Thailand: SPFT wins landmark verdict against the assassination attempt of one of its members
The Global Women’s Strike (GWS) and Women of Colour GWS welcome the guilty verdict against Somphon Chimrueng for the attempted assassination of Mr. Dam On-muang, a land rights defender from the Southern Peasant Federation of Thailand (SPFT). This federation of collective farming communities has fought long and hard for justice and for an end to violence against its members – four of whom, two women and two men, have been assassinated; two others surviving assassination attempts. This is the first time justice has been served but the corporations behind these murders are still to be charged.
SPFT and other human rights defenders around the world are dedicated to regenerating the land and protecting it from corporations which exploit and destroy both the natural world and the people. As the climate crisis deepens, we are increasingly aware that everyone’s survival is dependent on the thousands of community struggles in every part of the globe, but especially in the Global South and among Indigenous people where the majority of extractive industries and cash crops are imposed including for the development of so called green energy. Whole communities risk their lives every day to defend the land and their right to it against murderous corporations backed by governments and their militaries.
We congratulate SPFT and Protection International on this precedent setting verdict.
See statement below by Protection International and articles describing the outstanding work of SPFT here and here.