A brief history of the Doi Suthep dispute 

Facts are available in the public domain for anyone who wants to know why it took so long for the citizens of Chiang Mai to come out to protest against the judicial housing project on Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai.
First, in April of 2015 (one year after the coup), the Paragliding Club of Chiang Mai reported to authorities that it had found what appeared to be a clearing cut deep into the Doi Suthep-Pui Sanctuary.
When there was no response from the authorities, an online protest effort was launched by the people of Chiang Mai, starting with the Facebook page “Raks Mae Ping”, and later on the Pantip.com website, in June 2016.
Almost immediately in response, the Judicial Office came out to claim that the project was totally legal, and threatened to sue those who were protesting.
In October 2016, His Majesty King Rama IX passed away, and the protest was put on hold for the year-long period of national mourning.
Once the Royal Cremation had taken place, reports emerged that the project had cut even more deeply into the Doi Suthep-Pui Sanctuary than had earlier been feared.
Hence, we, the citizens of Chiang Mai, will keep protesting to the end.
And finally, our last resort might be to forward our petition to His Majesty the King – for his Royal consideration.
Chavalit Wannawijitr
Chiang Mai