Genocide In Thailand

Dear Friends:

People often ask me why the Akha don't do more to fight for their land rights?

And everything else.

Well, the secret lies in the fact that Thailand avoids any problems by never giving these people legal status as either refugees or citizens and the UN could give a rats ass what they do.

You wouldn't want to be Hill Tribe at a police check point here in Thailand, when the forestry, police or army come visiting, nor if you have to go to the hospital with your child and no money.

Right now the Thai Forestry Department, in violation of about every rule in the international books are intentionally endangering the nutritional safety of the Akha by taking their rice lands.

What are the Akha to do?

What happens when the government takes away what you have for raising food, as a race?

Is it not genocide?

Let us call it that, because the continuous efforts on the part of the Thai government to ignore or actually implement the events which are taking away the food system of the Akha is nothing less than Genocide.

Repeated forced moves of villages, Forestry continuously taking away the most basic lands needed to grow rice on with no suggested alternative where these people are to get food.

How shall they not all die?

What shall they eat?

Now the Hmong are catching the brunt along with the Akha.

Years of planted fruit trees, then the government rules that their land will be included in the boundaries of a park, and then the Thai villagers come and cut down more than 30,000 fruit trees as in THIRTY THOUSAND fruit trees. Ten and fifteen years old.

It is time to raise a little hell folks, call your embassies, call your foreign ministers, enough is enough.

CC copies to me here, and lets rap on any ideas that anyone has. Like I say, the UN is totally useless.

These people are suffering already incredibly at the hands of wars between the bullheaded nations, and suffer from not enough nutrition due to forced relocations, and there just ain't no way to say GENOCIDE.

Matthew McDaniel

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Thailand Terrorizes The Hill Tribe Peoples

Today's Bankok Post Article Following Raid On Hmong Village

BORDER / PLA KANG ORCHARD RAID
Hmong dignity 'crushed'

Bangkok Post, Tuesday 29 August 2000

Highlanders seek legal assistance after violent attack

By: Ploenpote Atthakor, Wuttipong Srisilp Nan, Thailand

Hmong villagers in Pa Klang will file a legal complaint against lowlanders who destroyed their lychee orchards during a violent raid last week, NGOs workers said yesterday.

Seewigaa Kitiyoungkul, a member of Conto, a Chiang Mai-based NGOs co-ordinating agency for highland development, said the highlanders have approached the Law Society of Thailand for legal assistance.

No complaints have been lodged with local police as yet. The highlanders had been reluctant to take action because they were told that they, in return, would face the charge of forest encroachment since their orchards, covering some 1,800 rai, was located in a national park.

The area was made part of Doi Phu Kha National Park last year.

It was not clear whether the charge would be laid against local government officers who failed to prevent the raid which took place right before their eyes. The raid was carried out with the blessing of local leaders and village headmen.

While forestry chief Plodprasop Suraswadi denied any involvement in the attack, some villagers said they saw armed men in forestry camouflage outfits taking gallons of oil to the area shortly before the raid.

Ms Seewigaa said the highlanders deserved justice, urging the government to step in to restore their faith and trust. She said damage to property was not an issue in this case. "Now the Hmong have totally lost faith in the system. They have attempted to make their voice heard over the past two years but no action has ever been taken by the government."According to local NGOs, before this raid, there was a similar violence which destroyed 2,500 trees. This time, it was estimated that some 30,000 trees were lost. "And no state agencies have stepped forward to accept responsibility." Ms Seewigaa said the Hmong are considering whether they should bring their case before the UN as the world body has a declaration that gives protection to minorities. "They feel lost amid intimidation and discrimination. Their dignity has been crushed. They don't know where to go. Their trees are their life. To cut the trees is just like destroying their souls. It is hurting them so much."