“Under the pretext of ridding the country of all illegal activities, the military continues to commit serious human rights abuses. After the coup d’État, the Thai Army claimed that its policies were aimed at returning happiness to the people. However, there is little happiness in Non Din Daeng District, where the army’s heavy-handed actions have deprived hundreds of people of their agricultural land and livelihood,” said FIDH President Karim Lahidji.
Between 27 June and 2 July 2014, soldiers from the Thai 2nd Army entered Kao Baat, Saeng Sawan, Talat Khwai, Pa Mamuang, Klong Hin Mai, and Sam Salueng villages in Non Ding Daeng District, Buriram Province, and ordered residents to demolish their own homes and leave the area. Soldiers spray-painted the relocation deadlines, ranging from July 7 to July 10, on the villagers’ homes. Soldiers also warned villagers that they would be forcibly evicted from their homes if they failed to comply with their eviction orders.
There were about 300 households with a total of more than 1,000 people in the six villages affected by the relocation orders. As of 12 July, residents of Saeng Sawang and Talat Khwai villages had already vacated their homes. In other villages, relocation was under way. However, in Saeng Sawan Village, more than 50 households refused to relocate. Similarly, about 40 people in Kao Baat Village, mostly women and children, refused to leave their homes.
The Thai Army did not provide any compensation or assistance to those who agreed under duress to vacate their homes. The two relocation sites, located in the rubber plantation area of Pa Yaang Sabkhaning, about 6 kilometers north of the Pa Mamuang Village, and at the Lam Nang Rong Buddhist temple grounds, about 15 kilometers south of Talat Khwai Village, lack adequate temporary shelters and have no access to water.
The forced evictions were preceded by a string of arbitrary detentions. On 28 and 29 June , soldiers from the Thai 2nd Army detained a total of 10 village leaders from Seang Sawan Village, including former village headman Mr. Kampong Pipuannok. The 10 were held incommunicado without being charged for seven days at the Somdet Chaophraya Mahakasatsuk military camp. They were not informed of the reason of their detention.
On 4 July 2014, at around 5.30am, about 20 soldiers from the Thai 2nd Army took Mr. Sornram Masuntei from his home in Lam Nang Rong Village, Non Din Daeng District, Buriram Province, and detained him at the Somdet Chaophraya Mahakasatsuk military camp. Mr. Sornram was released after being held incommunicado for about 10 hours. The day before, Mr. Sornram had approached local military commanders to ask them whether the NCPO’s announcement that it would crack down on forest encroachments would apply to the situation of villagers in Non Din Daeng District. On 12 July, Thai Army soldiers in Saeng Sawang Village briefly detained local activist Mr Paiboon Soisot and ordered him to leave the community or face legal action.
Affected villagers believe that the Thai Army’s crackdown stemmed from order number 64 and 66, issued by the ruling junta, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), on 14 June and 17 June 2014 respectively. The two orders empowered government agencies to take action to put an end to encroachment on forest reserves nationwide. However, villagers claim that the area they inhabited was no longer classed as ‘forest reserve’ and should be redistributed among local communities in accordance with the 1964 National Forest Reserve Act.
The area has a long history of forced relocation of villagers as part of the Thai government’s military campaign against Thai Communist Party’s guerilla operating in the area in the 1970s and early 1980s. In the next two decades, successive Thai governments failed to return the land to the communities who had originally inhabited it.
“The Thai Army’s threats, harassment, arbitrary detention, and forced evictions of villagers must immediately cease and farmers must be allowed to return to their land. The military must play a positive role by facilitating a negotiated solution and addressing the long-standing grievances of local villagers,” said UCL Chairman Jaturong Boonyarattanasoontorn.
Press contacts:
UCL: Mr. Jaturong Boonyarattanasoontorn (Thai, English) - Tel: +66890571755 (Bangkok)
FIDH: Mr. Arthur Manet (French, English, Spanish) - Tel: +33 6 72 28 42 94 (Paris)