Ban Mai Nong Pheung village, a newly settled community of foreign highlanders in a Chiang Mai district, was raided by the Thai authorities in early April. About 60 community members have been detained until now. Provincial authorities have ordered the original Thai land-owners to demolish all houses and facilities, and restore the land to its original state within 30 days.
On April 3, Royal Forest Department officials, Immigration Police and Border Patrol Police raided the community which is situated on Sor Por Kor 4-01 land at Moo 18, Inthakhin Subdistrict, Mae Tang District, Chiang Mai, and arrested those holding identification cards for alien highlanders and those without any ID.
At an April 18 meeting, chaired by Deputy Governor Ruangwan Buanuch, the Land Reform Committee of Chiang Mai decided to order Orathai Rattanapoj and Kanokrat Ungsriwong, owners of two plots of Sor Por Kor 4-01 land, covering 70 rai in total, to demolish all structures and restore the land to its original state within 30 days. If they fail to comply, authorities will carry out the demolition and revoke their ownership rights. Sor Por Kor 4-01 is a land title issued for agricultural purposes only, and can only be inherited, not sold. Orathai and Kanokrat had divided their land into over 200 plots, and sold them to alien highland ID card holders . The authorities have pressed charges against 177 who settled on the land.
Pakorn Suriwan, Mae Tang Assistant District Officer, said that some of the Ban Mai Nong Pheung settlers had moved from border districts, holding red-edged green ID cards issued to alien highlanders, and persuaded many other aliens to live in the village, until the population grew to over 1,700 people, with some already receiving official residence documents from the district.
Pol Col Prayuth Chommalee, Chiang Mai Immigration Superintendent, said that the settlers, who surreptitiously settled on the Sor Por Kor land and were arrested on April 3, are still detained at Chiang Mai and Mae Tang police stations, awaiting interrogation as witnesses to prosecute all those involved. He expected the indictment would be ready by the end of April.
Pradittha Priyakaewfah, staff member of the Foundation for Ethnic Labourers’ Health and Learning or MAP, said that it was not understandable why the police still detained one 90-year-old man, claiming to hold him a witness. She was concerned about his health.
Ban Mai Nong Pheung community was established in 2004, when the owners of the Sor Por Kor land wanted to sell the 70 rai. An ethnic Thai Yai who held a red-edged green highlander ID card wanted to buy it, but did not have enough money, so he persuaded his relatives to buy plots of about 80-100 square wa instead, at 20,000 baht per plot, not knowing that Sor Por Kor titles were issued specifically for agricultural purposes only, and cannot be sold to other persons.
Initially, there were a few dozen Thai Yai, but later more and more of their relatives came to join them from Piang Luang Subdistrict, Wiang Haeng District, Chiang Mai. They held the highlander ID cards which did not allow them to leave their area, and some of them held migrant worker permits.
Until the April 3 raid, the community consisted of over 150 houses with a population of over 1,000 people. Most of them were agricultural labourers. In 2004, this community was officially lauded by the then Chiang Mai Governor as a ‘strong community’.
On April 2, they tried unsuccessfully to submit a petition to the current Governor to delay the demolition and relocation, and on the next day they were raided by the authorities.
Translated by Ponglert Pongwanan