There is no question the campaign by the red shirts against Privy Councillor Surayud Chulanont has a purely political aim. Pressured by the widespread publicity, his high stature in society and the legal circumstances of the case, Gen Surayud will most likely be forced to give up his much-loved resort lodge at Khao Yai Thiang in Nakhon Ratchasima. But no matter what the red shirts' motive may be, the onslaught is likely to stir up the seemingly forgotten controversy involving illegal ownership of state land by others across the country.
Directly feeling the heat from the campaign are undoubtedly Gen Surayud's 150-odd neighbours who reportedly acquired their properties in the same manner. Most, if not all, have purchased their plots from poor people who were given the land by the state with the standing rule that they must use it for farming. The land can be passed on to their descendants but cannot be sold to anyone.
The public prosecutors, the Forestry Department and state authorities involved have been reluctant until recently to enforce the law, after the Khao Yai Thiang scandal emerged a few years ago. It may be fair to say this reluctance has been caused by the landholders' social and financial influence and also by the officials' own ignorance and probable vested interest in the land grabbing spree.
The bigger picture indicates, however, that the land controversy at Khao Yai Thiang is just the tip of an iceberg so huge that it may be impossible for the state to tackle using existing laws. Khao Yai Thiang and adjoining mountain land around Khao Yai National Park is one good example of how state land has been abused. Most of this area has been classified as reserved forest land. It is doubtful how many of the present landowners are actually the original occupants of the property. Most are people who have purchased the plots from someone else who are holders of papers issued by tambon administration organisations verifying that they are occupants who are making use of the land. It is unclear how a local state organisation can issue such papers when most of the land has been classified under a different law as part of a forest reserve.
Despite the unclear legal status of the land, communities have continued to grow. More resort homes have been built every year. A new golf course and resort hotels have mushroomed along a new road which has been cut almost right next to Khao Yai National Park.
This kind of situation is occurring in several areas around the country. An aide of Gen Surayud has pointed out that if the government is to enforce the law to reclaim the land from Gen Surayud, it then must employ the same legal standard on other people who acquired land in the same manner. This is a major challenge the Forestry Department and relevant state agencies will have to face if they are to go by the book to set things right. Many of these illegally occupied plots are no longer forest land. Much of the area has been developed into thriving communities where schools, temples and even state-owned buildings are located. The Forestry Department's insistence that it be given more time indicates the legal complexities involved.
Taking away the land from Gen Surayud may get rid of one of the many excuses the red shirts are using to stir up trouble. But judging from the possible ramifications of a large number of people being involved, the government could see more and angrier protests if it is to apply the same legal standard without taking into account the physical changes already taking place on such lands across the country.
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