[nmnrIjGB]

FIGHTING A LOSING BATTLE

Under-paid and under-armed, life is tough for the park rangers

Story by WASSAYOS NGAMKHAM

Three bullets, a faulty rifle and an old, worn-out pick-up truck are all that a park ranger has in fighting off forest encroachers.

"Two bullets are fired as warning shots and the last one is for shooting ourselves with," Manop Maneesri said in jest of the desperation he and other rangers feel in the course of doing their jobs.

Patrolling the Khlong Wang Chao national park in Tak, Mr Manop, 37, said the three bullets and an old rifle loaned to each of the rangers who drive a 30-year-old pick-up truck was not enough to intimidate the well-armed encroachers, who are mostly Hmong highlanders.

Mr Manop likened the rangers' fragile defences to a "toothpick" compared with the modern, powerful war weapons carried by encroachers.

Their plight came to national attention on March 23 when Viroj Chuakaopim, chief of the Ban Pha Phueng national park close to the Khlong Wang Chao park, was killed in a hail of bullets fired by forest intruders - illegal loggers and traffickers.

They move through the forests in small groups to evade patrols.

Mr Manop and seven other rangers were dispatched to the national park following Viroj's death, which also scared two other rangers at Ban Pha Phueng into quitting their jobs.

Mr Manop said his team was getting used to being sent out ill-equipped to protect themselves and suppress intruders.

"But I don't fear anything. They killed one of us. Of course, three bullets is not enough. We need war weapons to drive them out," he said.

He said he was prepared to put up with danger, even on his meagre salary of 7,000 baht a month.

As a temporary worker, he is on a yearly contract with the government without any chance of promotion. He is also cut off from entitlements to state welfare and social security coverage.

However, the death of Viroj has put the plight of rangers in the spotlight.

"It helps to get the message across that we're not safe. We live in constant danger from the law breakers," he said.

"Everything is short, from money, communication devices to personnel. And we have to take care of tens of millions of rai of forests.

"The government should look at us and improve our welfare," he said.

Ranger Nimit Luekamlang, 33, also a temporary worker, said his salary has been frozen at 4,900 baht a month for the past eight years that he has been guarding the Khlong Wang Chao park.

He eats at the base and some of the dried food he and other rangers live on is donated by Wat Pa Ban Tad temple in the northeastern province of Udon Thani.

As if his meagre salary was not enough hardship, his paycheck is almost always late. He is close to his last baht from February's pay.

"It's discouraging at times but we love what we do. Love for the job is all we have to hang on to. We should be better cared for," said Mr Nimit.

He said he is unsure if his rifle is in fully usable condition. As for the park's patrol truck, the ride is bumpy and it is not because of the terrain. Rather, it is the chassis which has hardened from three decades of patrol trips.

Thongbai Kamwayo, 47, head of the forest protection unit assisting the Ban Pha Phueng park team, said the living conditions of rangers were desperate.

He has asked for a new rifle and more bullets for the team which is forced to rely on old rifles, some of which could not fire because the barrels were rusty.

Mr Thongbai said he bought his own pistol and sometimes paid for the petrol for the patrol truck himself.

"The rangers here are nearing the end of their rope," he said.

Figures from the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department show that since 2004, 27 park rangers nationwide have died on duty, including Viroj.

Department chief Chalermsak Vanichsombat said from last October to February, encroachment was found on over 7,700 rai of national parks around the country. Most encroachment takes place in Surat Thani, Chumphon and Ranong.

Bangkok Post

[nmnrIjGB]

Locals blame officials for forest killings

Crime rife in national park, say villagers

By Supamart Kasem & Wassayos Ngamkham

Community leaders have blamed state authorities with various illegal interests for last month's murder of a forest official in Khlong Wang Chao national park in Tak's Wang Chao district.

Denchai Thitsakulsawang, the headman at Ban Pha Phueng village, said the murder of Viroj Chuakaopim, who was known to be tough on forest encroachment, was not the work of ordinary timber poachers.

Before the March 23 shooting, which happened in front of his daughter, the head of the Khlong Wang Chao national park protection unit had seized a number of illegally cut logs in the park, said Mr Denchai.

''Even though he was tough on illegal logging, Viroj usually warned villagers and told them about the impact of deforestation. So the villagers could not have been angry enough to kill him,'' he said.

Following the murder, a policeman was also killed and two others wounded while on their way to the scene.

Scattered around the scene of the shooting were spent AK-47 bullets.

According to Mr Denchai, the Wang Chao district is a transit point for narcotics, logs and immigrants from the border districts of Mae Sot and Phop Phra.

Wang Chao police station now has more than 200 cases related to forest encroachment, illegal immigrants and narcotics on its books.

One high profile case involves state officers and dates back to December 2006 when a naval officer was arrested in connection with the murder of a police sergeant in Mae Sot district.

Police found the missing policeman's body buried two metres under the ground close to a warehouse believed to belong to the naval officer.

It is believed that both officers were involved in a human trafficking racket and they failed to settle a business conflict.

Chantra Udompot, a former chief of tambon Chiang Thong, said the scene of the shooting _ in front of Viroj's lodge inside the park _ is one of the spots where illicit activities abound.

Local people are aware that many illegal activities are happening at Ban Huay Lueng, Ban Pa Toey, Ban Pha Phueng and Ban Pang Sangkasi in tambon Chiang Thong, Ban Wang Nam Yen in tambon Nabot and certain villages in Muang district.

''The illicit activities are timber, speed pills and Burmese workers. Not only Hmong people are allegedly involved, some state officials also have a hand,'' Ms Chantra said.

''So these influential figures are ready to make threats against those who stand in their way.''

According to Ms Chantra, the attack on Viroj was not the first. At least three Border Patrol Police officers were ambushed in an incident believed to be related to forest encroachment.

She said that forest encroachment in the district has expanded following the relocation of Hmong people from Phetchabun and Saraburi.

About 10,000 rai of forest in Khlong Wang Chao national park and nearby forest reserves have been allegedly encroached on, she said.

Suvit Rattanamanee, the chief of regional office 12 which supervises the Khlong Wang Chao national park, said there are not enough staff and arms to protect the park, which covers 400,000 rai of forest in Tak and Kamphaeng Phet provinces.

In 2006 the Defence Ministry recalled about 1,000 HK rifles which were on loan to staff patrolling the forests, claiming the guns were needed to quell the southern unrest.

Pol Col Prayont Lasua, the deputy chief of the Crime Suppression Division in charge of Viroj's case, said police investigators have identified the suspects in the forestry official's murder.

He said the killing is related to Hmong people in the area, but noted that police have yet to establish a motive behind the murder.

''It is possibly about drugs, humans and log smuggling,'' he said.

Police investigators will meet in Tak tomorrow to discuss developments in the investigation, he added.

Bangkok Post

[KojlinMakolvin]

What's the big deal about driving a 30 year old pick up truck. I have 4 cars over 30 years old and there a pleasure to drive.