The reason we have chosen to come to Loei, is because we know that we will definitely be arrested by the authorities. Loei is the community where the 7 of us first learnt about the impact of Loei gold- mining on the people. When the 7 of us had to decide where to be arrested, we decided we want to be arrested here in Loei. Here, in Loei, we started to learn about the community’s struggle and this community’s struggle has inspired the 7 of us to be a part of the movement against social injustice. It has also inspired us to work against inequality in society. The 7 of us are humbled to represent the struggle of these communities. We would also like to represent the voices of these communities to let society know of the oppression many communities are facing.
If we will be arrested because we displayed a banner and have spoken about how communities have been abused, then we are ready to be arrested. If we are not arrested, maybe no one will hear the voices of these communities. This might lead to people forgetting the very many communities that are facing oppression – from the law and the absolute power of the dictator – in ways that are counter to human dignity. We are giving up our freedom for people to see that Thai society enjoys no rights and liberties, whether you are in jail or outside of jail. We, the commoners, who would like change, who would like to bring down the absolute power of the junta, hope that one day there will be more commoners who will be aware that being a dignified human is enough to denounce this military rule.
The truth is, if the Dao Din kids can do this, everyone can do it too. We will not appeal to the NCPO to give us our freedom, and we will not appeal to the capitalists either. We will therefore guarantee our rights, liberty, human rights, democracy, participation, justice, and nonviolence by ourselves. This is a declaration by the 7 Dao Din devils who’ve been charged for displaying a banner; if you still want to arrest us, take us, we will not stop you.
7 Dao Din members
19th June 2015
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