Surayud: Khao Yai Thieng

Red shirts target privy councillor
Nirmal Ghosh, Thailand Correspondent
12 January 2010
Straits Times

They stage protest near royal adviser's home as prelude to bigger rallies in Bangkok

BANGKOK: Several thousand red-shirted protesters gathered last night near the mountain-top home of a royal adviser to protest against his illegal occupation of forest land.

The demonstrators charged that the home of privy councillor and former prime minister Surayud Chulanont was illegally built in the picturesque Khao Yai National Park, a Unesco World Heritage site. They demanded that he resign from the Privy Council for occupying forest land illegally.

Land scandals involving the rich and powerful are not new in Thailand. But this case is fodder?for the red-shirted United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) in its efforts to protest against judicial double standards and to discredit the capital's old elite.

The UDD has also been breaching unspoken rules of conduct by attacking privy councillors, several of whom former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has openly blamed for engineering the 2006 coup that unseated him.

The councillors, who form the King's advisory circle, have denied the accusation.

Last night's protest is seen as a prelude to bigger protests to be held in Bangkok in the coming weeks as part of a campaign to pressure the Democrat Party-led government into early elections. The next election is not due till late next year.

The protest was peaceful and festive. Some red shirts chatted with several hundred policemen who were deployed to protect the 2ha estate, which has a stunning view.

The protesters have pledged to camp permanently at two makeshift wooden shacks, which they called the 'double-standards village', until General Surayud returns the property to the state.

UDD co-leader Weng Tojirakarn told The Straits Times: 'This is the most important forest reserve for water supply around the province of Korat. But Gen Surayud built his house here, against the law, and nobody does anything. This clearly shows the double standards in Thailand because normal people would have been thrown into jail for doing the same thing.'

He added: 'This shows the legal structure in Thailand has been destroyed.'

Doubts about the provenance of Gen Surayud's estate at Khao Yai Thiang surfaced in 2007, and an investigation recently found that the land had indeed been illegally sold and converted.

After a hasty meeting of government agencies yesterday, the Forestry Department set up a new committee to look into the land controversy.

Department chief Somchai Piansathaporn said the committee would investigate how Gen Surayud acquired the land, which under a 1975 Cabinet resolution had been allotted to landless farmers.

He said the local prosecution office decided against filing charges against the general because he did not know that the land had changed hands illegally.

Gen Surayud has agreed to return the land. But Dr Weng said that he ought to be punished in accordance with the law.

By targeting Gen Surayud, the UDD may open a can of worms and implicate many wealthy and well-connected people.

Red Shirts declare war plan against bureaucracy
15 January 2010

A key member of the Democratic Alliance against Dictatorship has declared a series of steps for the war to fight against bureaucracy.

Most of the plots are aimed at attacking two Privy Councilors over alleged land possession.

Pro-Thaksin movement leader Natthawut Sai-keua told a press conference that the red-shirt key members, Suporn Atthawong and Arisman Pongruangrong are set to visit the Royal Forestry Department on Friday and will demand an investigation into a piece of land on Khao Yai Thiang hill owned by Privy Councilor and former prime minister General Surayud Julanont.

He cited a reliable source and claimed the former premier reportedly occupies a bigger area of land than he earlier informed the National Anti-Corruption Commission.

On January 17, Suporn will be at the Crime Suppression Division to file charge against the General over an alleged forest reserve encroachment.

On January 18, red-shirts key members will go to the Office of the Privy Council to submit an open letter addressing the alleged illegal rights of General Surayud on the Khao Yai Thiang land.

They said they hope the privy councilor will be able to provide reasonable answers.

After that they will head for the Department of Special Investigation to demand that legal action be taken against Justice Minister Pirapan Salirathavibhaga for negligence in duty after the Minister appears to have delayed their petition seeking a royal amnesty for the former prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra.

And, on January 21, red-shirts supporters will go to the Office of His Majesty's Principal Private Secretary and call for an explanation of the details of a petition-lodging procedure.

In addition, the group will stage a mass rally at Khao Soi Dao golf course in the eastern province of Chanthaburi.

The red-shirts claim the 400-rai golf course which encroaches on the Khao Soi Dao forest reserve is owned by the Privy Council President General Prem Tinsulanonda.

Natthawut said the rally, aiming at taking back the kingdom's land, will be peaceful.

He commented that General Surayud's decision to delay his return of the land in question to the state is disappointing members of the public.

He also pointed out that the General even insisted he will abandon the land only when officially asked by the Forestry Department.

Natthawut went on to say the privy councilor acts as the Chairman of the Foundation for the Protection of Khao Yai Forest, but it seems he wants to occupy the plot of land as long as possible.

He called on the Forestry Department to conduct an investigation into the controversial land once again.

In addition, he said if it is found that the land area is larger than 21 rai, General Surayud will face charges of forest encroachment and falsely reporting his assets to the National Anti-Corruption Commission. - Thai-ASEAN News Network


Gen Surayud won't give up land unless ordered by Royal Forestry Department
13 January 2010
Thai News Service

Privy Councillor Surayud Chulanont is refusing to give up his land at Khao Yai Thiang until he is required to do so by a Royal Forest Department ruling, the Bangkok Post reports.

The former prime minister has also shrugged off red shirt demands for him to resign his position as privy councillor.

Gen Surayud on January 12 spoke publicly for the first time since the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship staged a rally in front of his holiday home in Nakhon Ratchasima on Sunday and Monday, saying he would not return to his property until the department had decided on its position.

He also repeated his position that he was not aware that he had been occupying the land in Sikhiu district illegally.

"On my part, I will only say that I am ready to obey the law," Gen Surayud said.

"When the Royal Forest Department makes a ruling, I will be ready to act accordingly."

The land scandal and the demand for his resignation as privy councillor were totally unrelated, he said.

Gen Surayud, who is also chairman of the Foundation for Khao Yai National Park Protection, spoke at a news conference to announce a charity concert to be organised at the national park on Jan 23.

The Royal Forest Department on Monday set up a panel to look into the Surayud case. It set a 60-day deadline for it to come up with a solution.

The solution will be applied to all cases involving the transfer of rights over reserve land to those ineligible.

The panel on January 12 pledged to complete its findings within a week after receiving information from the Office of the Attorney-General (OAG).

"We need to look at the details first before deciding on how to process the case," department head Somchai Pienstaporn said.

"Within seven days from receiving the case, we will be able to carry out the process in accordance with the law."

Public prosecutors in Sikhiu district decided in January last year to drop the case against Gen Surayud, deciding he had not been aware he had broken the law when he bought the land.

OAG spokesman Thanapit Moonlapruek said the office had forwarded the guidelines on how to deal with the case to the department last Thursday.

He said he was not sure why the department wanted to go ahead with the matter. The OAG concluded Gen Surayud had not violated the forest reserve law.

It also suggested the land be returned to villagers who had the right to use it but not sell it. But the decision rested with the department, the OAG spokesman said.

Puea Thai Party MP for Nakhon Ratchasima and UDD key member Suporn Atthawong on January 12 said authorities should arrest Gen Surayud right away for encroaching on state land because he had clearly committed an offence by building a holiday home on the mountain.

Mr Suporn slammed the department plan to look into the case, calling it a tactic to buy time for the privy councillor.

Senator Rosana Tositrakul, chairwoman of the senate committee on corruption and good governance, urged the public to look into other politicians and public figures who might control state land illegally.

POWER GAMES - Reds set their sights on encroachment in Chanthaburi
Nattaya Chetchotiros
14 January 2010
Bangkok Post

The government can let out a sigh of relief now that the Red Shirts have dispersed from Khao Yai Thiang and in so doing have cooled political temperatures.

But the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship protesters have not actually packed their bags and gone home.

Instead, they are heading to Chanthaburi where, they claim, the influence of amartya thipathai (regime governed by aristocratic mandarins) has resulted in encroachment on another mountain peak, with land being grabbed unchecked for years.

The Khao Yai Thiang fiasco has put the normally reserved Privy Councillor Gen Surayud Chulanont on the defensive. He has so far refused to return to the Royal Forestry Department some 20 rai of land in a forest reserve overlooking the scenic Lam Takong reservoir in Nakhon Ratchasima province.

The land was intended for landless farmers under a 1975 cabinet resolution. But that principle apparently was abused, as the tracts changed hands and some were developed into resort properties.

The Red Shirts ran through a list of owners of the Khao Yai Thiang plots and stumbled upon the name of Gen Surayud. Their demand is that the former premier cough up the illegally occupied land and hand it back to the proper authorities at once.

The UDD has fired a fresh salvo not only at Gen Surayud but at the entire institution of the Privy Council. The movement loyal to ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has consistently attacked Privy Council President Gen Prem Tinsulanonda on account of his being the "chief amartya" on the council. Although there is no record of Gen Prem engaging in any land grab, the Red Shirts accuse him of links to alleged encroachment in forest reserves in Chanthaburi province.

Gen Prem is the honorary chairman of Bangkok Bank, said to be closely associated with the interests that invested in a golf resort on Khao Soy Dao in the eastern province. Private possession of the plot - as is the case with those on Khao Yai Thiang - is unlawful although the Red Shirts appear to have muddled through by holding only Gen Prem culpable in the Khao Soy Dao resort development.

The UDD is bent on whistle-blowing the "double standards" applied and the preferential treatment given to a certain crop of people.

The government, on the other hand, has been dealing with the red-shirt problems as they arise and can at best only control the damage, despite its struggle to thwart the pretexts for the UDD to rally.

A source close to Gen Surayud has affirmed the general will give up the Khao Yai Thiang plot as soon as the Royal Forestry Department sends him an official notification reclaiming the land.

The reported reassurance from Gen Surayud to return the land, however, did nothing to keep the Red Shirts from organising the rally on Khao Yai Thiang at the weekend, where they camped out for two days outside Gen Surayud's holiday home.

The Office of the Attorney-General explained that Gen Surayud is not legally accountable for purchasing the land originally owned by a Mr Bao Chanya in defiance of the cabinet resolution dated April 29, 1975. The resolution allowed farming on the land by landless individuals who are able to transfer the ownership to their children. The land, however, cannot be sold. But, as the prosecution determined, the buyers in this case are spared the consequences of the law because the April 29 resolution did not specify any legal punishment against violators.

That was how Gen Surayud escaped prosecution and why the Red Shirts were enraged. The Royal Forestry Department lessened the escalating tension after it announced it would get to the bottom of the Khao Yai Thiang saga by reviewing the ownership of every single plot of land there. The department said it would name a fact-finding panel within seven days of its receiving the prosecutors' view on the Surayud case. The ownership review is likely to extend over a period of two months. The arduous task is to examine all 400 plots on the mountain before it can be established which owners can continue farming and which must vacate. The illegal occupants will be given 60 days to dismantle any building on their plots.

According to the Forestry Department, the "problematic occupation" of forest land exists in 30 provinces. If all such occupants are to wind up with the same fate as Gen Surayud, where a reassessment of respective land ownerships must be carried out, an upheaval could ensue. Such trouble on a massive scale could trigger a major crisis for the government.

The government may choose to try to limit the land encroachment wrangle to Khao Yai Thiang, to prevent the matter from getting out of hand.

Declaring war on nationwide encroachers who are believed to hold more than 100,000 rai of land among themselves could be a losing battle for the government. Nonetheless, it realises it must call a spade a spade in screening out the Khao Yai Thiang occupants who are not qualified to pick a piece of the property in the first place.

The government knows the UDD is watching. A selective and discriminatory enforcement of the law against encroachers would give the movement fresh political ammunition to attack the privy councillors and the government.

The Red Shirts' retreat from Khao Yai Thiang is simply tactical. The UDD wants to muster enough vigour for a major rally in Bangkok later this month ahead of judgement day for Thaksin on Feb 26, when the Supreme Court will rule on whether or not to seize the 7.6-billion-baht assets of the ousted premier. According to the prosecutors, the assets were acquired through Thaksin's abuse of power while in office and the prosecution has pressed for their confiscation. If the verdict goes against Thaksin, the Red Shirts will not take it lying down.

Nattaya Chetchotiros is Assistant News Editor, Bangkok Post, and former President of the Thai Journalists Association.

Govt wages war on squatters
Apinya Wipatayotin and Anucha Charoenpo
12 January 2010
Bangkok Post

Khao Yai Thiang tops areas in for crackdown

The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry has set up a task force to crack down on encroachment on protected forests in the wake of the furore over the ownership of reserve land by Privy Councillor Surayud Chulanont.

The task force will target 190 areas in 30 provinces where there are forest reserves and national parks.

Top of the list is the land at Khao Yai Thiang in Nakhon Ratchasima's Sikhiu district where Gen Surayud has his holiday home.

About 20 other areas in Chiang Mai, Buri Ram and Surat Thani are also being looked at, permanent secretary for natural resources and environment Saksit Tridech said yesterday.

There are about 400,000 families living illegally in protected forests and the Kingdom loses over 300,000 rai of forest every year as a result of encroachment.

Illegally occupied land will be seized immediately, with no need to wait for legal procedures, Mr Saksit said.

The ministry will seek a 1.5 billion baht budget to fund the task force's work.

A nationwide survey will be conducted with the help of satellite imagery.

The ministry will look into the land rights of 300 families at Khao Yai Thiang who may be in illegal possession of the land, most of which has been declared a forest reserve under the Royal Forest Department.

There is no time frame for the task force's mission, but Mr Saksit said there would be "no double standards" and called for officials to be given time to complete their work.

"Please be patient," he said.

The Royal Forest Department has set up another committee co-chaired by deputy chief Chonlatid Suraswadi and the deputy chief of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Chamnan Ekawatchotrakul, to find a solution within 60 days to the dispute over Gen Surayud's land at Khao Yai Thiang.

"Gen Surayud's case will be the model to be applied to other cases involving land right transfers to ineligible owners," Royal Forest Department chief Somchai Pienstaporn said.

Gen Surayud is under pressure by the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) to give up his land and home in Khao Yai Thiang.

Prosecutors have decided not to take action against him because he was not aware that he was breaking the law when he took possession of the land.

About 5,000 UDD members have gathered in front of his mountain home to push their demand that he vacate the land. About 1,500 police have been deployed to provide security.

"I think Gen Surayud is a good man," said Sith Assawakittanont, a UDD member from Bangkok. "But why does he want to keep the land which did not originally belong to him? It's really shameful."

UDD leaders are considering suing the Office of the Attorney-General and the Royal Forestry Department for neglecting their duty to seize the land from Gen Surayud. They said the state agencies had violated Section 157 of the Criminal Code which requires state authorities to perform their duty under the law for the benefit of the people.

The UDD alleges the agencies turned a blind eye to the problem despite knowing Gen Surayud owned the mountain land illegally.

UDD leaders, including Puea Thai Party MP Jatuporn Prompan, Dr Weng Tojirakarn, Puea Thai MP for Nakhon Ratchasima Suporn Atthawong and former National Human Rights commissioner Jaran Dithaapichai listed their demands yesterday at the rally site.

The UDD leaders called on Gen Surayud to return the land to the state and resign from his position of privy councillor.

"Gen Surayud can't deny responsibility," Mr Suporn said.

"He has no longer the integrity to be a privy councillor. He must resign.

"Those trespassing and encroaching on the forest reserve are subject to legal punishment."

UDD protesters stayed on the mountain overnight, eagerly awaiting a phone-in address from former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

The demonstration was peaceful, and is expected to end today.