𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 #Thailand: 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐕𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞

𝐀𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬. Even if the companies differ, cases show the same 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧: 𝐞𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞, 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐬, 𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐲. Three key cases from Phichit, Korat and Loei highlight long community struggles and strong power imbalance between the state, companies, and the people.

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#Phichit : 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝

In 2001, the Chatree Gold Mine, in Phichit and Phetchabun - the 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞 in Thailand - began operations. Soon after, villagers faced 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐲-𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐢𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫. Blood tests also found heavy-metal levels over standards. In 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟔, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞, but the issue did not end here: the Australian 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐬𝐮𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝟐𝟓 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐚𝐡𝐭. The mine later 𝐫𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬!

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐞

The 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲’𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞. In 2016, 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝟑𝟎𝟎 𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬-𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 case to the Civil Court for Environmental Cases. Today, nine years later, 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞.

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#Korat : 𝐏𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐲 𝐬𝐨𝐢𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬

In 2013, the Dan Khun Thot potash project began in Nakhon Ratchasima province. As a result of mining activity, 𝐬𝐨𝐢𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫. 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐝.

In addition, changes to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) have allowed over 400,000 blasts!

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐞

Villagers 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 highlighting: (1) 𝐄𝐈𝐀 𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 for failing to line the brine pond, risking serious contamination; (2) 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐬 by dumping soil to 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 “𝐖𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐁𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐖𝐞 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐝𝐞” 𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, violating basic rights; and (3) 𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 with irregular permits and storage.

#Loei : 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

Six villages in Wang Saphung district, Loei were impacted by 𝐜𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐝𝐞, 𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐜, 𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐮𝐦, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐢𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 after the state allowed gold mining. When the impacts became clear, villagers formed a group “Khon Rak Ban Kerd” and 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞, which led to a 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩.

𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝, 𝐭𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧.The community shifted 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠, creating a People’s Rehabilitation Plan reforesting, and running “𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧” reflecting the community’s ongoing struggle that has lasted for 16 years.

Restoration has become a 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞, led by the community.

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These three cases show the 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧:

1.𝐋𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 : Mining rights are granted to companies and EIA are amended 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭.

2.𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦: Heavy-metal pollution and salty soil and water damage lives, farming activities and local food chains.

3.𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞: Companies have strong power, while communities must fight alone for years to get justice.

4.𝐒𝐋𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Community member are often sued or threatened.

5.𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐝 : Lengthy court proceedings force communities to wait years for compensation, with no promise they’ll ever get it.

6.𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭: Despite court rulings or mine closures, people still live with pollution, health impacts, and out-of-pocket expenses.

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𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠

This is not just a local issue. These cases illustrate a 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 to 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞’𝐬 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬. This is 𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭.

As a Decolonial, Intersectional Feminist organisation, Manushya stands in solidarity with all communities across Thailand impacted by mining. We call for the 𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐚𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐲.

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