What does it take for local villagers to make the leader of this country hear them?
Loss of freedom, plus physical harm from state violence.
That was what 16 villagers from Songkhla's Thepha district experienced when they joined a march to where the mobile cabinet of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha was due to meet yesterday. Their aim was to submit a petition to Gen Prayut about their concerns for a project they do not want.
Ploenpote Atthakor is editorial pages editor, Bangkok Post.
They wanted to tell the prime minister how the project -- a coal-fired power plant, proposed by the the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) -- is riddled with controversies and their belief that it will harm their livelihoods and the pristine environment.
No, they had no chance to hand their petition letter to the prime minister, not even a chance to get a glimpse of him.
Instead, they were thrown in jail after the police used force to disrupt the march on Monday, slapping them with dubious charges including causing congestion and obstructing and injuring officers on duty. The villagers' sticks bearing green "no coal" flags were identified as "weapons".
The sight of those villagers being herded into a police van, with their hands chained as if they were criminals, was ugly indeed. Clips showing police chasing the helpless villagers as they rolled onto the ground created an online uproar.
Needless to say, this was an excessive use of force.
It's ironic to see the state, which has proudly declared human rights as a national agenda, treat peaceful villagers that way. It's just another example that will taint the government's poor human rights record.
Not to mention that fact that it's disputable whether the Thepha march could be defined as a "protest" that merited such harsh action as the villagers were walking peacefully.
The only crime these villagers and environmentalists committed is that they refused to believe government propaganda about the coal-fired project. Their questioning of the project's legitimacy in the wake of alleged misconduct in environmental and health impact assessment (EHIA) made the agencies and authorities lose face.
But a gathering of coal supporters, allegedly organised by the state, received a different kind of treatment -- the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc) authorities even pampered them. Their role in this matter baffles me. After all, it's not their job.
It is curious how the Prayut cabinet junkets always end with a twist.
Last time in the eastern region, what was designed as a perfect trip for the prime minister turned into a farce when some authorities acting with good intentions arranged for a "temporary" supply of electricity. Simply by pushing a button, the proud PM was able to provide electricity and water to the needy villagers. However, it stopped when he left. This shocked the villagers, and embarrassed the premier.
Human rights? What human rights? Everything must proceed smoothly for the prime minister and his new-look cabinet -- protesters are pests, their complaints are an irritation.
But this is a fact: The threat to the villagers' livelihoods from coal and the accompanying megaprojects is real; as is their love for their hometown and the environment.
It's the actions of the state, pretending the problem does not exist, that is fake. "Clean coal" does not exist.
Despite their good intentions, the pictures of the police using excessive force are an insult to the premier. Like it or not, Gen Prayut has to admit the success of his cabinet meeting, the first in the deep South, has been tainted by the unjustified Thepha crackdown.
The image-conscious prime minister must know he has to prepare for the consequences -- a poor ranking for Thailand in the area of human rights.
Instead of giving the nod to the coal-fired project, Gen Prayut must now review it. He would do the country a great service if he orders those involved in the national power development plan to fix some of the figures resulting from erroneous forecasts.
Such a bountiful place as Thepha needs to be saved, not destroyed to answer to the greed of big businesses.
Before that, the prime minister must order the police to drop the charges against the villagers.
Coal is bad, but human rights violations are not acceptable.
It's not too late for the prime minister to practise an old saying: Two wrongs don't make a right.
- Prayut backfooted: PM claims protesters were 'attacking'
