Ban nong chan: “Weera” draws a line: after October 31st, villagers are ready to take action themselves to push Cambodia forward. Wira has set a deadline for officials to push Cambodians out of Ban Nong Chan by October 31st, stating that if they are unsuccessful, the people are ready to take action themselves. Regarding the atmosphere at Ban Nong Ya Kaeo, there are no unusual movements from Cambodian protesters.
According to Thai News Agency, Mr. Wira Somkwamkit, president of the Anti-Corruption People’s Network, traveled to Ban Nong Chan with some local villagers to make a statement after the deadline to push Cambodians out of the area passed. Mr. Wira revealed that yesterday he spoke with villagers and several government officials to discuss the steps to be taken. Consequently, he and the villagers agreed that officials would be given until October 31st to proceed. If officials do not push the Cambodians out of the area, Mr. Wira and the villagers will personally push the Cambodians out.
The government cannot claim that the villagers are selfish. This is not an attempt to pressure or coerce officials, as the Nong Chan village problem has been ongoing for a long time, despite clear boundary markers dating back to the reign of King Rama V.
Ms. Nongrat Chantama, a representative of the villagers of Ban Nong Chan, stated that yesterday she had the opportunity to meet with the First Army Region Commander. The commander assured the villagers that officials were working hard and urged them to have confidence that they would be able to push the Cambodians out of the area. He also urged the villagers to be the back line and support the officials in protecting their sovereignty.
Ms. Nawarat added that if officials are still unable to push Cambodians out of Ban Nong Chan by October 31st, she and the villagers are prepared to personally push them out. However, she is confident that officials will succeed before October 31st.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere around Ban Nong Chan continues to see residents gradually arriving to support officials. Some even come with the intention of taking photos and checking in to share on their social media. We see this as a demonstration of their shared commitment to Thailand’s sovereignty.
At Ban Nong Ya Kaew, the atmosphere has been calm since this morning, with no unusual movements by Cambodian protesters. However, Thai officials are maintaining order along the route.
Although the deadline for pushing Cambodians out of the area passed yesterday, October 10th, the public and media in the Ban Nong Chan and Ban Nong Ya Kaeo areas are still closely monitoring the situation, as no one can confirm when the operation to push Cambodians out of Thai sovereign territory will take place.