Natural Resources and Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa has defended the government's handling of problems involving Karen people from upper Bang Kloi village in Kaeng Kachan district of Phetchaburi province.
The minister said the issue was being politicised, while the ministry was trying to solve the problems at their roots.
The problems centred on a long-standing land conflict between the Karen and the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP). The government was taking action to solve the issues and progress was being made, he said.
Mr Varawut was responding to reporters' questions on Tuesday, after a visit to the Karen villagers' protest site near Government House in Bangkok on Monday night by Progressive Movement chairman Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit.
Mr Thanathorn criticised "outdated laws" he said assumed wrongly that people and forests could not co-exist.
Asked about the call by Bang Kloi villagers for Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to set up a new committee to verify their community rights, and demand for land rights verification to be completed within 30 days, Mr Varawut said the issued dated back before the DNP declared the area national park land.
Those involved had to verify their right to the land.
On thecall by the villagers for the government to delay taking action against them over land conflicts, Mr Varawut said Deputy Agriculture Minister Thammanat Prompow was tasked with addressing the legal issues.
Capt Thamanat was assigned to accept a petition from a group of Karen who decided to return to their village of Jai Paen Din in Bang Kloi, located deep within the Kaeng Krachan National Park in Phetchaburi.
The villagers said they had lived there for generations until they were evicted by the DNP over a decade ago.
Mr Varawut said the Jai Paen Din area could not be used for agriculture.
According to Mr Vorawut, the DNP had taken care of villagers at Bang Kloi and Pong Luek and they were satisfied with state measures.
Mr Varawut said what the locals wanted during recent talks with the ministry’s permanent secretary was a water supply for agriculture and improvement of the soil. No other issues had been raised.
Mr Varawut said the permanent secretary had talks with them at their community on March 13-14.
He learned that the main issues were that some villagers still lacked necessary resources for farming, and a lack of water.
The Department of Groundwater Resources had started digging wells in the village, the minister said. Tap water was expected to be available to the people in Bang Kloi and Pong Luek villages by the end of March.
A study was being conducted into water management for agriculture, and land would be able to be used for farming in the next few months, he said.
The ministry had tackled the problems facing Karen villagers in all dimensions and worked closely with the Department of Land Development to improve soil conditions so soil could be used for cultivation, the minister declared.
Mr Thanathorn arrived at the protest gathering at Chamai Maru Chet Bridge about 6.30pm on Monday in a show of moral support for the Bang Kloi villagers.
He made a speech criticising outdated laws used to evict people from the forest, according to Thai media reports.
The Bang Kloi case showed that the state had little time for the people, human rights or the rights of communities, he said.
These outdated laws caused problems for people across the country, not only Bang Kloi villagers, because they wrongly assumed that people and forests could not co-exist, Mr Thanathorn said.