On June 14, Thailand’s military junta ordered authorities to put an end to deforestation nationwide, taking back protected forest reserves from illegal encroachers. Moving quickly to implement its new powers following the May 22 coup d’état, the military government also promised to increase the country’s forested land from 31.5 percent to 40 percent over the next ten years. They further planned to introduce a new agricultural and forest zoning system and end corruption.
Thailand’s provincial authorities responded to the order quickly. On June 28, over 1,000 residents in Buriram province were ordered to leave their homes in forest reserve areas. At the time Human Rights Watch’s Asia Director Brad Adams said, “Instead of resolving a land issue through legal means, the military is using its wide-reaching martial law powers to bludgeon human rights protections.”