THE government has urged villagers protesting the expropriation of land for a special economic zone in Tak's Mae Sot district to disregard selfinterest for the sake of the country while reaffirming affected residents will receive compensation.
Members of the Thai Journalists Association's Environmental News Club visited the area for three days this month to investigate the matter and were reportedly closely monitored by police and military officers.
While there, the reporters received information from the Mae Sot Rak Thin Group, which met with Naresuan Task Force chief MajGeneral Nopporn Reunchan on October 17 - the last day of the media visit.
Government Spokesman MajGeneral Sansern Keawkamnerd said the government was determined to propel the country forward and take care of the industry and agriculture sectors.
The government did not want people to be preoccupied with their own interests and neglect the county, he said.
Sansern said the government was not ignoring the plight of residents in Ban Moo 4 and 7 in Tambon Tha Sai Luad.
He said provincial officials had discussed the matter with related agencies continuously and had taken the names of affected residents and had gathered land-use information and details about buildings and crops in the area so residents would be com-pensated appropriately.
"But now the officials aren't getting cooperation from the villagers so I beg them to accept the rule of law, which is the social norm, and to join talks for the majority's benefit," Sansern said.
When looking for special economic zones, the government chose areas with high economic potential and prioritised state-owned land,deteriorated forestland and public land, and sought to avoid expropriation except when there was an exchange of land with the private sector, he said.
However he said a lot of stateowned land had been encroached upon by people who did not have proper land-rights documents or whose land-rights papers were not yet proved.
As a result, he said, the National Council for Peace and Order chief, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, issued order 17/2015 so he could use the absolute authority afforded to him under Article 44 of the interim charter to solve the issue and accelerate the pace for establishing SEZs.
The authorities would speedily prove the villagers' rights, negotiate with them and provide compensation, which could involve finding land for them to live on.
"We haven't ignored the local people's woes," Sansern said.
He urged media members to consider information they obtained thoroughly and not present one-sided information, because they, being society's mirror, should not promote social disunity.