Thai farmers in the North seek leniency

[webfact]

Residents seek leniency
JANJIRA PONGRAI
THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- SOME FARMERS in the North yesterday lodged a complaint with the National Human Rights Commis-sion against a crackdown on land encroachment and sought more leniency or reconsideration of its implementation. They said the strict enforcement had affected them very badly.

Officials of the provincial Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc) have been enforcing the 64th and 66th orders issued by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO). The farmers said the officials had too stringently adhered to a 1998 Cabinet decision that required residency on land with steep slopes to be regarded unlawful and subject to reclamation.

NHRC member Nirand Pithak-watchara said he had received 14 petitions from residents either in the North or elsewhere, which asked him to mediate talks with the NCPO to seek leniency or extension of time.

A leader of residents in the North said if the crackdown was based too stringently on the principle of slopes, more than 80 per cent of residents living on such land would be affected, as most areas in the North are mountainous. He proposed that if the action could not be called off at least it should be made more lenient, or replaced by a scheme in which residents could stay on such properties in exchange for work.

Residents living outside the North are in the southern provinces of Trang, Phatthalung and Phuket, and Buri Ram and Ubon Ratchathani provinces in the Northeast.

A senior Isoc official, Maj-General Khomsorn Katethip, said the NCPO-initiated crackdown, was important to stop extensive encroachment, as fertile forest or national parks had been encroached on at the rate of a million rai each year. The action was aimed at protecting forests and reclaiming 40 per cent of forest areas.

He said the NCPO orders had seen 300 suspects held in 370 cases following raids, along with 20,000 rai of illegally acquired land seized.

The crackdown has a year's time frame to stop encroachment in 12 provinces and elsewhere, the reclaiming of all such lands in one year, and their conservation and management in the next two years. A 10-year reforestation scheme would follow to increase reclamation by 40 per cent, he said.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Residents-seek-leniency-30242998.html


-- The Nation 2014-09-11

[Paulzed]

"SOME FARMERS in the North yesterday lodged a complaint with the National Human Rights Commis-sion against a crackdown on land encroachment"

Are these Northern Farmers that highly educated and organised, that they can petition the NRC, or is there someone behind the scenes pulling the strings and taking advantage of these poor people ....AGAIN!!

[trogers]

The law has always been there. It is the lacking of law enforcement, and surprise, surprise...people of the north breaking the law.

Sounds like pirates claiming the right for clemency because they were not caught for so long...

[halloween]

That they have the expectation that this would work gives a good indication how things worked in the past.

"........if the crackdown was based too stringently on the principle of slopes, more than 80 per cent of residents living on such land would be affected........."

You might ask, what about the other 20%? Are they too well connected?

[ramrod711]

A leader of residents in the North said if the crackdown was based too stringently on the principle of slopes, more than 80 per cent of residents living on such land would be affected, as most areas in the North are mountainous. He proposed that if the action could not be called off at least it should be made more lenient, or replaced by a scheme in which residents could stay on such properties in exchange for work.

In exchange for work, for who? Is he saying that the land is being occupied illegally but if the residents make improvements they should be granted title? That seems to me like saying "Well yes I stole your car, but I rebuilt the engine and gave it a re-spray so I should get to keep it."

[rubl]

Start enforcing a law from 1998?

What is the world coming to, or more precisely, what is Thailand coming to ?

[halloween]

The hills are alive with the sound of whiners

[ramrod711]

The hills are alive with the sound of whiners

But they take no responsibility because they are all being exploited by the "elite".

[Always18]

Very much a standard mind-set in these parts....................."the law is all well and good as long as it doesn't negatively affect ME"!

[Upset]

The best policy, restrict land ownership to a max of 10 rai per individual or company and confisticate all the huge chunks of land own by companies like Singha Beer, Beer Chang , Ichitan, CP, Central Group, Bangkok Bank, Kasikorn Bank, etc or individuals like Banharn, Taksin Family, Suthep Family,Generals, etc and redistribute them to all.

[scorecard]

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"SOME FARMERS in the North yesterday lodged a complaint with the National Human Rights Commis-sion against a crackdown on land encroachment"

Are these Northern Farmers that highly educated and organised, that they can petition the NRC, or is there someone behind the scenes pulling the strings and taking advantage of these poor people ....AGAIN!!

Plus the next point; there should be punishment for the officials who have allowed the encroachment to happen, regardless of when or which party pulls their strings.

[seajae]

if these people are using national parks/forest land then they need to be removed and of story, They have used it even though they actually own land that they plant out, ie, they can make more profit by building illegally on the govt land, just make them move back onto their own land then no one can kick them off it. How big are their homes if they dont want to take up any of their farming land, once again we see the stupidity of these people trying to claim they are being hard done by when they are knowingly breaking the law simply to make more money, hit them where it hurts, remove them and issue fines or if they cant pay seize the land they own and sell it, time for playing games with these idiots is over.

[Boxclever]

How about the Conrad Resort in Koh Samui?.... 100 villas built on an incline of more than 80%!

[fab4]

Residents living outside the North are in the southern provinces of Trang, Phatthalung and Phuket, and Buri Ram and Ubon Ratchathani provinces in the Northeast.

Curious, no mention of Koh Samui where a certain Tan Thaugsaban ( a close relative of suthep, I believe ) was cleared of encroaching the forest with his land "purchases" on Khao Phaeng mountain back in 2012. One would have thought that the clue was in the term "mountain" but as the DSI found out apparently the Forestry Act that decrees "a plot with a slope greater than 35% is off-limits to private ownership or any development" only applies to certain people.

I wonder if the NCPO via ISOC will be reinvestigating khun Tan's land? Wouldn't want to be accused of double standards and cronyism, surely..........................

[trogers]

if these people are using national parks/forest land then they need to be removed and of story, They have used it even though they actually own land that they plant out, ie, they can make more profit by building illegally on the govt land, just make them move back onto their own land then no one can kick them off it. How big are their homes if they dont want to take up any of their farming land, once again we see the stupidity of these people trying to claim they are being hard done by when they are knowingly breaking the law simply to make more money, hit them where it hurts, remove them and issue fines or if they cant pay seize the land they own and sell it, time for playing games with these idiots is over.

They probably had already sold off their own land and then encroach.

[Fat Haggis]

"SOME FARMERS in the North yesterday lodged a complaint with the National Human Rights Commis-sion against a crackdown on land encroachment"

Are these Northern Farmers that highly educated and organised, that they can petition the NRC, or is there someone behind the scenes pulling the strings and taking advantage of these poor people ....AGAIN!!

They seemed organised and educated enough to drive to Bangkok and participate in the anti Government protests.. What a totally derogatory comment to make, I guess you have met all of these Northern farmers to arrive at your statement?

Who was behind them during the protests? It sure wasn't Thaksin, stop making assumptions that all farmers are clueless idiots, who just plant rice!!!

[belg]

boehoe, they stole some land that was not theirs and now they cry ?

[AnotherOneAmerican]

Many hilltribe farms in CM are clearly visible from the city.

So what's that all about then?

[theslime]

"SOME FARMERS in the North yesterday lodged a complaint with the National Human Rights Commis-sion against a crackdown on land encroachment"

Are these Northern Farmers that highly educated and organised, that they can petition the NRC, or is there someone behind the scenes pulling the strings and taking advantage of these poor people ....AGAIN!!

Phone or fax springs to mind, maybe even someone walked in the front Office of the UN and filled out a Petition. Thats how we roll in the North, Organised.

[longtom]

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Residents living outside the North are in the southern provinces of Trang, Phatthalung and Phuket, and Buri Ram and Ubon Ratchathani provinces in the Northeast.

Curious, no mention of Koh Samui where a certain Tan Thaugsaban ( a close relative of suthep, I believe alt=whistling.gif> ) was cleared of encroaching the forest with his land "purchases" on Khao Phaeng mountain back in 2012. One would have thought that the clue was in the term "mountain" but as the DSI found out apparently the Forestry Act that decrees "a plot with a slope greater than 35% is off-limits to private ownership or any development" only applies to certain people.

I wonder if the NCPO via ISOC will be reinvestigating khun Tan's land? Wouldn't want to be accused of double standards and cronyism, surely..........................

Agree with you about the illegality of this project.

But it´s funny you don´t argue against the hilton project mentioned just above your post, which is far bigger, more expensive and a terrible eye-sore for everybody to see when arriving with the ferry? Oh, I forgot, the Suthep family is not involved.

[seajae]

if these people are using national parks/forest land then they need to be removed and of story, They have used it even though they actually own land that they plant out, ie, they can make more profit by building illegally on the govt land, just make them move back onto their own land then no one can kick them off it. How big are their homes if they dont want to take up any of their farming land, once again we see the stupidity of these people trying to claim they are being hard done by when they are knowingly breaking the law simply to make more money, hit them where it hurts, remove them and issue fines or if they cant pay seize the land they own and sell it, time for playing games with these idiots is over.

They probably had already sold off their own land and then encroach.

yes, thats the other side of it, they sell the land the govt has given them and p*ss all the money up against the wall then encroach on more govt land then cry unfair when they are caught, Seems to be a big thing for these people, steal whatever you can but always blame someone else, its really pathetic the way they expect people to feel sorry for them simply because they have no morals, jail is too good for some of these idiots.

[Jonmarleesco]

'... if the crackdown was based too stringently on the principle of slopes ...' Don't tell Jeremy Clarkson