FORUM OF THE POOR
Northeast
protesters set up camp in park
'They treat it like a
reserve forest'
Anchalee Kongrut
More
than 800 villagers arrived from the Northeast yesterday and made camp in
Saranrom Park.
The villagers, protesting about
a loss of livelihood after being evicted from forest reserves and land
lost to dams, planned to stay in the park for a week.
Most of the villagers, who arrived by train, come from Ban Mae Moon Man
Yuen, the makeshift village set up in the shadow of the Pak Moon dam in
Ubon Ratchathani.
Anant Siripasraporn, director
of the city's Department of Social Welfare, said the villagers were
treating the park as though it were a forest reserve.
"I told them their
presence would bother other park users and infringe on their rights,"
he said. Cooking and bathing are against park regulations, he said.
However, Wanida
Tantiwittayapitak, an adviser to the Forum of the Poor who led the group,
said the plight of the villagers was more important than the sensitivities
of park users. Many park users were perplexed by the presence of the
villagers. "Why don't they work or do something more
meaningful," said Amornsakti Chandra-indra, an archaeology senior
from nearby Silpakorn University. "The government will not give them
what they want anyway." A 48-year-old housewife who came to the park
from Talad Phlu in Thon Buri for her regular jog said she was irritated
but declined to give her name.
"I usually jog several
laps around the park but today, I only made half a lap," she said.
"These protesters are so smelly I had to run back."But Duangden
Sangsit, another archaeology student at Silpakorn defended the right of
the villagers to use the public park. "If the government did a good
job, they would not have to behave like this."Park-keepers said the
villagers were well-behaved and helped collect garbage.
The protesters, meanwhile,
asked Bangkokians for some understanding.
Noonbang Thongreung, 56, said:
"Our land was taken away for dam construction. Fish in the Moon river
has dwindled because of the dam. Forests are now restricted areas. Now we
are here in a public park and still are being told to relocate."The
forum said the villagers could not camp at Sanam Luang as requested by the
police because it is closed for maintenance.
Pol Maj-Gen Thawatchai
Phromprasit, deputy city police chief, said the villagers had been
co-operative and could stay in the park as long as there was no trouble.
During their stay, the
villagers plan to highlight their cause at key spots in the city and visit
70 sites, including department stores.
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