OPINION

Who's responsible?

Re: "Key areas 'not in buffer zone'" (BP, Feb 29).

Late last year, I wrote to PostBag expressing my concern about the Sor Por Kor policy. My grave concern is what will happen if farmers who use Sor Por Kor deeds -- which are now transferable -- apply for loans and end up failing to service their debts.

Yet, the controversy on Sor Por Kor land demarcation in Khao Yai National Park is even worse than what I had predicted. In this case, it appears that new Sor Por Kor deeds have been intentionally carved out from rich forests with high ecological value in the national park. There are still doubts about whether the land is located in parkland or not. To me, the even bigger issue that is only mentioned for the first time in this new article is that the new Sor Por Kor deeds were "given" to "capitalists, politicians and investors" in a quote from the article.

This is probably happening in Khao Yai because it is a very popular holiday destination and second home location for Bangkok residents, so the plots are likely to be much more valuable than the typical rural Sor Por Kor property.

This raises a few questions. What is the process for the creation of new deeds, and who is responsible for it? Second, who are the people who received the new deeds, from whom did they get them, and how much did they pay, if anything? Third, why has the reporting not followed this at all? Is that because influential people may be the new owners? And finally, since this situation may exist in all provinces, who would be responsible for doing an audit of all Sor Por Kor properties?

Share the earth

Various articles in the Post confront us with a major 21st-century challenge: reform ownership. The climate emergency makes us realise that we don't own the earth for extraction. We are part of it; we are one.

Whether at the micro or macro level, we have to move away from seeing the earth as a property in our own interest to sharing it for the common good and the well-being of future generations.

Once we realise that we are one with the earth and that mutual help and sharing are far more efficient and regenerative than cut-throat competition, then global citizens will share responsibility toward a healthy environment and the well-being of the "community of life" (Earth Charter) in a spirit of Earth Trusteeship. No longer states or big corporations will own the earth, branded as their country, and for sale to anybody who pays most or shares blood.

Take a stand

Re: "Detained Uyghurs deserve freedom", (Opinion, Mar 8) & "Firms with deep China roots reconsider their Xinjiang ties", (World, Feb 20).

As a member of the United Nations, Thailand is supposed to obey, comply with, and respect the basic principles of human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. So, what is Thailand's stance on ethnic Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang region of China?

Lest we forget, former prime minister PM Prayut Chan-o-cha brought shame to Thailand when he succumbed to Chinese pressure and deported hundreds of Uyghur refugees to China.

Until now, their fate is still unknown to the world.