Exactly a year ago this month, a group of indigenous Karen forest dwellers left their resettlement village in Kaeng Krachan National Park to go back to Bang Kloy Bon and Jai Paen Din, their ancestral homes deep in the jungle. They were immediately arrested and sent to jail.
For the forest authorities, the Karen forest dwellers violated the law by encroaching on forest land. For the Karen, they were returning to their motherland after officials burned down more than 100 homes to force them to live in a resettlement village.
The arrest triggered a public outcry against the state's treatment of indigenous forest peoples, leading to the SaveBangkloy protest in front of Government House last year. The government set up a committee to tackle the land rights problem, but nothing came out of it. Meanwhile, authorities continue to pursue court cases against the Bang Kloy Karen.
