Protests in Nakhon Si Thammarat; growers split over offers
Southern rubber growers took to the streets again yesterday after representatives from 11 out of the 16 rubber-growing provinces in the South failed to reach an accord with the government about measures to help prop up the rubber prices.
Protesting rubber growers took many trucks, including trailers, to block a section of the Asian Highway in Chulabhorn district in Nakhon Si Thammarat. Car tyres were also burnt at this location. The blockade began shortly before 6pm and brought traffic came to a halt.
About 10 kilometres away, another group of angry rubber farmers also blocked Kuan Nong Hong intersection in Cha-uat in the same province. This district saw a similar road closure recently when the growers’ rally began.
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Some protest leaders said they were calling for government sincerity in dealing with the problem of falling rubber prices. They wanted the government to send representatives directly responsible for the matter to talk with them.
Earlier yesterday, southern rubber farmers were divided on whether they should sign an agreement with a government representative about their five demands. Growers’ representatives from 11 provinces refused to sign their names, arguing that they were not convinced the government representative – the PM’s deputy secretary-general Thawat Boonfuang – had the authority to enter into the agreement on the government’s behalf.
They also alleged that the people who signed the agreement with the government were local politicians, not rubber growers. The growers’ leaders said they suspected there could have been some kind of “political scheme”.
Only five of the rubber-growing southern provinces – Nakhon Si Thammarat, Songkhla, Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat – entered into the agreement while the remaining 11 provinces opted out. The 16 rubber-growing southern provinces also include Phetchaburi and Prachuap Khiri Khan, which are officially listed as part of the central region.
Thawat met leaders of the rubber growers at Phra Mahathat Temple in Nakhon Si Thammarat, which saw a large rally of angry growers recently.
Leaders of rubber growers from the 11 defiant provinces called a press conference yesterday. Saksawat Sriprasart, one of the leaders, said they refused to sign because they were unsure whether the government reps would be able to take action to tackle the falling rubber price. He said the government appeared to have ignored some of their demands. They called for a government official with authority to meet them. Thawat called a separate conference to voice “success” in reaching a deal with reps from growers. He said the government would tackle their problems urgently.
Sompong Ratchasuwan, a leader from Songkhla, said many growers were happy with proposed measures, such as a purchase price at Bt90 a kilo and a subsidy of Bt2,520 for each rai of rubber. But he said plantation owners would benefit from those measures, not small-time rubber farmers.
Among five demands were a price of Bt90 or Bt95 per kilo, Bt1,260 in fertiliser subsidy, and raising the price to Bt120 a kg within six months.
Source: nationmultimedia.com
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