Two days after a skirmish with police officers before a mobile cabinet meeting in Songkhla, 16 Thepha residents, including a minor, who were chained and locked up, have been freed, but they still face tough legal action.
Police, with the nod from Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, have ignored a call by the National Human Rights Commission and civic groups that detained locals and core leaders who are opposed to a 2,200MW coal-fired power plant in their hometown should be unconditionally freed.
The commission insisted the use of excessive force against peaceful marchers was against human rights principles.
Civic groups cried foul over the way the local people were shackled when being taken to jail. In doing so, the state treated them as if they were convicts in a maximum security prison.
Human rights commissioner Angkhana Neelapaijit was correct in pointing out the poor preparation on the part of police. Several villagers joining the Monday march were women, mostly Muslims, and minors, but there were only male officers to deal with them.
But police saw things differently. They classified the sticks with green flags carried by the people as "weapons", claiming four officers were injured when they rounded up the locals after they tried to reach the cabinet meeting venue on Monday. Instead, deputy national police chief Srivara Ransibrahmanakul vowed to press ahead with the maximum punishments for violating traffic laws, road obstruction, causing congestion, and hindering the authorities.
More villagers will face charges, said Pol Gen Srivara, adding anyone who appears in camera footage will also be arrested.
In a press interview on Tuesday, Gen Prayut threw his support behind the police, citing the need to "set an example, otherwise other groups may follow suit".
The prime minister even questioned if the Thepha residents had an ulterior motive in seeking to hand him their petition letter by themselves, rather than making it through a Damrongtham complaint centre.
There are quite a few important issues the premier failed to ask the locals: Why do the villagers have no trust in state mechanisms? What makes the locals seem to believe that state mechanisms will only benefit the project operators?
Gen Prayut did not think the residents' concerns were justified, saying the environmental and health impact assessment (EHIA) process is "still under way". He added there are a few more steps before the government makes a decision. And if the EHIA is not approved, the project will eventually be stalled. He criticised the locals for not listening to the state.
At best the prime minister is confused. At worst, he is wrong. Contrary to what he told the media, the EHIA report was approved by state environmental experts on Aug 17 this year. The approval means the coal project is inching toward becoming a reality.
The EHIA approval prompted the Thepha residents to stage a sit-in protest in Bangkok. They submitted a petition to the premier in which they tried to make it known that the process was "fishy", in particular the public hearings. They said the process seems to favour a project that will ruin their livelihoods and the environment.
It is unclear why Gen Prayut has the impression that the EHIA results are still pending. Who or what agencies supplied this incorrect information to him?
But the shenanigans indicate the flaws of the system and show a leader who depends solely on state mechanisms for information, which puts him at risk of making the wrong decisions. This is a time when the administration should be reducing its role to an interim government now the roadmap to an election is at full speed. All megaprojects must be deferred until the next government comes to office.
What is needed is dialogue between the state and the Thepha locals. No hidden agenda.
Before that, it is necessary for the government drop all charges against the Thepha locals, without any conditions attached.
