CityNews – The Prime Minister has raised a question regarding the ‘Scar of Doi Suthep’.
A few days after the rally against the Scar of Doi Suthep which was held on August 26th, the Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha addressed the media concerning the issue saying ‘if it was opposed before the construction began, the issue would not have been stretched this long neither would it have turned out to be a default budget for the government’.
Regarding that statement, Rak Mae Ping, a group of Chiang Mai environmental activists stated on Facebook that complaints had been filed since 2014 when local people witnessed the clearing of the forest in the area. The issue was sparked again in 2016, according to Rak Mae Ping, but went quiet again when the judicial office threatened to file a lawsuit for criticising the issue.
Srisuwan Janya, the president of the Stop Global Warming Association also released a letter revealing that opposition to the construction on the disputed prior to recent protests and asks the Court of Appeals Region 5 to return the land to its natural state.
At the same time, the PM’s Office published a statement saying that the government is working on a new location for the judicial residences.