As usual illegal actions and baht trump anything else. It would be nice to see the cretins involved lined up and made to drink a glass of the waste.

So will there just be another useless committee formed and then it all goes away or will these industrialists be held to account? Sad when a man does the right thing by leading protest and these cowards take him down. Sadly life in Thailand is cheap if it gets in the way of criminal activities affecting their [the criminals] pockets.

I doubt there will even be a special committee formed, this is a decades old issue with tons of money for local officials. This murder brings the body count of people trying to expose this to at least 28.

So will there just be another useless committee formed and then it all goes away or will these industrialists be held to account? Sad when a man does the right thing by leading protest and these cowards take him down. Sadly life in Thailand is cheap if it gets in the way of criminal activities affecting their [the criminals] pockets.

I doubt there will even be a special committee formed, this is a decades old issue with tons of money for local officials. This murder brings the body count of people trying to expose this to at least 28.

All very sad. And to be honest, do you think it is beyond the possiblity that these companies can't afford to dispose of this stuff.

This Thailand, where high status officials get away with murder, to save face...

Respect to the man for standing up.

So will there just be another useless committee formed and then it all goes away or will these industrialists be held to account? Sad when a man does the right thing by leading protest and these cowards take him down. Sadly life in Thailand is cheap if it gets in the way of criminal activities affecting their [the criminals] pockets.

I doubt there will even be a special committee formed, this is a decades old issue with tons of money for local officials. This murder brings the body count of people trying to expose this to at least 28.

All very sad. And to be honest, do you think it is beyond the possiblity that these companies can't afford to dispose of this stuff.

As we all know, most manufacturers develop so some sort of of an unwanted bi-product from that manufacturing process, this would include, chemical and computer companies as well as auto and parts manufacturers. The thousands of companies in these industries, are all self governed when it comes to disposing of these unwanted toxic bi-products. Many of these companies do indeed have morals and respect the environment, and many do not. As I said before many companies do hire and pay for contractors to dispose of this waste assuming it will be disposed of or treated properly. Its obvious this is not the case in many instances. But to answer your question, most all manufacturers are doing quite well here in Thailand and enjoying huge profit margins.

In Thailand all it takes to get away with murder is a bit of cash in the right pockets, police look the other way and find no suspects if they even pretend to investigate, officials let illegal dumping continue as their personal bank accounts grow, its a joke. If these companies are illegally dumping why hasnt it been stopped, why havent people been charged with illegal dumping, why is it still happening, where in the hell are those that are supposed to be policing this hiding. Again we see that corruption is rife in this country and that by paying bribes you can do whatever you please, all those that have taken money to look the other way as well as those organizing the dumping should be charged as accomplaces to murder, thios is simply pathetic even for Thailand.

That sucks, who knows how long this area will be toxic for, and nobody is allowed to manage it or even talk about the future .. just like the rest of the world, caring about the land and nature makes you worth killing or jailing...

All involved know ho stay behind this,the problem is how to prove it !!??

Interesting this, Chachoengsao was the area that the government authorised for the dumping of waste and damaged goods from the floods in Ayutthaya in 2011. It included a lot of organic waste that was seriously degrading from being in contact with water. Wonder who sanctioned that?

Thailand has a long way to go when it seems the usualy solution to people protesting is to kill someone and then of course no one is held accountable.

Corporate terrorism? Any similarities in the South regarding what happens and how the people react?

Let this article be an eulogy for the deceased, because that is as far as this will go.

Thailand may like to call itself the Land of Smiles but it can be a really sad place.

Plenty of good people here but sadly none ever seem to get into positions of power.

RIP Prajob.

They wanted to eliminate pollution in toxic waste by spraying it with special chemical substances and trying to reduce the bad smell??? <deleted>?

Sad for a guy trying to do the right thing. As usual illegal actions and baht trump anything else. It would be nice to see the cretins involved lined up and made to drink a glass of the waste.

But as long as the bad smell is masked, the toxic-waste in the dumps is instantly transformed, into non-toxic waste, isn't it ?

Call for the Science Minister to issue confirmation, that this is indeed true, or for DPM Chalerm to solve the problem within 90 days !

Higher caste Thai slays lower caste Thai. Karmic Caste system at work. The system is working. Thailand don't need your farang laws & justice.

Edited February 27, 201313 yr by heiwa

Still wondering about one (or actually all ) of the four strategies recently 'outlined' by the real PM Yingluck. I mean this one

"She said the government emphasises growth on the quality-of-life and environmentally-friendly basis"

For those with short memories that was on 2013-01-22 or 37 days ago. Probably too early to see effect on existing projects and way too early to see any effect on ... Oh well, next

The cherry on top of the monumental cow pad of this culture of corruption and lawlessness is that it's not as if smart, savvy crooks are the driving force, it's knuckle dragging, albeit connected, thugs.

They murdered the man when the situation is in the spotlight of the media, either they are thick as planks to think nobody would draw conclusions or they are absolutely sure the old-thugs club will take care of them, no need for finesse.

The cherry on top of the monumental cow pad of this culture of corruption and lawlessness is that it's not as if smart, savvy crooks are the driving force, it's knuckle dragging, albeit connected, thugs.

They murdered the man when the situation is in the spotlight of the media, either they are thick as planks to think nobody would draw conclusions or they are absolutely sure the old-thugs club will take care of them, no need for finesse.

I vote for the old-thugs club idea.

A simple reason.

Money.

So will there just be another useless committee formed and then it all goes away or will these industrialists be held to account? Sad when a man does the right thing by leading protest and these cowards take him down. Sadly life in Thailand is cheap if it gets in the way of criminal activities affecting their [the criminals] pockets.

Conflict Resolution Thai style

In Thailand all it takes to get away with murder is a bit of cash in the right pockets, police look the other way and find no suspects if they even pretend to investigate, officials let illegal dumping continue as their personal bank accounts grow, its a joke. If these companies are illegally dumping why hasnt it been stopped, why havent people been charged with illegal dumping, why is it still happening, where in the hell are those that are supposed to be policing this hiding. Again we see that corruption is rife in this country and that by paying bribes you can do whatever you please, all those that have taken money to look the other way as well as those organizing the dumping should be charged as accomplaces to murder, thios is simply pathetic even for Thailand.

Almost time for vigilante justice if police will continue to do nothing. I don't condone violence but appears to me a drive by could well be in order for the poo yai at the factories.

greed, the new culture of thailand, not buddism, since at least the last 20 years

Thai police probe toxic waste motive in headman's murder

BANGKOK, Feb 27, 2013 (AFP) - Thai police vowed Wednesday to probe possible links between the murder of a village headman and his work to expose toxic waste dumping, as rights groups called for the killers to be brought to justice.

Prajob Nao-opas was gunned down by unknown assailants in broad daylight on Monday in Chachoengsao province, east of Bangkok, as he waited for his pickup truck to be repaired at a garage.

The village headman had led a year-long campaign to expose illegal waste dumping in two districts after ponds in the area were contaminated with toxic chemicals from nearby industrial estates.

"I will give weight to the motive being his role as the leader of villagers in opposing waste dumping," said Police Major General Niwat Rattanathamwat who is leading the investigation.

The victim had exposed 10 allegations of waste dumping some of which are already under investigation, he said, adding police will look "case by case" for a possible link to his murder.

Human Rights Watch called for a full, transparent probe into the killing, which came despite police being aware of "explicit threats" to his life.

"The cold-blooded killing of Prajob marks yet another example of the fundamental failure of Thai authorities to protect activists who risk their lives while defending their communities," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
"The government must undertake a serious investigation to bring those responsible for his death to justice, regardless of the status or political affiliation of the killers."

The group says more than 30 human rights defenders and environmentalists have been murdered in Thailand since 2001, with the few people charged having the least culpability, such as getaway car drivers.


-- (c) Copyright AFP 2013-02-27

Human Rights Watch called for a full, transparent probe into the
killing, which came despite police being aware of "explicit threats" to
his life.

I dont suppose Human Rights Watch considered, it quite possibly may have been the police that executed K. Prajob?

Edited February 27, 201313 yr by dcutman

Human Rights Watch called for a full, transparent probe into the

killing, which came despite police being aware of "explicit threats" to

his life.

I dont suppose Human Rights Watch considered, it quite possibly may have been the police that executed K. Prajob?

If these HRW people are so interested in this case why don't they come here themselves and investigate.

So 10 events are already under investigation.

Any chance that a newspaper or a TV channel is going to be brave enough to snoop around and find out exactly what has been going on? It isn't as though no one else of his colleagues is going to know nothing about what he found out. Come on the Nation, get brave, put on your gas masks and your hazmat suits. I am sure you have one pooyai reporter somewhere who is so far up the foodchain he can't be touched.

Unless of course, his dad owns a chemicals plant.

So 10 events are already under investigation.

Any chance that a newspaper or a TV channel is going to be brave enough to snoop around and find out exactly what has been going on? It isn't as though no one else of his colleagues is going to know nothing about what he found out. Come on the Nation, get brave, put on your gas masks and your hazmat suits. I am sure you have one pooyai reporter somewhere who is so far up the foodchain he can't be touched.

Unless of course, his dad owns a chemicals plant.

I think a Nation or any other news reporter, would be on a suicide assignment. Might be hard to find volunteers.