At the very least, the sight of soldiers on the same Phuket beaches where bikini-clad women soak up the sun was bizarre. Although it was not exactly the picture-postcard scene tourist officials would want to send out to the world, it has to be said the military’s efforts to clean up the beaches and national park land on the resort island proceeded relatively smoothly last week.
Some vendors were angry at being moved on, but reports from Phuket suggest most took the destruction of their long-standing businesses by men in military fatigues with equanimity. They did have a fair amount of warning: in the seven weeks since the coup there has been a concerted effort to root out corruption and smash criminal networks that both exploit tourists and harm residents. Those operating businesses without proper permits were apparently given a month’s warning.
The efforts of one policeman and his small team, working in concert with the military and the National Council for Peace and Order, are detailed in today’s edition of Spectrum. The fact he has succeeded where so many have failed to even try hints at the scope of the province’s corruption problems.
But the sight of guns on the beach and soldiers breaking down huts evokes the apocryphal Confucius warning against using a cannon to kill a mosquito. Operating under the powerful provisions of martial law, and a series of edicts from the ruling council, the military runs the risk of overreaching. Not only has the NCPO stepped in to overhaul a deadlocked political system, its actions are increasingly trickling down to affect every section of society.
The evidence for this is not only present in Phuket, but also at motorcycle taxi ranks in Bangkok, at airports where the restrictive 10,000 baht duty-free limit is being strictly enforced, and elsewhere. Coup leader Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha has even spoken about proceedings in the case of the rape and murder of 13-year-old Nong Kaem, an issue where justice must be allowed to take its course without undue influence from any source.
No matter how well-intentioned or well-executed, national leaders and nationwide policies are never perfect — they require scrutiny and oversight to ensure they are working for the greater good, and that any damage is kept to a minimum. A freer media, which this newspaper has called for before, is part of this, but ultimately any country’s leaders will be answerable to its people.
One of the reasons the great Phuket cleanup has proceeded with relative ease is that the police and military involved have been open and transparent in their motives and actions. Their actions have taken place in broad daylight in a world-famous tourist destination and have been widely reported.
A comparable case of evictions from national park land in Buri Ram, however, has not had the same degree of transparency, leaving human rights advocates alarmed.
A community of poor agricultural workers had long established themselves as squatters in Dong Yai Wildlife Sanctuary. Using an emergency decree, the province’s Internal Security Operations Command, police and national parks authorities entered the area on July 5, marked the houses that were set for destruction and told them they had three days to leave. On Tuesday, they returned to enforce the eviction and several people were detained.
The concern is less about the relocation of the squatters from a wildlife sanctuary that should be protected than the way it has been handled. In an open letter, the Bangkok-based Human Rights Lawyers Association urged the military not to rely on the emergency decree in this case. They also called for detainees to be released, saying any arrest should be made under conventional laws.
"This abuse of power will lead to more conflict," the association said. "The NCPO must avoid rushing to judgements based on information from government officers which may not cover all aspects of the facts. This might affect the confidence people have in the NCPO."
The Assembly of the Poor added to calls, saying the Buri Ram operation was a violation of human rights, could lead to violence, and ran contrary to an NCPO promise to ensure the welfare of poor and landless people.
A better solution than arbitrary detention would be discussion, with the military allowing all stakeholders to have a say in the future of the Buri Ram community. This, along with greater transparency and public scrutiny, would go a long way toward easing tensions and reducing the risk of violence. The most virulent of the Buri Ram residents might be calmer and more amenable to compromise if they thought their concerns were being listened to and taken seriously.
It’s a lesson that could also be applied nationwide as the ruling council embarks on its reform process.