Heavy-handed actions crushing villagers

Heavy-handed actions crushing villagers

The family of a 44-year-old Pakayaw Karen ethnic man who was charged with illegal possession of a small amount of teak timber in 2014 and later died in prison as he couldn’t afford bail. (Photo by Soikaew Khammala)
The family of a 44-year-old Pakayaw Karen ethnic man who was charged with illegal possession of a small amount of teak timber in 2014 and later died in prison as he couldn’t afford bail. (Photo by Soikaew Khammala)

The intensified crackdown on encroachment and logging by the military regime has dealt a heavy blow to villagers who live in harmony with nature in protected forest areas, while leaving most influential big timber businesses unscratched.

The suppression followed two orders issued in 2014 by the National Council for Peace and Order designed to protect and reclaim the forests and which impose harsh punishment for encroachment on protected areas and for illegal logging.

In 2014, the authorities conducted a raid in Ban Thung Pa Kha, in Mae Hong Son's Mae La Noi district, and rounded up 39 ethnic Pakayaw -- or Karen -- villagers who acquired small amounts of wood, 4-5 logs each, for their own use. Of them, 23 were charged with cutting and possessing illegal timber.

Two, a 71-year-old woman and a 44-year-old man who was ill and couldn't afford bail, died while the case was pending in court and the rest were handed sentences of one to five years.

Soikaew Khammala is a freelance writer based in Chiang Mai. The article was first published in Prachatai.

Half were released from jail two months ago, but they and their families are inflicted with pain and frustration given that the hand of the law seems not to reach the big fish who capitalise on the illicit timber business.

The villagers alleged trucks carrying large quantities of teak logs along main roads from Mae Hong Son to Chiang Mai during the crackdown seemed to pass unseen on the state's radar and got away.

The incident illustrates that law enforcement in Thailand for environmental offences is far from fair and sensible.

For the Pakayaw villagers, the possession of such small amounts of timber is part of their traditional and inherited livelihoods. They have lived in forests for generations, using community plots of land to make a living. These villagers have used available timber, the only material they can afford or find in their localities, to build or repair their homes.

The disgrace of the "big fish" getting away with crime continues. In March, park officials found over 200 trees illegally cut down in the Mae Ngao National Park. The logging was carried out by the Mae Sariang office of the Provincial Electricity Authority which said it was in the process of seeking permission from the provincial forestry office.

State agencies only responded that they would investigate the matter. Since the incident, a handful of villagers living near the park have been arrested for possession of small amounts of teak (which was proved to have been felled for over a year and reserved for house building).

One of those arrested said it was common for people in the village to buy this type of wood from their fellow villagers. Nobody would make a trip of over 200km to Chiang Mai to buy timber to build or repair their homes.

During the past few years, we have heard about reform in the country's justice system. Last year, the Natural Resources and Environment Reform Committee, under the National Reform Council, proposed a special court to handle environmental cases.

Meanwhile, the Office of the Judiciary ran a parallel effort by proposing the Environmental Case Procedures Bill which advocates against the need for the environment court.

Creating an environment court is a better option as it will likely bring about court procedures that require judgment and evaluation from environmental experts as additional input. Until now, nobody knows how things will turn out.

Environmental cases by their nature are unique. Tuanjai Deetes, a former senator and member of the National Human Rights Commission, once said court procedures involving environment cases in Thailand should consider applying local context when it comes to proceedings affecting local people. The interpretation of laws should not strictly rely on just words in a book. Small offences should not lead to imprisonment.

At the same time, Attachak Sattayanurak, an economics and political history professor at Chiang Mai University, advocated for law education reform to enrich law students with knowledge and understanding of the human aspects.

But for these poor villagers, they have little to hope for.

Life behind bars has dramatically changed them, physically and mentally. Most of them are heads of their families.

Two months ago, I visited a 60-year-old Pakayaw man upon his release from prison. He said he wanted to start resuming farming immediately to feed his family. Unfortunately, he was not as fit as before. With unhealthy food, communicable diseases and poor living conditions he encountered in prison, his health had deteriorated. So had his mental state.

More recently, I met a Pakayaw woman whose four family members were convicted and are still in jail. She told me she had to rely on anti-depressants to be able to get through these difficult times. Those who are in prison as well as her mother-in-law at home have also experienced depression, even though they are trying to move on and accept the verdicts -- punishments that many of us still wonder whether they fit the crime.

Soikaew Khammala

Freelance writer based in Chiang Mai

Soikaew Khammala is a freelance writer based in Chiang Mai. The article was first published in Prachatai.

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