Villagers clash with police at forum

A scuffle between police and villagers broke out in Kamphaeng Phet province yesterday, with two people held briefly for trying to attend a public forum on the government’s Bt350-billion water-management scheme. 

Ronnachai Chainiwattana, who led a group of 500 villagers from Khlong Khlung and Khlong Lan district to attend the forum, said he and another villager were arrested and detained for 75 minutes in a police van as they tried to enter to a convention hall at Kamphaeng Phet Rajabhat University used to hold the public forum, organised by the Office of the Prime Minister.

Local villagers were also barred from entering the hall by police, because they allegedly did not register with local authorities to participate in the forum. 

Tension among police and local people escalated after villagers asked officials to call on the provincial governor to intervene and allow them to join the forum.

After about 10 minutes when there was no response from local officials or governor, Ronnachai, who is coordinator of Land Forest and Natural Resources Network for the lower northern region, said the villagers’ tempers began to boil. 

People began pushing the police barring them from entering until Ronnachai and the other villager were detained and put in the police van. They were later released after a group of villagers stormed the police van and forced officials to let them go. 

“Even though we did not register to attend the public forum, we have rights and should have been allowed to voice our concerns on the projects as we will be directly affected by them,” Ronnachai said.

Public forums are being held nationwide to allow locals to voice concerns about projects planned in their areas under the government’s mega water and flood scheme. The events were organised after Stop Global Warming Association (SGWA) president Srisuwan Janya filed a lawsuit requesting that the Central Administrative Court suspend the mega scheme, because it violated principles of public participation under the Constitution. 

The court later ordered the government to carry out public forums to enable local villagers directly affected by projects under the Bt350-billion water and flood management scheme to voice their concerns. Once the forums are completed, the government can then move to sign contracts with contractors overseeing projects. 

In Kamphaeng Phet, four projects are planned, such as Khlong Khlung and Khlong Lan dams, a floodway, and defensive flood barriers for the community and in areas of economic importance.

“No one from government has informed us about the impact of the projects,” said Ronnachai, adding that most residents were concerned about land appropriation for the projects. 

Integrated Water Management Foundation’s chairperson Hannarong Yaowalers, who attended the Khamphaeng Phet forum, said local people directly affected by the projects were not told they needed to register to attend the forum. And they had not been informed about the impact the projects would have on the area.