Eviction Klong Toey
market style
Wild wild west with
bullets and guns
By Jon Fernquest 
Walking
along the public
sidewalk
from the subway station up Phra Ram IV road past Klong Toey market has never been easy.During the day the public sidewalk is covered in chicken poop with piles of dead chickens. The public sidewalk is actually part of the market.
At night there is a scary guy on the sidewalk with a blow torch burning the hair off a pig's head or drying the head (not sure exactly what he is doing with the gigantic pig's head but it looks dangerous).
Thugs and hooligans harassing market vendors with guns, shooting and the ghosts of dead people are all recent additions to Klong Toey market.
(See wanted poster for murderer in photo to the right).
A company has been contracted by the government to develop Klong Toey market.
Trouble is the vendors will neither accept the new contract, nor will they leave.
So it is time for "eviction by gangs of thugs," an all too common pattern in Bangkok.
A legal eviction order from a court needs some form of enforcement by police to back it up. Apparently, this is impossible.
Some small business people get a temporary lease for the use of land, whether it be Bo Be Market in Chinatown or a lease from the Crown Property Bureau in the Sukhumvit area, or at Clinton Plaza on Sukhumvit.
The legal rights of the tenant are very clear. The tenant has no permanent right to continue occupying the land. When the lease expires, according to the law, they must vacate the land.
Over and over again, tenants refuse to leave and claim they have additional rights perhaps because they claim they are "poor" or that they have been there for so long already.
Then they refuse to leave. Then the owner allegedly hires thugs to remove them but you can never prove exactly who ordered the thugs to commit acts of violence.
Without rule of law, one gets rule by violence.
There seems to be no way that someone who has purchased legal title to land can obtain that land and start using it short of violence.
It seems just like the days of the wild west in US history.
eviction - the legal
act of forcing someone to leave a building or land
public sidewalk - the walkway on the side of the road, owned by the government
poop - dung, human or animal waste
scary - frightening, makes a person afraid or frightened
blow torch - a tool with hot fire shooting out of it
thugs - a violent people and criminals
hooligans - people who behave in a violent way in a public place
vendors - people who sell things from a small stall, cart, or store
back it up - support it
legal rights - what you can do or have morally or legally, what you are entitled to do
tenant - the person or business renting land
occupying the land - being on the land, using the land as home or business
expires - ends
allegedly - claimed to be true but not yet proven to be true
rule of law - the doctrine that no individual is above the law and that everyone must follow the law even powerful people, there are no excuses such as I am poor therefore an exception should be made (See Wikipedia)
legal title to land - have the legal right to occupy and use land
the wild west - the land of cowboys and Indians in the western United States during the 19th century (1800-1900) (See Wikipedia)
public sidewalk - the walkway on the side of the road, owned by the government
poop - dung, human or animal waste
scary - frightening, makes a person afraid or frightened
blow torch - a tool with hot fire shooting out of it
thugs - a violent people and criminals
hooligans - people who behave in a violent way in a public place
vendors - people who sell things from a small stall, cart, or store
back it up - support it
legal rights - what you can do or have morally or legally, what you are entitled to do
tenant - the person or business renting land
occupying the land - being on the land, using the land as home or business
expires - ends
allegedly - claimed to be true but not yet proven to be true
rule of law - the doctrine that no individual is above the law and that everyone must follow the law even powerful people, there are no excuses such as I am poor therefore an exception should be made (See Wikipedia)
legal title to land - have the legal right to occupy and use land
the wild west - the land of cowboys and Indians in the western United States during the 19th century (1800-1900) (See Wikipedia)
Here is the editorial in full:
EDITORIAL
EDITORIAL Murder in the market
27/03/09After months of bitter conflict, the standoff at Klong Toey Market between vendors and the new land developer has escalated into violence. Despite the presence of policemen, there have been numerous attacks on vendors protesting against an eviction order, thereby turning the once popular fresh market into a place of fear.
The use of thugs and hooligans to intimidate vendors and shoppers has become more blatant. Last week's fatal shooting of two market security guards and the assault on a stall owner and another guard on Monday, indicates that peaceful settlement is no longer possible without state intervention to end the protracted dispute.
bitter - a feeling
of anger
a conflict - a serious disagreement and argument about something important
a bitter conflict - when people fight with great anger and fierceness
a standoff - when neither side has won in a conflict yet, so it continues (conflict not solved or resolved)
a land developer - a company that builds on land, houses or commercial buildings
escalated into violence - a conflict gets worse and violence begins
intimidate - make people frightened to force them to do what you want
intimidated vendors - tried to frighten the market sellers to force them to do what they want
blatant - when something bad is done in a very obvious and easy to see way
a conflict - a serious disagreement and argument about something important
a bitter conflict - when people fight with great anger and fierceness
a standoff - when neither side has won in a conflict yet, so it continues (conflict not solved or resolved)
a land developer - a company that builds on land, houses or commercial buildings
escalated into violence - a conflict gets worse and violence begins
intimidate - make people frightened to force them to do what you want
intimidated vendors - tried to frighten the market sellers to force them to do what they want
blatant - when something bad is done in a very obvious and easy to see way
It is true that the vendors have violated the legal rights of the new market developer. Legal Professional Co has been contracted by the Port Authority of Thailand (PAT) to develop the area since last October. The company has not been able to move in to begin its work because the vendors refuse to vacate the market despite the expiry of their rental contracts.
But the action taken by the assailants, some of whom have been identified as the company's employees, is unacceptable, both legally and morally. The two latest incidents indicate that whoever is behind this has little regard for the law. Such a state of affairs cannot be allowed to continue.
violated the legal rights -
when someone prevents you from doign what you can legally or morally do
Port Authority of Thailand (PAT) - the government agency that runs Klong Toey Port
vacate - leave permanently a place where you occupy (leave a house you live in, a shop you do business in)
refuse to vacate - say "no" they will not leave the place
X despite Y - X happened, but you thought it wouldn't happen because of reason Y
expiry of their rental contracts - the end of their rental contract (reached the end date in the contract already)
assailants - people who attack other people
unacceptable - strongly object to something, feel that it should not be allowed to continue
an incident - something that happens (often unpleasant)
a state of affairs -
Port Authority of Thailand (PAT) - the government agency that runs Klong Toey Port
vacate - leave permanently a place where you occupy (leave a house you live in, a shop you do business in)
refuse to vacate - say "no" they will not leave the place
X despite Y - X happened, but you thought it wouldn't happen because of reason Y
expiry of their rental contracts - the end of their rental contract (reached the end date in the contract already)
assailants - people who attack other people
unacceptable - strongly object to something, feel that it should not be allowed to continue
an incident - something that happens (often unpleasant)
a state of affairs -
Equally to blame for the sorry situation at the market are the police and the PAT. Vendors have complained that a number of attacks, including Monday's assault, took place right in front of policemen on patrol duty. The two victims were reportedly by men in black after they assaultedhurled abuse at Legal Professional Co's chairman, Thammanat Prompao, who was visiting the market at the time.
A middle-ranking police officer in charge of overseeing security at the protest site has been temporarily suspended - allowing one to speculate whether even this action would have been taken if the prime minister had not called on the PAT to do something to stop the violence. As owner of the land on which the market is situated, the PAT should have made an effort right from the start to help settle the conflict with the vendors. The traders say they have refused to sign a new contract with Legal Professional because the stall rental rate quoted by the firm is too high. They also claim the steep rent is intended to force them out.
the sorry situation -
a very bad situation
patrol - when police or soldiers move around an area to make sure there is no trouble there
hurled abuse - say bad things to people loudly and angrily (call them names, use swear words)
rank, rank of a police officer - the position or level that a police officer has in the police force
middle-ranking police officer - a police officer who is not at the highest level, and also not at the lowest level
security - the measures and actions taken to protect a place (and make sure that people who enter have permission to enter)
overseeing security - managing security (making sure the place is protected)
suspend, temporarily suspended - prevented from working in a job for a period of time
speculate - think about what might or might not occur (in different situations)
quote a rate, quote a price - tell people what the price is
stall rental rate quoted by the firm - how much the firm is planning to charge for space in the market
the steep rent - the very high rental rate (they will have to pay a lot more to rent their stall than they did in the past)
intended to - planning to
patrol - when police or soldiers move around an area to make sure there is no trouble there
hurled abuse - say bad things to people loudly and angrily (call them names, use swear words)
rank, rank of a police officer - the position or level that a police officer has in the police force
middle-ranking police officer - a police officer who is not at the highest level, and also not at the lowest level
security - the measures and actions taken to protect a place (and make sure that people who enter have permission to enter)
overseeing security - managing security (making sure the place is protected)
suspend, temporarily suspended - prevented from working in a job for a period of time
speculate - think about what might or might not occur (in different situations)
quote a rate, quote a price - tell people what the price is
stall rental rate quoted by the firm - how much the firm is planning to charge for space in the market
the steep rent - the very high rental rate (they will have to pay a lot more to rent their stall than they did in the past)
intended to - planning to
In this conflict, the PAT must help by mediating and finding more acceptable solutions for both parties. The PAT needs to remember that these vendors have played a vital role in making Klong Toey such a well-known shopping place for cheap food products. It should treat them with more compassion when turning to a new developer to seek higher benefits in developing its property.
More importantly, the long-standing dispute between its old and new business partners has now turned ugly. People have been killed, thugs have been let loose to terrorise vendors, and the local police seem unwilling to intervene and enforce the law.
With the vendors crying out for revenge for the deaths of their two colleagues, resolving this conflict is not going to be easy. It is imperative, therefore, that a higher authority - the Transport Ministry, in particular - step in to help defuse the situation before more blood is spilled. It is also necessary that strict law enforcement be applied against whoever uses violence in the conflict. Police officers failing in their duty should be punished and someone else more capable appointed to do the job. Lawlessness in the heart of the capital cannot be permitted.
mediating - coming
between two fighting people to help them solve their conflict
vital - important, essential
a role - a function and position in a situation or organisation
played a vital role in Y - what they do in activity Y is important, necessary, and essential
dispute - an argument over some problem, a conflict
longstanding-dispute - a conflict and argument that has been going on for a very long time
turned ugly - when a situation gets bad (with a big conflict)
terrorise - keeping people in a state of fear by using the threat of an attack
thugs let loose to terrorise - criminals were sent to cause fear of being attacked (do people cannot operate normally)
intervene - become involved in a situation and try to change the situation
enforce the law - make sure that a law is obeyed (by arresting people who violate the law and, after trial in a court by judges, possibly punished
revenge - hurting someone who has hurt in return, as payback
crying out for Y - demanding Y
crying out for revenge - demanding revenge
colleagues - people who you work with
resolving this conflict - solve the problem to end the conflict
imperative that Y - it is very important that Y happen, y must happen
defuse the situation - make the situation less dangerous, reduce violence and fear
blood is spilled - people are injured or killed in the violence
vital - important, essential
a role - a function and position in a situation or organisation
played a vital role in Y - what they do in activity Y is important, necessary, and essential
dispute - an argument over some problem, a conflict
longstanding-dispute - a conflict and argument that has been going on for a very long time
turned ugly - when a situation gets bad (with a big conflict)
terrorise - keeping people in a state of fear by using the threat of an attack
thugs let loose to terrorise - criminals were sent to cause fear of being attacked (do people cannot operate normally)
intervene - become involved in a situation and try to change the situation
enforce the law - make sure that a law is obeyed (by arresting people who violate the law and, after trial in a court by judges, possibly punished
revenge - hurting someone who has hurt in return, as payback
crying out for Y - demanding Y
crying out for revenge - demanding revenge
colleagues - people who you work with
resolving this conflict - solve the problem to end the conflict
imperative that Y - it is very important that Y happen, y must happen
defuse the situation - make the situation less dangerous, reduce violence and fear
blood is spilled - people are injured or killed in the violence
(Source: Bangkok Post, op-ed section, 27/03/09, EDITORIAL Murder in the market, link)
