Is it Really About Border Security?

Stephanie Teatro
Thailand
The Council for National Security (CNS) recently announced that it will propose the lifting of martial law in 11 provinces prior to December’s election. But its decision to reinstate martial law in three northeastern provinces has critics concerned that the junta is using martial law as a tool to suppress political opposition.

Following last September’s coup against Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, all 76 of the nation’s provinces were placed under martial law. Of these, 35 provinces have remained under martial law throughout the year and throughout August’s referendum process.

Of Isaan’s 19 provinces, 13 had cast their votes while under martial law and 17 voted to reject the charter. Nationally, 68% of “no-votes” came from Isaan. The northeastern provinces of Nakhon Phanom, Roi Et, Mukdahan, and Nong Khai had the first, second, third, and fourth highest percentages of no votes in the nation, respectively.

The CNS recently announced that it will lift martial law in 11 provinces, including Roi Et, while reimposing the law in Nakhon Phanom, Mukdahan, and Nong Khai in the name of “border security”.
CNS has said that martial law will remain in force in the 27 provinces along the country’s borders, at least through December’s election. “This move is not aimed at obstructing political activities,” claims CNS, but rather, “to ensure national security.” Cross-border crimes have been cited as justification for maintaining martial law.

Some critics have commented that the government’s emphasis on “border security” is just another strategy to assert pressure on provinces that have shown a lack of support for the CNS and its policies. Although the decision to put these three provinces under martial law is in the name of border security, three of the provinces where martial law will be lifted are also border provinces—Ratchaburi, Prachuab Khiri Khan, and Phetchaburi. Each of these three provinces voted to approve the charter by more than 70%. Perhaps border security is less of an issue in these provinces, but critics wonder if their overwhelming support for the charter has earned them less scrutiny.

The Asian Human Rights Commission insists that “the only possibility for any democratic process in Thailand will be through the complete lifting of the martial law from across the country.”

(Republished from the Isaan Bizweek)

School and Community Unite

Kelly Kirkpatrick and Sasha Gross
Thailand
At 7 am, eight-year old twins, Gott and Golf, leave their house in Samaki Patana Community and set out for Nong Wang Elementary School in Khon Kaen. They navigate down a muddy road, scarred with deep potholes. They pay no notice to free-roaming fowl and the deafening approach of an oncoming train. The twins like going to school. “Sometimes they are upset or cry when they don’t get to go,” says Pian, the twins’ grandmother.

One year ago, this morning routine would not have been so typical.

Most of the 272 students at the twins’ school reside in surrounding slum communities near the railroad tracks. With poverty a common fixture in the families of most students, getting the kids to school is not always an option for parents.

Teachers and administrators at Nong Wang realized they had a problem when students weren’t showing up for school. “Originally it started with concern over students’ absences,” says Ajaan Chutiton Huttapanon, a third-grade English teacher at Nong Wang. When the teachers started to question students, they received explanations like, “yesterday it was raining and I had no dry uniform to wear to school.”

With support from Nong Wang’s Deputy Director Boontham Boranmoon, the 24 teachers at Nong Wang devised the “Visiting Homes Project” to investigate the living situation of each student. “We thought there might be some other issues in the community to look into deeper,” said Ajaan Jittima Srivilat, a long-time English teacher at Nong Wang.

Split into seven teams and armed with gifts, resolve, and concern, the teachers try to visit every student’s home. On these visits the teachers listen to stories like that of Gott and Golf whose father left them when they were six, and whose mother left them with their grandparents. “Their father doesn’t send any money, and last year we didn’t have any money for school books,” said Mrs. Pian.

In an effort to address these issues and others they observe, the teachers created “The Fund for Goodness” in late 2006. The fund was put together through personal donations, fundraising and, later, the support of the municipality.

The goal of the fund is to provide a venue for wealthier individuals to give back to the community and directly effect change in students at Nong Wang. The fund, say Ajaan Jittima, has “helped to encourage [those donors], who have the ability to help those students, to work together.”

In just the past year, the fund has impacted the lives of twenty-three students who now enjoy regular meals at school, a textbook lending program, encouragement, and funds to continue their education beyond Nong Wang. After elementary school graduation, teachers will continue to track the progress of their students.

For Gott and Golf, the fund has provided math textbooks, uniforms, and other items of clothing. Additionally, teachers from Nong Wang check in on the boys regularly. Mrs. Pian said that the teachers told her that if she ever needed anything she could go to the school. “I think the school really plays an important role [in this community]. I really want [the twins] to have a good education in case my husband and I are not around.”

Gott and Golf’s story demonstrates how the relationship between teachers, students, and their families has little to do with money, and everything to do with community. The former boundaries between school and community have dissolved, and in their place a partnership has formed.

As Ajaan Jittima puts it, “This school aims to help community. The community and the school are one, united.”

(Republished from Isaan Bizweek)

Students at Khon Kaen University Embark on Human Rights Initiative

Alyssa Boente, Emily Galey, and Anne Sheldon
Thailand
With human rights gaining attention throughout Thailand, 30 Khon Kaen University students have joined a new initiative to report on the status of human rights in ten Isaan communities. They will use the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR) framework, derived from the United Nations’ International Covenant on ESCR.

“There is a gap in the distribution of knowledge on this campus, and there is a need to generate information on [human rights] issues,” said Patsara Patangwesa, a fourth year Community Development KKU student involved with the KKU Human Rights Report Project.

157 nations have signed and ratified the covenant to promote universal human rights such as those to food, clothing, housing, health, and education. Although Thailand ratified the covenant in 1999, ESCR violations continue in many Thai communities.

“ESCR became one of the key concerns of the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand recently,” said Mr. Boontan Tansuthepveeravong, director of Amnesty International Thailand and an active member of Thailand’s ESCR-Network.

Mr. Boontan attended the Participatory Seminar for the ESCR Network in Ayutthaya on the weekend of September 14. Groups such as the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand, Amnesty International, human rights NGOs, and communities from throughout Thailand whose ESCR have been violated gathered at the seminar to examine how ESCR apply to their issues and to build solidarity against ESCR violations.

The same weekend, students from the faculties of Thai Language, Community Development, Public Administration, and Law went to their first day of ESCR training at Khon Kaen University.

While their peers vacation during the October break, these select students will volunteer their time to exchange with local villagers in Isaan communities. They will conduct field studies to assess potential ESCR violations. “This project is important for all regions of Thailand. People throughout Thailand need to recognize and understand human rights,” said Rungrot Wanpen, a third year student from the Faculty of Thai Language.

In conjunction with the KKU faculties of Law and Humanities, the Council on International Educational Exchange, NGO-Cord, and the People’s Network of Isaan, the students will use their newly-acquired knowledge to draft human rights reports with communities. This collective effort to understand ESCR and create the reports will strongly encourage and support communities as they strive to attain fundamental rights.

Students will work with villagers affected by dams, mining, HIV/AIDS, and rural and urban issues. Connecting with local communities directly affected by these issues will allow students to help bring local issues to the national level.

“This is the next step forward in implementing and promoting human rights on the grassroots level,” said Adisak Kaewrakmuk, an advisor to the project from the Council on International Educational Exchange.

“It’s important that [villagers involved] understand the issue and that they take part in writing their own story…I do not look at the output but the process to enhance it to its entire capacity,” said Boontan, referring to the KKU initiative.

“Villagers don’t know their own powers. They can fight for their own rights, represent themselves,” said Patsara.

The students will present the completed human rights reports to all ten communities and the KKU community at the third Isaan Community Gathering at KKU on 10 December.

(Republished from the Isaan University Post)