Bangkok Post
June 24, 2004

The fatal shooting of conservationist Charoen Wat-aksorn threatens to further undermine the public’s faith in a state that appears disinterested in protecting the lives of those who use peaceful means to protect their environment.

Another activist discovers the high price of protest.

Thailand is a dangerous place to live for anyone who dares resist the criminal godfathers and their associates in government and the public service. Charoen Wat-aksorn is just the latest on a lengthening list of people killed by unknown assailants for daring to speak out against the destruction of what they believe to be theirs and their community’s.

Ploenpote Atthakor

The fatal shooting of conservationist Charoen Wat-aksorn on Monday night is damning evidence of the dark side of Thai society where life is dictated down the barrel of a gun.

The killing of the leader of the Rak Bo Nok (Love Bo Nok) group based in Prachuap Khiri Khan province threatens to further undermine the shaky public faith in the state, a state which appears patently uninterested in protecting the lives of those who use peaceful means to protect their environment.

Charoen’s killing is another black mark on Thailand’s increasingly shameful human rights record.

More than 3,000 people have suffered a violent criminal death since the government launched its war on drugs early last year, with next to none of those responsible being brought to justice. At the same time, very little was achieved by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s heavily promoted campaign to break the hold over Thai society of the dark
criminal influences.

Charoen, 37, is the 15th activist to have been killed since the Thaksin administration came to power in February 2001. In most cases, the masterminds and the assassins they employ remain free to continue their reign of terror.

Like those slain before him, Charoen lost his life trying to protect the land he loved and for the principle of justice. In doing so, he posed a challenge to the influential criminal elite and the corrupt state.

“Sixteen deaths is a heavy toll,” said Metha Matkhao, a coordinator with the human rights NGO, HRDTH. “This should not happen in an open, democratic society with a strong people’s sector such as ours. We are losing devoted people to dark influences. This is appalling.”

Mr Metha likened the killings to the events of the Oct 6, 1976 massacre, when local leaders who had dared question the state were put to death along with suspected leftists.

HRDTH plans to report Charoen’s killing to the United Nations as a human rights violation.

It is not surprising that the state has left those who dare question powerful private and state interests to fend for themselves. These people are classified as “troublemakers” with ulterior motives. Some, such as missing lawyer Somchai Neelapaichit, are even branded “enemies of the state” for refusing to toe the corrupt line.

Charoen campaigned for many years against the building of a massive coal-fired power plant by Gulf Power Generating on the site of his fishing community in tambon Bo Nok, in Prachuap Khiri Khan’s Muang district. He was joined by fellow activists from nearby Hin Krut community in Bang Saphan district, where a similar plant was planned.

With the help of academics and NGOs, they pinpointed technical errors in environmental impact assessment studies approved by the then Office of Environmental Policy and Planning which would have allowed the plants to go ahead.

The failure of the assessment team to include Bryde’s whales, a rare species of whale spotted regularly off Bo Nok, was just one example of the shoddy preparation of the report and the revelations were a slap in the collective face of the state.

When the government finally decided to scrap the 34 billion baht power plant, Charoen turned his attention to a move by influential figures in league with corrupt officials to take over 900 rai of public land which had been used as a community grazing area. His efforts resulted in the state revoking a title deed that had been issued unlawfully.

His fight to protect the environment and life of his community over 10 years made him the subject of threats and intimidation, and not just by criminal elements but by the state itself.

In 2002, Charoen and a number of NGO workers were placed on an Anti-Money  Laundering Office watchlist.

Local authorities also spread stories that Charoen, who did not drink or smoke, was a drug addict in a bid to ruin his standing with fellow villagers.

Charoen understood that, like those who had been killed before him, his life was in constant danger. But he refused to buckle under. “He received so many death threats and he never took them lightly,” said Ida Aroonwong of the Energy Project for Sustainability. “He was
well aware [of the danger].”

Charoen filed a complaint with the police each time he received a threat, but nothing was ever done, Ms Ida said.

This green warrior was gunned down on the night of June 21, ominously after having spoken to a House committee on corruption about the land theft.

There are many reasons to believe his killers will avoid justice. And unless the state authorities begin to perform their sworn duty, Charoen Wat-aksorn’s death will not be the last of an ordinary Thai who chose to fight for what he believed was right.

Activism claims a heavy toll in Thailand

Fifteen community leaders, community rights activists and environmentalists have been killed since Jan. 30, 2001:

Jan. 30, 2001 – Jurin Ratchapo of tambon Pa Khlok in Phuket’s Thalang district was gunned down. Jurin had resisted businessmen destroying local mangrove forests. The trial of two suspected gunmen is proceeding.

March 28, 2001 – Suwat Wongpiyasathit was killed after heading opposition against the Rachathewa garbage dump site in Samut Prakan’s Bang Phli district.

May 1, 2001 – Narin Phodaeng, former chairman of a conservationist group in Khao Cha-ang Klangthung in Rayong’s Khao Chamao sub-district was shot dead. He was a staunch opponent of a rock quarry owned by a local politician. Nobody has been arrested in the case.

May 17, 2001 -Pithak Tonwut, who led villagers against a rock quarry owned by a national-level politician in a forest reserve in Phitsanulok’s Noen Ma Prang district was shot dead. Two men were arrested but acquitted by the provincial court.

May 21, 2001 – Chaweewan Pueksungnoen, a member of the Na Klang tambon administration organisation, was shot dead. She had resisted a construction project suspected of involving local influential figures and corrupt officials. Nobody was arrested.

July 2001 – Somporn Chanapol was shot dead after he resisted the building of a dam in Surat Thani’s Kanchanadit district.

June 20, 2002 – Kaew Binpanma of Chiang Mai’s Doi Lo sub-district was shot dead, believed to the result of a land dispute.

Sept. 2, 2002 – Boonsom Nimnoi, who headed a protest against a condensate separation project in Phetchaburi’s Ban Laem district, was killed by unknown assailants.

Sept. 27, 2002 -Preecha Thongpaen was shot dead after opposing a waste treatment project in Thung Song district of Nakhon Si Thammarat.

Dec. 15, 2002 -Boonrit Channanrong was shot dead after protesting against the illegal trade in logs taken from Kaeng Krung National Park in Tha Chana district of Surat Thani by state officials.

Dec. 20, 2002 – Boonyong Intawong, leader of a protest against a rock quarry in Wiang Chai district in Chiang Rai, was killed.

Feb. 1, 2003 – Khampan Suksai, a village chief from Chiang Mai’s Chiang Dao district, was shot dead after opposing encroachment on a community forest.

Feb. 4, 2003 – Chuan Chamnankit, a community leader who fought the spread of drugs, was shot dead in Chawang district, Nakhon Si Thammarat.

May 25, 2003 – Samnao Srisongkhram, chairman of a conservation group protecting the Nam Phong river basin in Khon Kaen, was killed.

June 21, 2004 – Charoen Wat-aksorn, leader of a conservation group from Bo Nok in Prachuap Khiri Khan province, was shot dead returning from Bangkok, where he testified before a House committee about a land dispute.