Disgraceful detentions

Disgraceful detentions

The latest temporary detention of land rights activists in Chiang Mai and Lamphun by security authorities is disgraceful.

Similar to the regime's previous acts of intimidation, soldiers and policemen were dispatched to deal with the growing disgruntlement of ordinary people who were merely trying to make their voices heard. But using force to shut people up is a barbaric tactic that will only intensify public displeasure against the military rulers.

Since Tuesday, more than one hundred community activists from the northern provinces have been rounded up by being removed from their buses to Bangkok and then detained at police stations and a military camp.

The police and the military did not want them to come to the city to join a gathering of their peers -- representatives of the People's Movement for a Just Society (P-Move), an advocacy group for the rights of the poor and underprivileged.

Sadly, the group alleged that the authorities forced those in detention in Chiang Mai to sign a memorandum of understanding promising they would not travel to Bangkok to join the protest.

P-Move's previous gatherings have been peaceful so the authorities had no legitimate reason to stop the northern activists from participating in the rally.

Their demand is simple and poses no security threat: The poor's right to access natural resources for the sake of social justice.

The group planned to remind the military government to keep its promises to solve land rights issues faced by poor and disenfranchised communities.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha had pledged to renew a project to grant community title deeds. He also promised a new law to give birth to a land bank that would provide loans for landless and poor farmers to buy land. Thus far, these promises have yet to materialise.

In addition to reminding the premier of his promises, the group has also called for the regime to halt its forest reclamation policy which has resulted in blanket evictions of people from the land they have toiled over, lived on and farmed for generations.

The arrest and detention of the activists stand as a stark reminder of the authoritarian state that ordinary Thais have had to tolerate since the military took power in 2014.

Even though Thailand has mostly remained peaceful and orderly for the past few years, mostly due to the state's rigid suppression of freedom of expression and a ban on political gatherings, the regime has been heavy-handed with ordinary people.

More recently, security officers threatened labour groups and political activists.

On April 30, representatives of a labour union in Pathum Thani were called for a meeting with dozens of policemen and soldiers who warned them to not deliver political messages during a planned annual gathering on Labour Day.

In the past few months, 106 pro-election activists have been slapped with lawsuits brought against them by security officials because of them staging peaceful rallies.

Worse still, a number of soldiers and policemen in uniform showed up at the homes of some of the activists to "meet and talk" to them.

The pro-election activists also plan to stage a rally this Saturday to step up pressure. But Gen Prayut has come up with a poor strategy to deal with it. He said security agencies will find out who will attend the rally and who the financial backer is.

Gen Prayut seems to have a misguided notion that people's views expressed at rallies are not genuine. The prime minister needs to be reminded that it is the government's job to listen to people's problems and needs, such as those voiced by the P-Move group, and then come up with plans to accommodate them.

But dispatching soldiers and police to intimidate, detain, arrest and file charges against citizens must not be part of these plans. Otherwise, what the regime will see is further public disgruntlement with its rule.

Editorial

Bangkok Post editorial column

These editorials represent Bangkok Post thoughts about current issues and situations.

Email : anchaleek@bangkokpost.co.th

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