Mention Loei and what comes to mind? Probably Phu Kradung National Park and the tourist district of Chiang Khan.
Two villagers stand in front of barren land at a gold mining site that once was a lush forest in Loei. Villagers are fighting against the expansion of a mine which they say destroys their health and rice harvests. Paritta Wangkiat
Few people may be aware that the northeastern province bordering Laos also contains some of the largest gold mines in the country.
Loei probably holds some sort of a record, too, after some of its residents were slapped with lawsuits threatening them with more than 270 million baht in damages.
The defendants in the lawsuits are not some millionaire tycoons involved in shady business deals but common folk trying to protect their land and livelihoods from destructive industrial activities.
These are residents from six villages in tambon Khao Luang of Wang Saphung district, where, since 2006, gold mining operations have firmly taken hold on the lush mountains of Phu Thap Fa and Phu Sam Pa Bon.
The mining company, Tungkum Limited, was founded in 1991 as a subsidiary of Tungkah Harbour Pcl to explore and prospect for gold in the area.
According to the company’s website, Tungkum was granted six gold mining licences covering some 2.07 sq km in 2003. Also, an additional 91.02 sq km are under application in the Wang Saphung and Muang districts.
Of course, after intensive open pit mining, the lush mountains are no longer lush. Phu Thapfa has lost its verdant crown; a giant crater and barren landscape have taken its place.
The problem with gold mining is that the process of extracting the gold mineral requires extensive use of toxic chemicals, including specifically cyanide, and large volumes of water. Cyanide-laced waste water is kept in a large pond.
Not long after operations began, health complaints from local villagers began to emerge.
In 2009 the Loei public health office issued a warning about water quality in tambon Khao Luang after tests found excessive levels of arsenic, cadmium and manganese. Local villagers were forced to buy drinking water.
In 2011, provincial health authorities conducted blood tests of residents and found that 124 of 758 people tested had excessive levels of cyanide and mercury. This led the cabinet to order Tungkum to delay its plans to expand its mining areas or apply for new licences until the chemical contamination problem was resolved and economic returns for the state were re-assessed.
In October 2012 the waste water pond collapsed, causing the cyanide-laced waste water to contaminate local water sources.
In spite of the mishap and the cabinet resolution, Tungkum went ahead and applied for new licences to expand its operations to two other areas. This requires studies of environmental and health impact assessment (EHIA).
In December 2012, a public scoping hearing as part of the EHIA process was organised. This was supposed to be an open forum to hear public viewpoints.
However, on arrival at the hearing venue, mining opponents were met by a wall of some 1,000 police, defence volunteers and the company’s security guards blocking access.
At another hearing in September last year, the villagers again were greeted by a 600-strong force preventing them from participating in the hearing.
Deprived of their constitutional right to participate in matters affecting their environment and health, the six affected villages decided on a joint resolution to protect themselves.
They set up a blockade to limit access by heavy trucks to a public roadway through their villages. The action affects lorries transporting mineral ores from mines to processing plants.
Tungkum retaliated by filing criminal and civil lawsuits against leading villagers for infringing the company’s right to use a public thoroughfare. It demanded 50 million baht for damages, plus 10 million baht for each day of violation.
The blockade made up of concrete blocks was later taken down by a group of men in the dead of night.
However, the intimidating lawsuits and the sly action to dismantle the barrier failed to frighten the villagers into submission. They erected another blockade and set up a shanty nearby where villagers took turns to keep watch.
Again, Tungkum filed criminal and civil lawsuits demanding 70 million baht damages. Meanwhile, the local administrative organisation helped take down the blockade.
Anybody would have buckled under the massive weight of the lawsuits. But the villagers figure that not only their lives, but also the future of their children and grandchildren depends on their ability to resist the invasion by destructive industries of their homeland.
For the third time, they set up road blocks and installed a round-the-clock watch, invoking a third lawsuit threatening them with a 150-million-baht claim.
Tungkum also filed a police complaint charging 22 leading villagers with coercion and threatening physical harm, blocking public thoroughfares, and trespassing.
It is surprising that the company's escalating threats through legal and other means have so far failed to break the villagers’ spirit. Having failed with its big stick, the company has resorted to dangling a carrot in front of the villagers. It has reportedly offered through the villagers’ legal representatives 20% of the mining stock, and to drop all charges if the locals cease and desist.
The villagers’ reply is even more astounding. They said they took up their action not to own a stake in the company but to safeguard their livelihoods.
They will almost certainly face further legal and other types of threats. But they can take pride in their decision to maintain their dignity and strength of spirit in the face of overwhelming intimidation by big business and conniving officials. That in itself is priceless.
Wasant Techawongtham is former News Editor, Bangkok Post.