NARATHIWAT: Residents of Sukhirin district have expressed their discontent with the authorities' plan to resettle people accused of sympathising with the insurgent movement in the far South close to their villages.
The “Bring People Home” project, aimed to help returnees from Malaysia re-integrate into society, is overseen by the 4th Army Region commander Lt Gen Piyawat Nakwanich.
On Tuesday, more than 500 people from three villages in tambon Sukhirin gathered at a meeting hall in Chulabhorn Pattana 12 to express their disapproval of the plan to resettle insurgent sympathisers in an area close to Ban Chulabhorn Pattana 12, Ban Rak Tham and Ban Leelanon.
A representative from Ban Leelanon said the residents had agreed on a joint statement in opposition to the relocation plan after studying the likely affects.
The plan, he said, would have an impact on forest, the environment, tourism and livelihoods of the local people.
Despite agreeing with the project, the villagers were averse to the allocation of land close to the three villages to these people, he said.
The deputy commander of the 4th Army Region, Maj Wichan Suksong, said on Wednesday Lt Gen Piyawat's proposal was to move 105 people who returned from Malaysia several months ago to tambon Sukhirin, where the army has found more than 700 rai of land for them.
They comprise people of 23 families and 12 single people, Maj Gen Wichan said.
These people had nothing to do with recent southern violence. About 30 years ago they were implicated in unrest in the region and fled to Malaysia. Many were now in their 70s.
The 4rth Army commander brought them back and gave them identity cards because they are Thai people, Maj Gen Wichan said.
“We are doing this for a humanitarian purpose,” said Maj Gen Wichan. “I would like to reaffirm that these people are neither bandits nor people who would cause trouble.”