Isaan activists slam martial law

[geriatrickid]

The re-branded Lanna nation. Where have we seen this before? I'm sure they have plenty of evidence to back up the claim that the Junta is responsible for the alleged environmental issues and not the Yingluck government. After all, this must have happened in the last 6 months rather than the last 3 years. Yingluck wouldn't let such things harm her power base.

You should really try reading the article before espousing your "I love the junta" mantra. When you don't, it just makes your sycophant recitals even less relevant than usual.

"Porntip Hongchai, a representative from Loei's Wang Saphung district, said her neighbourhood had suffered from pollution from a nearby gold mine since 2002.

She said the locals managed to halt its operations in 2013, but the situation was reversed following the coup."

it would be interesting to see if the claim is fact or just hot air manipulation and lies from a group trying to create trouble - I was under the understanding that it was courts and local admin that managed cases like these

As you know, court cases take time. Even in the west, it can take 10 years to resolve some environmental cases. Local administrations can be inept, or more likely incapable of acting because it is before the courts. A common practice is to delay court proceedings to buy time. The large industrial entity has deep pockets to drag out the legal process.

[smedly]

The turning point is very clear.

The graph starts during the Thaksin administration and clearly shows a consistent trend towards less corruption, and then what happened in 2006. Yes, it was a coup. Corruption after the 2006, regardless of who was in power remained greater than during Thaksins 2001 - 2006 administration. It is the military that are the corrupt ones - your graph proves it. From 2006 until the present the military have exerted undue influence over Thai politics and corruption has thrived.

What is so fascinating about your graph is how it so thoroughly guts the main accusation your side makes against Thaksin - that he is / was stupendously more corrupt than any other Thai leader. Your graph proves that in the last 12 years the least corrupt period in Thailand was when Thaksin was PM. Explain that!

the graph means nothing, corruption has to be exposed in order to measure it - PTP/Thaksin were very good at hiding it and had no wish to investigate themselves while doing it - they had full control of the police - DSI CDI and AG and any other agency tasked to investigate such things - they were in the process of dismantling/weakening agencies they could not control fully like the NACC and even the Senate

They hung on to power at all costs trying to force through elections when the people very obviously wanted reforms first - they knew the game was up if they lost control and exposed themselves to investigation (which is now progressing)

As a result Corruption is now being exposed (past and present) at an exponential rate as more and more corrupt officials are being caught - arrested - processed and convicted - and may it continue

although I must say the levels of corruption and high ranking officials being exposed these last 8 months have been quite staggering to say the least

I hope the new constitution and reforms are strong enough to make corruption more difficult for these thieves and criminals going forward - it's obviously something that will be extremely difficult to eradicate as it is solidly embedded is all social and official ideologies to the extent that it is accepted as normal - it has to change

[JOC]

As per usual, when someone dare to question the less than democratic actions by the present "government", the junta-lovers comes out with their standard-mantra: "But Yingluck, but Thaksin"..............

The only way forward for a future prosperous Thailand is a Thailand for all Thais!!

It is still beyond me, that posters from democratic countries can support a leadership, which only goal is the keep the elite at the trough.

Maybe because its less bad as the previous one.. Its crazy to think there was ever a real democracy here. The things the last government did would not be accepted in any democratic country in the west.

It is still beyond me that posters from democratic countries don't see that there was never a functioning democracy here.

Do I want one.. sure.. do I see it happening here with the ingrained corruption .. no.. and if it happens it will go slow. So any progress.. and I see the junta as progress compared to the previous bunch of criminals.

Thanks for proving my point two times in your post about the standard-mantra!!

I my book, 1 person/1 vote is a democracy.

If the majority of voters chose to vote for incompetent criminals (according to you), so be it..........

If Thailand is going to move forward, the endless circle of the judiciary and/or the army voiding legally cast votes has to stop. Especially since it only serves one purpose: To retain status quo in favor of the wealthy elite and their mighty sponsors!!

[robblok]

As per usual, when someone dare to question the less than democratic actions by the present "government", the junta-lovers comes out with their standard-mantra: "But Yingluck, but Thaksin"..............

The only way forward for a future prosperous Thailand is a Thailand for all Thais!!

It is still beyond me, that posters from democratic countries can support a leadership, which only goal is the keep the elite at the trough.

They may be from democratic countries, but they support groups such as the National Front, Swiss People's Part, Flemish First, LDPR, SRP, Golden Dawn, National Alliance etc. Dictatorship sympathizers like to join political parties which exploit the democratic process, but do not support it.

Ever notice that the most vocal foreign supporters of military coups and the like usually have no active military experience? I expect it comes from envy over the uniforms and medals. Perhaps if they had some active military service experience they would understand why armies should not be running governments. The less likely to have seen combat, the more likely to advocate a draconian violent approach.

Thank you.. never knew that those parties are so popular. I mean most posters here are against the reds and pro junta. That means.. according to your brainfart that the majority of foreigners here support that kind of groups. If you relate that to how much they get in elections its impossible. Or of course people who vote different don't travel.

Your remarks are as stupid as calling all those red shirt supporters commy lovers.

Good thinking Kid.. an other gem showing my statement about intelligence of red shirt supporters to be true. and i always put it there just to provoke people.. having it proven true is just too good. Must be my birthday.

[Jip99]

The turning point is very clear.

The graph starts during the Thaksin administration and clearly shows a consistent trend towards less corruption, and then what happened in 2006. Yes, it was a coup. Corruption after the 2006, regardless of who was in power remained greater than during Thaksins 2001 - 2006 administration. It is the military that are the corrupt ones - your graph proves it. From 2006 until the present the military have exerted undue influence over Thai politics and corruption has thrived.

What is so fascinating about your graph is how it so thoroughly guts the main accusation your side makes against Thaksin - that he is / was stupendously more corrupt than any other Thai leader. Your graph proves that in the last 12 years the least corrupt period in Thailand was when Thaksin was PM. Explain that!

the graph means nothing, corruption has to be exposed in order to measure it - PTP/Thaksin were very good at hiding it and had no wish to investigate themselves while doing it - they had full control of the police - DSI CDI and AG and any other agency tasked to investigate such things - they were in the process of dismantling/weakening agencies they could not control fully like the NACC and even the Senate

They hung on to power at all costs trying to force through elections when the people very obviously wanted reforms first - they knew the game was up if they lost control and exposed themselves to investigation (which is now progressing)

As a result Corruption is now being exposed (past and present) at an exponential rate as more and more corrupt officials are being caught - arrested - processed and convicted - and may it continue

although I must say the levels of corruption and high ranking officials being exposed these last 8 months have been quite staggering to say the least

I hope the new constitution and reforms are strong enough to make corruption more difficult for these thieves and criminals going forward - it's obviously something that will be extremely difficult to eradicate as it is solidly embedded is all social and official ideologies to the extent that it is accepted as normal - it has to change

Spot on!

However, the last 4 words of your post worry the cr4p out of me.

The alternative is that it DOESN'T have to change. Corruption is so endemic (as highlighted by your reference to the number of high raking officials exposed) that it seems routine. Follow this down to grass roots level where the general populous just accept corruption as part of day to day life.

I think the will to change has to come not just from the junta.

[robblok]

As per usual, when someone dare to question the less than democratic actions by the present "government", the junta-lovers comes out with their standard-mantra: "But Yingluck, but Thaksin"..............

The only way forward for a future prosperous Thailand is a Thailand for all Thais!!

It is still beyond me, that posters from democratic countries can support a leadership, which only goal is the keep the elite at the trough.

Maybe because its less bad as the previous one.. Its crazy to think there was ever a real democracy here. The things the last government did would not be accepted in any democratic country in the west.

It is still beyond me that posters from democratic countries don't see that there was never a functioning democracy here.

Do I want one.. sure.. do I see it happening here with the ingrained corruption .. no.. and if it happens it will go slow. So any progress.. and I see the junta as progress compared to the previous bunch of criminals.

Thanks for proving my point two times in your post about the standard-mantra!!

I my book, 1 person/1 vote is a democracy.

If the majority of voters chose to vote for incompetent criminals (according to you), so be it..........

If Thailand is going to move forward, the endless circle of the judiciary and/or the army voiding legally cast votes has to stop. Especially since it only serves one purpose: To retain status quo in favor of the wealthy elite and their mighty sponsors!!

For me voting is just part of a democracy .. if you don't uphold the other rules of one.. then it is actually not worth a thing. So you think that just voting makes something a democracy ? I always thought one also would have to stick to the laws of transparency and many other things that the previous governments broke. So calling this a democracy is foolish. If you can't see the differences then your blind.

[smedly]

As per usual, when someone dare to question the less than democratic actions by the present "government", the junta-lovers comes out with their standard-mantra: "But Yingluck, but Thaksin"..............

The only way forward for a future prosperous Thailand is a Thailand for all Thais!!

It is still beyond me, that posters from democratic countries can support a leadership, which only goal is the keep the elite at the trough.

Maybe because its less bad as the previous one.. Its crazy to think there was ever a real democracy here. The things the last government did would not be accepted in any democratic country in the west.

It is still beyond me that posters from democratic countries don't see that there was never a functioning democracy here.

Do I want one.. sure.. do I see it happening here with the ingrained corruption .. no.. and if it happens it will go slow. So any progress.. and I see the junta as progress compared to the previous bunch of criminals.

absolutely 100% correct mate - it puzzles the hell out of me too, and remember that not all posters here are falang - far from it - then you get someone with a name like "warpath" suddenly appearing spouting the red thaksin terrorist rhetoric - that puzzles the hell out of me (well not really) I'd be breaking forum rules to say anything further

Creating division feeds thaksins agenda - you still have people spouting about yellow shirts - they actually don't exist anymore, what you have here in Thailand are a few paid red activists to stir the pot and try and keep the division alive when in fact if you look at it the reds have absolutely no mandate to speak of - does anyone actually have a clue what they are about apart from being paid to create this so called division that doesn't exist.

Thaksin has one agenda - to save face and get back to Thailand using his money and a few people to stir up trouble - terrorism in its most basic form

[smedly]

As per usual, when someone dare to question the less than democratic actions by the present "government", the junta-lovers comes out with their standard-mantra: "But Yingluck, but Thaksin"..............

The only way forward for a future prosperous Thailand is a Thailand for all Thais!!

It is still beyond me, that posters from democratic countries can support a leadership, which only goal is the keep the elite at the trough.

Maybe because its less bad as the previous one.. Its crazy to think there was ever a real democracy here. The things the last government did would not be accepted in any democratic country in the west.

It is still beyond me that posters from democratic countries don't see that there was never a functioning democracy here.

Do I want one.. sure.. do I see it happening here with the ingrained corruption .. no.. and if it happens it will go slow. So any progress.. and I see the junta as progress compared to the previous bunch of criminals.

Thanks for proving my point two times in your post about the standard-mantra!!

I my book, 1 person/1 vote is a democracy.

If the majority of voters chose to vote for incompetent criminals (according to you), so be it..........

If Thailand is going to move forward, the endless circle of the judiciary and/or the army voiding legally cast votes has to stop. Especially since it only serves one purpose: To retain status quo in favor of the wealthy elite and their mighty sponsors!!

I agree with you 1person/1 vote but unfortunately that doesn't seem to exist here - you have village heads telling masses of people how they need to vote - people being bought - people being intimidated, the sooner the people realise that they do actually have a right to vote for who they want the better - achieving that is the up hill task

[robblok]

As per usual, when someone dare to question the less than democratic actions by the present "government", the junta-lovers comes out with their standard-mantra: "But Yingluck, but Thaksin"..............

The only way forward for a future prosperous Thailand is a Thailand for all Thais!!

It is still beyond me, that posters from democratic countries can support a leadership, which only goal is the keep the elite at the trough.

Maybe because its less bad as the previous one.. Its crazy to think there was ever a real democracy here. The things the last government did would not be accepted in any democratic country in the west.

It is still beyond me that posters from democratic countries don't see that there was never a functioning democracy here.

Do I want one.. sure.. do I see it happening here with the ingrained corruption .. no.. and if it happens it will go slow. So any progress.. and I see the junta as progress compared to the previous bunch of criminals.

absolutely 100% correct mate - it puzzles the hell out of me too, and remember that not all posters here are falang - far from it - then you get someone with a name like "warpath" suddenly appearing spouting the red thaksin terrorist rhetoric - that puzzles the hell out of me (well not really) I'd be breaking forum rules to say anything further

Creating division feeds thaksins agenda - you still have people spouting about yellow shirts - they actually don't exist anymore, what you have here in Thailand are a few paid red activists to stir the pot and try and keep the division alive when in fact if you look at it the reds have absolutely no mandate to speak of - does anyone actually have a clue what they are about apart from being paid to create this so called division that doesn't exist.

Thaksin has one agenda - to save face and get back to Thailand using his money and a few people to stir up trouble - terrorism in its most basic form

Ah reminds me of the days just before the coup when many paid for posters turned up.. and suddenly left. Strange that the junta does not even have to pay their supporters.. but the PTP does.. but that is ingrained there paying for support.

[JOC]

As per usual, when someone dare to question the less than democratic actions by the present "government", the junta-lovers comes out with their standard-mantra: "But Yingluck, but Thaksin"..............

The only way forward for a future prosperous Thailand is a Thailand for all Thais!!

It is still beyond me, that posters from democratic countries can support a leadership, which only goal is the keep the elite at the trough.

Maybe because its less bad as the previous one.. Its crazy to think there was ever a real democracy here. The things the last government did would not be accepted in any democratic country in the west.

It is still beyond me that posters from democratic countries don't see that there was never a functioning democracy here.

Do I want one.. sure.. do I see it happening here with the ingrained corruption .. no.. and if it happens it will go slow. So any progress.. and I see the junta as progress compared to the previous bunch of criminals.

Thanks for proving my point two times in your post about the standard-mantra!!

I my book, 1 person/1 vote is a democracy.

If the majority of voters chose to vote for incompetent criminals (according to you), so be it..........

If Thailand is going to move forward, the endless circle of the judiciary and/or the army voiding legally cast votes has to stop. Especially since it only serves one purpose: To retain status quo in favor of the wealthy elite and their mighty sponsors!!

For me voting is just part of a democracy .. if you don't uphold the other rules of one.. then it is actually not worth a thing. So you think that just voting makes something a democracy ? I always thought one also would have to stick to the laws of transparency and many other things that the previous governments broke. So calling this a democracy is foolish. If you can't see the differences then your blind.

Yes the politicians should be held accountable!!

But not by the army, but by the voters next time at the ballot box.

As for the posters here naive enough to believe that corruption has stopped under Prayut. A few lambs have been sacrificed, but make no mistake, it is business as usual!!

[robblok]

Yes the politicians should be held accountable!!

But not by the army, but by the voters next time at the ballot box.

As for the posters here naive enough to believe that corruption has stopped under Prayut. A few lambs have been sacrificed, but make no mistake, it is business as usual!!

WRONG

Politicians should be held accountable by the law if they break it, and if the law is bought or not working.. then the army comes into play.

The way you state is that a politician can do whatever he wants including corruption and should only worry about the next ellection.

That is certainly not how it works in a real democracy, there the law works and there is no need of the army.

Do you really believe all the corruption cases would come to the surface if the army had not stepped in. The face G2G deals and rotting rice would have stayed hidden.

Mate i rather not have to use the army.. but without them the corruption and mismanagement would never have surfaced. They would have gone free because they were in a position to block all investigations. Remember they cut the budget of the ones investigating corruption by 50%

[trogers]

As per usual, when someone dare to question the less than democratic actions by the present "government", the junta-lovers comes out with their standard-mantra: "But Yingluck, but Thaksin"..............

The only way forward for a future prosperous Thailand is a Thailand for all Thais!!

It is still beyond me, that posters from democratic countries can support a leadership, which only goal is the keep the elite at the trough.

Which elite does the red shirts plan to keep at the trough? What happened to those who dared to question the red shirts up North and North East?

If you want to question the system, you need better candidates for democracy.

Edited March 22, 2015 by trogers

[tbthailand]

It is nice to see the issues of martial law, the junta, and community activists getting more visibility. It's one of the main untold/less-told stories of this 'intervention'.

[mikemac]

Do you think the rich hiso's running the country give a damn about you dirty little peasants? The only time they ever think of you is when they need a new toilet licker to clean the marks of the bowl. Thailand stops at Bangkok and everything outside is insignificant and it is going to get a lot worse for you little people.

Interesting. Where can I get a 'toilet licker' from? It sounds so much easier than the toilet brush that I, and billions of civilized people around the world commonly use.

Glad I am not on the domestic staff at Chook's place.

[mikemac]

It is nice to see the issues of martial law, the junta, and community activists getting more visibility. It's one of the main untold/less-told stories of this 'intervention'.

My personal favorite when it comes to stories related to the "intervention" was the one about the Rice Scam.

Thank goodness we had that coup or we may have missed out on that little beauty.

[JAG]

What's the point of having a military coup if you can't enrich your industrialist mates at the expense of a few lowly villagers?

That is one of the points of having a military coup.

[JAG]

The voices of those opposed to the Junta are slowly getting louder and louder and bolder and bolder, one senses the dam walls may soon burst. The tide is fast going out on this latest effort to rid Thailand of democracy. When the time comes, lets hope the Genereals have the good grace to accept defeat and walk away without forcing more bloodshed upon the long suffering citizenry.

No chance, sadly. They will hang on, literally, till grim death.

[lucky11]

Do you think the rich hiso's running the country give a damn about you dirty little peasants? The only time they ever think of you is when they need a new toilet licker to clean the marks of the bowl. Thailand stops at Bangkok and everything outside is insignificant and it is going to get a lot worse for you little people.

No need to talk about them like that!!!

But I do wish that they would stop whining as it is getting on my nerves!!!

[lildragon]

I love the idea of 'this coup was necessary, it was needed to clean the country' yada yada yada.

What about the past 19 coups? What did they solve? (Although argument could be made that the 1932 one was for a good reason)

[seajae]

As per usual, when someone dare to question the less than democratic actions by the present "government", the junta-lovers comes out with their standard-mantra: "But Yingluck, but Thaksin"..............

The only way forward for a future prosperous Thailand is a Thailand for all Thais!!

It is still beyond me, that posters from democratic countries can support a leadership, which only goal is the keep the elite at the trough.

They may be from democratic countries, but they support groups such as the National Front, Swiss People's Part, Flemish First, LDPR, SRP, Golden Dawn, National Alliance etc. Dictatorship sympathizers like to join political parties which exploit the democratic process, but do not support it.

Ever notice that the most vocal foreign supporters of military coups and the like usually have no active military experience? I expect it comes from envy over the uniforms and medals. Perhaps if they had some active military service experience they would understand why armies should not be running governments. The less likely to have seen combat, the more likely to advocate a draconian violent approach.

well then, everything you said is spoken as if you have never had any military experience and is pretty rancid but maybe you were a cut lunch commando/weekend warrior and thought that meant you were someone important . We actually did train to deal with civilian problems, even to the point of shooting and this was in Australia, your comments display a total lack of knowledge on the subject and are purely your own biased garbage. Why do I support the military with what they have done, it is because I have seen what the reds and ptp were trying to do and as an ex military person I can see that the thai military are the only ones with the balls to stop it but that buggers up what you and you red mates/thaksin lovers want to see so you whinge about it. You really do have a major problem if you think people are envious of uniforms ,medals etc, where do you get this crap from

[oneday]

Oops, I see "attitude adjustments" coming.

[micmichd]

Guess the Isaan is going through some changes, from an agricultural to an industrial region. I noticed the big engines in some Isaan areas a couple of years ago, I think they're there for getting natural resources out of the ground.

It's still Isaan farmers' land though, and the inhabitants surely need it.

Did the government ever try to give (similar or better) land to peasants in exchange for their land if this land is required for infrastructural programs?

Maybe make a law that forces private investors to participate in land exchange and compensation programmes?

[rubl]

Do you think the rich hiso's running the country give a damn about you dirty little peasants? The only time they ever think of you is when they need a new toilet licker to clean the marks of the bowl. Thailand stops at Bangkok and everything outside is insignificant and it is going to get a lot worse for you little people.

You forgot about election time, then some Amply Rich HiSos also remember those people.

BTW I think you're out of line with your denigrating description of the Isaan activists.

[lildragon]

I hope a new peaceful movement starts. The reds have had their day and have a bad stigma attached to them because of their fanatical splinter cells.

[rubl]

With the government structure in Thailand so utterly corrupt, I'm not really surprised that in some provinces life didn't really change.

The groups described seem like non-political groups and as such should have the possibilities to work. Maybe they need to approach this out of chain-of-command at address PM Prayuth directly.

[NickJ]

We Stand United... We Stand for Democracy!!!!! We Stand for 500b per vote,

so get back to us before its time to get paid...

[halloween]

"He said a petroleum-drilling operation, which villagers fear is releasing lethal hydrogen sulphide gas into the atmosphere, was only 1.5 kilometres from his village."

Taking a hard look at one case might help. Hydrogen sulphide can be lethal in a confined space, or in huge volumes from a volcanic eruption, and even then more likely because of its high temperature. Enough might come from a borehole to be smelled in a village 1.5 kms away with the right wind conditions, but lethal - BS!

[trogers]

"He said a petroleum-drilling operation, which villagers fear is releasing lethal hydrogen sulphide gas into the atmosphere, was only 1.5 kilometres from his village."

Taking a hard look at one case might help. Hydrogen sulphide can be lethal in a confined space, or in huge volumes from a volcanic eruption, and even then more likely because of its high temperature. Enough might come from a borehole to be smelled in a village 1.5 kms away with the right wind conditions, but lethal - BS!

Hydrogen sulphide = acid rain = withering plants

[Robby nz]

Maybe because its less bad as the previous one.. Its crazy to think there was ever a real democracy here. The things the last government did would not be accepted in any democratic country in the west.

It is still beyond me that posters from democratic countries don't see that there was never a functioning democracy here.

Do I want one.. sure.. do I see it happening here with the ingrained corruption .. no.. and if it happens it will go slow. So any progress.. and I see the junta as progress compared to the previous bunch of criminals.

Thanks for proving my point two times in your post about the standard-mantra!!

I my book, 1 person/1 vote is a democracy.

If the majority of voters chose to vote for incompetent criminals (according to you), so be it..........

If Thailand is going to move forward, the endless circle of the judiciary and/or the army voiding legally cast votes has to stop. Especially since it only serves one purpose: To retain status quo in favor of the wealthy elite and their mighty sponsors!!

For me voting is just part of a democracy .. if you don't uphold the other rules of one.. then it is actually not worth a thing. So you think that just voting makes something a democracy ? I always thought one also would have to stick to the laws of transparency and many other things that the previous governments broke. So calling this a democracy is foolish. If you can't see the differences then your blind.

Yes the politicians should be held accountable!!

But not by the army, but by the voters next time at the ballot box.

As for the posters here naive enough to believe that corruption has stopped under Prayut. A few lambs have been sacrificed, but make no mistake, it is business as usual!!

Consider for a moment what the country would have been like if the people had not come out and protested the amnesty bill and PT had gone on their merry way until another election.

The rice pledging scheme would have continued with the losses incurred rising for another year and a half.

The 2.2 trillion would have been borrowed out of budget and used among other things to pay off the rice farmers, we know this because one of the ministers let it slip.

The 350 billion for flood control would have disappeared with the 'garbage' who had the temerity to want to have a say in how it was spent sitting in the next flood.

The senate would be fully elected with family members of sitting MP's allowed to be senators, the 6 year term would have been abolished meaning senators (family members) could be there for life.

The amnesty bill would have been passed, Thaksin would have been back free of all charges and with all his confiscated money, which he failed to pay in tax, returned to him. And of course free to stand for PM in the next election. As he has shown how vindictive he can be revenge could be expected.

All corruption would have been forgiven from TRT time through to the time of the bill passing.

Meaning that the top cop now in jail would have still been in his job and accumulating more billions, the G2G rice deals would never even come to light let alone been investigated so those responsible would have been free to keep the billions the stole from the country.

The UFO temple and other monks would never have been investigated and all the other corruption that is now seeing the light of day would have been forgiven with the corrupt keeping everything they had scammed.

The people would have been even deeper in debt, the national debt would be going through the roof.

Given the world economic downturn the country would be in a very precarious situation.

But that would all be OK because there is always the fairytale of the elite, who we cant talk about, to blame when anything goes wrong.

Come election time it would be made very sure that nobody had any chance of winning against them, and even if they did there are always the reds to call on to have another riot.

And of course anyone who doesn't support the reds and doesn't agree that an election is the only thing that makes a democracy is a junta lover, right on.

[rubl]

"He said a petroleum-drilling operation, which villagers fear is releasing lethal hydrogen sulphide gas into the atmosphere, was only 1.5 kilometres from his village."

Taking a hard look at one case might help. Hydrogen sulphide can be lethal in a confined space, or in huge volumes from a volcanic eruption, and even then more likely because of its high temperature. Enough might come from a borehole to be smelled in a village 1.5 kms away with the right wind conditions, but lethal - BS!

In itself Hydrogen Sulphide gas is toxic, can pollute ground water, etc., etc. This makes it necessary to have a process in place to catch and burn/remove all traces of the gas. At least that's how things tend to be nowadays in the Western World (when economic aspects are not deemed more important). Even in Thailand Environmental Impact Studies are mandatory, if ignored where one gets away with it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_sulfide