Thread: Por Cha Lee Rakcharoen : Prominent Activist Feared ‘Disappeared’

Thailand: Prominent Activist Feared ‘Disappeared’
April 20, 2014

Urgently Produce Information on Por Cha Lee Rakcharoen

(New York) – The Thai authorities should urgently provide information about a prominent ethnic Karen activist who is believed to have been forcibly disappeared, Human Rights Watch said today. Por Cha Lee Rakcharoen, known as “Billy,” was reportedly arrested on April 17, 2014, in Kaengkrachan National Park in Petchaburi province and released, but his current whereabouts are unknown.

Local authorities have not disclosed either Billy’s detention or any evidence of his release, raising grave concerns of his safety, Human Rights Watch said. Billy was involved in a lawsuit against park officials.

“The apparent disappearance of this prominent Karen activist demands an immediate government response,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Thai authorities should not stay silent about Billy’s case but explain what happened to him.”

The head of the Kaengkrachan National Park Office, Chaiwat Limlikitaksor, told local activists on April 18 that Billy had been detained at a checkpoint the previous afternoon. He said Billy was taken for questioning regarding an unlawful wild bee honeycomb and six bottles of honey allegedly found in his possession. Chaiwat also said Billy had been released after questioning and that he had no information regarding his whereabouts.

At the time of his alleged disappearance, Billy was travelling from his village in the mountains to Petchaburi province's Kaengkrachan district to meet with ethnic Karen villagers and activists in preparation for an upcoming court hearing in the lawsuit filed by the villagers against the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and the head of Kaengkrachan National Park. The villagers alleged in the lawsuit that in July 2011, the authorities were responsible for the destruction and burning of houses and property of more than 20 Karen families who were living in the Bangkloybon Villages in the national park.

Billy was also preparing to submit a petition about this case to Thailand’s king. He had been carrying case files and related documents with him.

Villagers and local activists have made several attempts to contact Billy, but without success. On April 19, Billy’s family filed a complaint with the local police regarding his alleged enforced disappearance.

On September 10, 2011, unidentified gunmen shot and killed Tatkamol Ob-om, a Thai activist from Billy’s network, shortly after he helped Karen villagers report on alleged abuses, violence, illegal logging, and poaching committed by park officials. In January 2012, the Phetchaburi provincial court accepted a case against Chaiwat, the head of the Kaengkrachan National Park Office, charging him with masterminding Tatkamol’s murder. Four alleged accomplices have been indicted for premeditated murder. Despite that, Chaiwat has not been suspended from duty as required under disciplinary regulations regarding officials under criminal investigation. Chaiwat’s presence at the national park has been a cause of fear among local activists and villagers, particularly those involved in lawsuits against him.

Under international law, a government commits an enforced disappearance when state officials take a person into custody and then deny holding the person, or conceal or fail to disclose the person’s whereabouts. Family members and lawyers are not informed of the person’s whereabouts, well-being, or legal status. “Disappeared” people are often at high risk of torture, especially when they are detained outside of formal detention facilities such as police jails and prisons.

“National parks should be a place to enjoy natural beauty and serene vistas, not a place for officials to abuse people,” Adams said. “So long as Billy’s whereabouts are unknown, a sense of fear will stalk the park communities demanding their rights.”

hrw.org

This s#*t has to stop. What do Yingluck and Suthep have to say on this issue of "disappearing" activists? Rhetorical question?

Originally Posted by Mid

In January 2012, the Phetchaburi provincial court accepted a case against Chaiwat, the head of the Kaengkrachan National Park Office, charging him with masterminding Tatkamol’s murder. Four alleged accomplices have been indicted for premeditated murder. Despite that, Chaiwat has not been suspended from duty as required under disciplinary regulations regarding officials under criminal investigation. Chaiwat’s presence at the national park has been a cause of fear among local activists and villagers, particularly those involved in lawsuits against him.

and this...................

Group Concerned for Karen Activist Missing in Thailand
THANYARAT DOKSONE
Monday, April 21, 2014


A photo shows Thailand’s Kaengkrachan National Park, located on the border of southern Burma’s Tenasserim Division, where ethnic Kachin environmental activist Por Cha Lee Rakcharoen disappeared.
(Photo: Wikicommons)

BANGKOK — An international human rights group urged Thai authorities on Monday to investigate the disappearance of a prominent environmental activist.

Por Cha Lee Rakcharoen, known as “Billy,” was detained in Petchaburi province’s Kaengkrachan National Park, located on the border of southern Burma’s Tenasserim Division, on Thursday for carrying illegal wild honey and has not been seen since shortly after he was released.

He was en route at the time to meet ethnic Karen villagers and activists in preparation for an upcoming lawsuit that accuses park officials of burning and destroying the homes and property of more than 20 families in the area.

“National parks should be a place to enjoy natural beauty and serene vistas, not a place for officials to abuse people,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “So long as Billy’s whereabouts are unknown, a sense of fear will stalk the park communities demanding their rights.”

Park chief Chaiwat Limlikitaksorn said that the activist was released because the illegal honey he was allegedly carrying was deemed a petty offence. A witness contacted by The Associated Press, Issara Seuksahet, confirmed Billy was freed and was last seen Thursday riding a yellow motorcycle in the rain.

Police Col. Woradet Suanklaai said that a missing person complaint has been filed but Billy’s whereabouts remained unknown.

Human Rights Watch said that Chaiwat himself was under investigation for allegedly masterminding the killing of an activist from Billy’s network in 2011, who had helped ethnic Karen villagers report on abuses, violence, illegal logging, and poaching allegedly committed by park officials.

Chaiwat has not been suspended from duty as required under disciplinary regulations regarding officials under criminal investigation, Human Rights Watch said. “Chaiwat’s presence at the national park has been a cause of fear among local activists and villagers, particularly those involved in lawsuits against him,” it added.

National Human Rights Commissioner Niran Pitakwachara also called on authorities to find the activist.

“Billy is not an ordinary villager who simply went missing. He is a key Karen activist who is fighting in a case in the Administrative Court, and it’s the job of the government and the administrative officials to find out where he might be, whether he is being tortured or even killed,” Niran said.

irrawaddy.org

Task force hunts for missing ‘Billy’
Chaiwat Satyaem
24/04/2014

Phetchaburi: The 9th Infantry Division in Kanchanaburi has dispatched its special task force to help locate a prominent Karen rights activist missing for a week.


Children play at the house of Karen rights activist, Porjalee Rakchongcharoen, also known as Billy, in Ban Pong Luek Bangkloy in Phetchaburi’s Kaeng Krachan National Park Wednesday. He has been missing for a week after being arrested by the park officers for allegedly possessing wild honey. The park chief insisted the activist was released before he disappeared.
(Photo by Pattanapong Hirunard)

Porlajee Rakchongcharoen, also known as Billy, disappeared after being arrested by Phetchaburi's Kaeng Krachan National Park officers last Thursday.

The Cross Cultural Foundation (CCF) said park chief Chaiwat Limlikitaksorn had admitted on Friday that Mr Porlajee had been arrested for allegedly possessing wild honeycomb and six bottles of wild honey.

Mr Porlajee claimed he intended to sell the honey in Kaeng Krachan district, said Mr Chaiwat.

According to the CCF, Mr Chaiwat asserted Mr Porlajee was released after receiving a warning, but the whereabouts of the activist remain unknown.

Maj Gen Pairoj Thongmaeng, chief of the 9th Infantry Division, said Wednesday he had ordered Thappraya Sua Task Force to search for the missing activist.

However, he refused to speculate about the cause of his disappearance.

Bangkloybon villagers in the national park, led by Mr Porlajee, sued authorities in 2011 for burning down the houses of more than 20 Karen families living there.

Mr Chaiwat, who led the operation, claimed the villagers were trespassing on protected forests.

The park chief said some villagers were involved in Karen insurgency activities along the Thai-Myanmar border, even though most had obtained Thai nationality.

Mr Porlajee also collected evidence and witnesses to battle authorities in their lawsuit, according to Surapong Kongchantuk, chairman of a Lawyer's Council of Thailand (LCT) human rights subcommittee on ethnic minorities, the stateless, migrant workers and the displaced.

Mr Chaiwat turned up Wednesday at Kaeng Krachan police station to give his account of Mr Porlajee's disappearance.

He denied any involvement in the disappearance, saying Mr Porlajee's was set free in the Nong Makha area after being questioned.

He asked people not to link Mr Porlajee's disappearance to conflicts between national park officers and Bangkloybon villagers, saying he was not aware Mr Porjalee was a key activist due to stand trial next month for trespassing.

He also pleaded with the LCT and Karen networks not to fuel conflicts surrounding land occupation in the national park. Living areas for villagers are currently being allocated, he said.

Mr Chaiwat believes the disappearance of the activist is suspicious.

There could have been a plot to make him disappear last Thursday, he said.

The next day his disappearance was reported on Facebook, and police complaints were filed by his relatives and fellow villagers the following day.

"I want members of the press to explore what kind of community Bangkloybon was, how national park officers built shelters for them, and how rotational farming was carried out there," Mr Chaiwat said.

The park chief said he believed Mr Porjalee is still alive and living in the park. The activist was probably aware of the plot to disappear him, he added.

Meanwhile, Phetchaburi police deputy commander Pol Col Surasak Suksawaeng and investigators yesterday questioned two students from North Bangkok University, identified as Isara Prueksahet and Suwanna Raman.

They are witnesses who say they saw the activist arrested, and later spotted him after his release. The two were interns at the park. The students also led investigators to the area where the Karen leader was captured and the spot where they saw him rding on a motorcycle after being released .

NOTE: The English-language spelling of the activist's name is based on papers filed for his Thai nationality.

bangkokpost.com

Originally Posted by terp80

This s#*t has to stop. What do Yingluck and Suthep have to say on this issue of "disappearing" activists? Rhetorical question?

Yet, this type of activity has taken place over decades from every assorted [and successive] Thai government, regardless of political identity and dogma.

Activists and troublemakers [Westerner, Thai, whomever] have been covertly "handled" historically.

Nothing to do [and the blaming pointed finger] with a particular government, but cast your concern and angst towards the system of establishment.

Wish you folks would wake the fuck up, less engaged into partisan politics.

An activist in Thailand just ‘disappeared’


Billy, left, has just disappeared. We fear for his life.
© private

Billy (Pholachi Rakchongcharoen) is an activist, husband and father of five in Thailand.

And he's just disappeared.

Billy is well known to Thailand’s authorities. He’s spent years of his life standing with the villagers of Bangkloybon, who claim authorities burned and destroyed the houses of over 20 families living in the national park.

Billy was was on his way to deliver a petition to Thailand's king about the issue when he 'disappeared'. He was carrying documents for legal action against the authorities.

Police have given conflicting reports about his whereabouts, and we fear the worst.

We fear for Billy's life. Call on the Thai government to find Billy or reveal whether he is being held in custody.

The more pressure we can put on authorities, the higher chance there is Billy will be returned to his family unharmed.

Your email will go to Minister Vichet Kasemthoungsri of the Ministry of National Resources and Environment.
Send faxes to:

Deputy Director General National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department: +66 2579 9504, +66 2298 5735, +66 2579 6886

Send letters to:

Minister Vichet Kasemthoungsri, Ministry of National Resources and Environment,

Pollution Control Department Building

92 Phohol Yothin soi 7, Phohol Yothin Road, Phayathai, Bangkok, Thailand 10400

amnesty.org.au

CCTV Footage Shows Missing Karen Activist "Billy" Never Released After His Arrest

PHETCHABURI – A probe into police CCTV footage suggests that missing Karen activist Porlajee “Billy” Rakchongcharoen was never released following his arrest on a petty offense by Kaeng Krachan National Park officials, police investigators said on Monday.

Meanwhile, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) member Niran Pitakwatchara said the agency would soon ask for the Rights and Liberties Protection Department to provide witness protection for Billy’s wife Pinnapa Prueksaphan.

During a meeting on Monday with the Rights Commission, Phetchaburi deputy chief Pol Col Traiwitch Namthongthai said the park’s CCTV footage was key evidence that Billy was never released, and student trainees who had claimed Billy left the park on a motorcycle had also retracted this claim.

Traiwitch said police suspected three possible motives: Billy’s complaint to police about park officials after homes of Karen residents at Bang Kloy were burnt; Billy’s plan to file a petition calling for justice for Karen villagers; and photos and clips on Billy’s cell-phone were evidence of park officials’ cutting down trees.

Police told the commission they were still compiling evidence in the case and no suspect had been identified yet.

Traiwitch said police would inspect tree stumps and the whereabouts of logs, as well as check related documents from the park submitted to them and park supervisors.

Niran, in his capacity as chairman of the commission’s subcommittee on civil and political rights, said he would also write to the Rights and Liberties Protection Department asking for Billy’s wife Pinnapa to be protected.

He would also write and asking for progress from the Department of Special Investigation probe after male human blood was discovered in a park official’s car in October.

CCTV Footage Shows Missing Karen Activist Porlajee ?Billy? Rakchongcharoen Never Released Following his Arrest | Chiang Rai Times English Language Newspaper

Thailand's version of humanitarianism and transparent governance at its best.

I hope Niran Pitakwatchara has a satellite transmitter inserted somewhere on his person just in case he unexpectedly 'disappears'. (His name has been in the news a bit recently).

Just to think this country is no longer third world but a newly Industrialized nation.
What a load of shit.
I am beginning to look forward to it's collapse into civil warbut that is how I am feeling.
sep

And in another exciting edition of "Fuck me, what a surprise":

BANGKOK (AP) - A court in Thailand on Thursday acquitted four national park employees, including a senior official, of the kidnapping and murder of an Indigenous rights activist who disappeared under suspicious circumstances more than nine years ago.
The activist, Porlajee Rakchongcharoen, was last seen in the custody of Kaeng Krachan National Park officials in western Thailand´s Phetchaburi province on April 17, 2014.
The killing or disappearance of community and environmental activists is a persistent but overlooked problem in Thailand and many developing countries. Porlajee´s is one of 76 cases of enforced disappearances in recent decades in Thailand that the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights last year listed as unresolved.

Senior Thai national park official, 3 others, acquitted... | Daily Mail Online

Former Kaeng Krachan park chief gets 3 years over disappearance of Billy

Nine years after the enforced disappearance of Karen human rights activist Porlajee “Billy” Rakchongcharoen, the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases sentenced former Kaeng Krachan nation park chief Chaiwat Limlikhitaksorn, to three years in prison today (Thursday).


The court found him guilty of malfeasance in office, under Section 157 of the Criminal Code, for his failure to present Porlajee to the police after his arrest for illegal possession of wild bee honey. Other more serious charges against him, including murder and abduction, were dismissed by the court due to insufficient evidence.


Three other co-defendants, who were park officials under Chaiwat’s supervision, were acquitted, also due to insufficient evidence. Chaiwat was later released on bail.


Responding to the verdicts, Porlajee’s widow, Pinnapa, said, with tears in her eyes, that she is saddened and disappointed.


Porlajee’s case has attracted widespread international attention, especially among human rights organisations. He was last seen on April 17, 2014, when he was detained by park officials, led by Chaiwat, at a checkpoint at the entrance of Bang Kloi village in Kaeng Krachan district of Phetchaburi province.


The police investigation into his disappearance failed to make headway, prompting Pinnapa, his relatives and human rights groups to petition the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) for help in the probe.


The DSI stepped in to investigate in 2019. After tireless efforts, including the deployment of a submersible to scour the bed of a river in the national park, they found an oil drum containing burned remains, believed to be human, which were sent for analysis.


The DSI pressed murder charges against Chaiwat and his three subordinates, but the public prosecutors dropped all the charges in January 2020, citing their doubts about the DNA results. The DSI subsequently appealed the decision to the attorney-general, which eventually led to the indictment of the four park officials on five charges, including abduction and murder, in August last year.


Last December, Chaiwat hit the headlines again when he tipped off the National Anti-Corruption Commission and the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission, leading to the arrest of then director-general of Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Rutchada Suriyakul Na Ayutya, on bribery charges.


Chaiwat was appointed director of the National Parks Office in February.

Former Kaeng Krachan park chief gets 3 years over disappearance of Billy | Thai PBS World : The latest Thai news in English, News Headlines, World News and News Broadcasts in both Thai and English. We bring Thailand to the world

The court found him guilty of malfeasance in office, under Section 157 of the Criminal Code, for his failure to present Porlajee to the police after his arrest for illegal possession of wild bee honey. Other more serious charges against him, including murder and abduction, were dismissed by the court due to insufficient evidence.

Illegal possession of wild bee honey. If that doesn't merit a death sentence I don't know what does.