Doi Suthep network warns of protests

[webfact]

Doi Suthep network warns of protests

By The Nation

 

 

A CHIANG MAI citizens group yesterday threatened to stage a large demonstration next month if nothing was done by then to restore the land housing a luxury housing project on Doi Suthep Mountain to its original state.
 

The group coordinator accused the government of failing completely to keep its promise.

 

Teerasak Rupsuwant, coordinator of Doi Suthep Forest Reclamation Network, yesterday accused Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha of not being true to his word by allowing Justice officials to stay in apartment blocks built on disputed land on the mountain that locals see as sacred. The premier has broken his earlier promise of not allowing anyone to live on the disputed land, he said.

 

All residents must be removed from the nine apartment buildings on the disputed ground, and the entire encroached forestland restored, or the network will stage a large demonstration in Chiang Mai in August, said Teerasak.

 

There are still 45 villas at the upper end of the housing estate, along with nine apartment buildings for Justice officers of Appeals Court Region 5, according to Doi Suthep Forest Reclamation Network. They have encroached beyond the original tree line and into Doi Suthep Forest and must be dismantled and the forest restored, as agreed between the network and official authorities, the network insisted.

 

Teerasak said that though the 45 villas were unoccupied, more than 30 Justice officers and their families have already moved into the apartment buildings, which is a clear violation of the mutual agreement between the network and the government.

 

After it was disclosed that some Justice officers were living on the disputed land, Prayut said all people should be sympathetic to them. They were lower-rank officers and should be allowed to live in the apartments until new official residences were built and ready for occupation, the premier said.

 

Teerasak responded that Prayut was not taking his promise seriously, after having announced to the media two months ago that no one would be permitted to live in the buildings. 

 

Furthermore, these officers were clearly not low-rank officers, said Teerasak, as they owned very expensive cars. They could simply move back to their own houses, he retorted.

 

“About the delay in land reclamation and reforestation, we urge the government to settle this problem as soon as possible or Chiang Mai citizens will certainly launch public demonstrations again,” he said.

 

Meanwhile, in a resolution from the latest meeting held yesterday between the network and official agencies, all stakeholders agreed to demolish the 45 villas to prevent damage from a landslide but there was still no clear solution for the nine apartment buildings in the disputed area.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30350344

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-07-19

[neeray]

"Teerasak responded that Prayut was not taking his promise seriously, after having announced to the media two months ago that no one would be permitted to live in the buildings." 

 

Of course the PM will keep his promise. Doesn't he always keep his promises??? And he has extra incentive to keep this promise what with an election looming in 2019 (or whenever) that will legitimize his leadership.

But maybe he'll take a cue from the current American president and just say he didn't say that. Today, "would" seems to mean "wouldn't". And if "no" is said in answer to a question and it gets the person in more trouble, just say "I was answering somebody else's question". Just how low can politicians stoop? (no answer required).

Nice to see the resolve of the common people. I admire how they stand their ground.

[Cadbury]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

"......but there was still no clear solution for the nine apartment buildings in the disputed area".

"no clear solution". Therein lies the crux of the matter. The PM clearly said before, when he did a marvelous job of fence-sitting, that the law must be followed. These protesters appear NOT to have the law on their side and that is why those judges who administer the law are still there.

Those networks and official agencies and stakeholders can agree to whatever they like but I doubt these judges are going anywhere; either sooner or later. 

[Srikcir]

Good luck to the Doi Suthep Forest Reclamation Network.

The timing of another large protest might be timely considering the many other challenges the Prayut regime currently has.

It becomes a question of how much more negative public exposure Prayut wants. I'm sure his impulse will be to bring in the military to enforce "the law." But that may not be the message he wants to deliver to the international community in light of Thailand's fragile economic growth rate. 

[a977]

Another broken promise by "he who must be obeyed" won't be able to walk through a door sideways soon nose getting that big. As Khun Teerasak stated why can't they move back to where they were living until new houses are built, this would solve a lot of the problems??????