97 Thap Lan villages demand land rights and compensation

Representatives from 97 villages across 15 subdistricts in the Thap Lan area have designated August 16 as “Thap Lan Must Be Fair Day” and issued five demands urging the government to revise the national park boundary, restore residents’ rights and compensate people affected by arrests and legal proceedings.

The declaration followed a two-day gathering at the Thai Samakkhi Subdistrict Administrative Organisation in Wang Nam Khieo district, Nakhon Ratchasima.

The event was organised under the theme “Uniting the network to fight for land rights”.

On August 16, participants held a bai sri su khwan blessing ceremony to encourage residents affected by the land dispute and those facing legal action.

They later read the Wang Nam Khieo Declaration and presented their demands to the government.

Five demands presented to the government

The residents oppose being required to enter the process under Section 64 of the National Park Act of 2019.

The provision allows eligible residents to live or farm under approved conservation schemes inside national parks but does not grant land ownership.

Their five demands are:

1. The government must stop applying the 1981 Thap Lan National Park boundary in areas where it is inconsistent with the facts and the law, and must resolve the boundary dispute fairly.
    
2. The government must stop violating residents’ rights and must not force them to live or farm under Section 64 without an alternative. Their rights to life, housing and farmland must be protected.
    
3. The government must restore residents’ rights by following the Cabinet resolution of March 14, 2023, and using the boundary surveyed in 2000 as the basis for a fair and transparent process involving public participation.
    
4. The government, state agencies and all parties involved in conservation must respect residents’ rights and human dignity.
    
5. The government must provide redress to people affected by arrests and what the declaration described as unfair legal proceedings. Assistance should cover psychological, economic, family and living impacts, together with long-running housing and farmland problems.
    

Candlelight event rejects Section 64

The campaign began on August 15 with a public forum involving networks from across Thailand.

Participants discussed the Thap Lan land dispute, possible solutions and the experiences of people affected by government policies.

The gathering also commemorated ancestors, people affected by land disputes and those who had campaigned for farmland rights.

It ended with the lighting of “candles of hope” and a declaration opposing Section 64.

Residents argued that the process would require families who had lived and farmed in the area for years to prove their rights again.

Some maintain that their families settled there before Thap Lan was declared a national park.

The dispute has continued for more than 40 years, with some residents prosecuted for encroaching on national park land even as villagers maintain that their families were living there before the park was established.

They called for the boundary surveyed and revised in 2000 to form the basis of a lasting settlement.

Campaign pledges peaceful action

The network said the 97 communities, the Thap Lan Plus group and other civic organisations would continue campaigning peacefully, using reason and evidence to seek a systematic and sustainable resolution.

“We will not fight the forest, but we will stand firm so that both people and the forest are treated fairly,” the declaration stated.