Page 52 - Rights beautiful : collection of Professor Saneh Chamarik

Rights Beautiful Collection of Professor Saneh Chamarik

outlook and understanding to get to the root cause of the whole problem:
the absolutism to the extent of totalitarianism of the modern nation state.
The point is, in terms of human rights and human dignity, the principle
and practice of “sovereignty” should not be merely narrowed down within
the confine of nation state. It is in a bad need to be liberalized, yielding
a rightful space of sovereignty to human and social and cultural identities,
be it his or her personhood, belief, religion, language, and community.
As one young Thai scholar at Thammasat University, with his thoroughly
intensive field research experience behind him, succinctly asserts, it is a
matter of those unfortunate’s “sheer fact of living” as being distinct from a
“form-of-life” as politically invented and imposed from above, the exclusive
sovereign. One does not know if and to what extent, under the current power
politics, this vital point of human rights perception and development could
be taken up in the auspicious occasion of the UN reform currently going on
now.
And finally, for all the variations of minorities’ circumstances and
predicaments, practically all have one thing in common. Mention has
been made earlier on concerning the tropical resource base of mainland
Southeast Asia. And along with that, rich biological diversity and indigenous
knowledge and creativity. It is no secret that all this is the main target
of acquisition and to be appropriated, by whatever means, through the
process of globalization and free market expansionism. It is getting more
and more intensive and extensive. So it is quite understandable as to the
motivation and rationale in the hard and life and death struggles on the part
of indigenous peoples. It is certainly not just for the sake of holding on to
their homelands per se, but also with a view to freedom, quality of life, and
sustainable future for themselves and their homeland. In fact, this side of
the story has already been recognized and endorsed in a series of
international instruments spelling out traditional resource rights of
indigenous peoples that also include the clause on protection of minority
culture and religious freedom. This again should be on the UN reform agenda

46 OFFICE OF THE NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION OF THAILAND