Thai Cabinet 'Yields' to Demands as Assembly of the Poor Ends Hunger Strike by Phairath Khampha 29 August 2000 The Thai government on August 8, 2000 bowed to pressure from the Assembly of the Poor and accepted seven out of the eight recommendations made by a neutral committee charged with solving their problems. Government spokesman Akapol Sorasuchart said the cabinet agreed with seven proposals made by Banthorn On-dam's panel. Politicians from five parties met protesting villagers at their make-shift village near Government House, in another step by the Assembly of the Poor to promote "people's politics". Sceptics saw their presence as nothing more than an election stunt. The government agreed to: - Allow locals and NGOs to sit on environmental impact panels. - Compensate villagers based on actual damage. - Revamp the National Environmental Committee and allow it to participate in environmental impact assessments. - Amend the 1992 Environmental Conservation Bill. - Allow a multilateral committee comprising state agencies, local administrations and NGOs to manage water resources with the National Water Resource Committee. - Allow the panel to participate in planning and decision-making. - Amend forest management laws in line with the constitution. Mr Akapol said the government disagreed with the recommendation to revoke the cabinet's June 30, 1998 resolution on land claims verification. The resolution effectively cancelled two earlier resolutions issued by the Chavalit administration allowing villagers to live in the forests while their claims were verified by witnesses. The Chuan cabinet resolution required verification by aerial photos. Mr Akapol defended the government's resolution, saying the use of aerial photos would solve the problem of forest encroachment. Copies of that resolution would be distributed to protesters today, he said. Assembly of the Poor adviser Wanida Tantiwittayapitak said she had yet to look into the proceedings in detail but it appeared the government was only acting under pressure. "Last week we got a spoon and this week we got a plate. For everything we get, we are forced to work extremely hard to pressure the government for it. I suppose next week we'll get rice." Protesters on the same day ended their 12-day hunger strike but the assembly was looking ahead to the possibility of settling down outside Government House for the long haul. The end of the hunger strike by some 700 protesters was marked by a ceremony by Phra Paisarn Visalo, a strong proponent of non-violence principles. The villagers rested for four days to allow hunger strikers to recuperate. "After the rest, we will decide on our next move," said Pakdi Chanthajiad, one of the group's leaders. Rajani Dhongchai, principal of the Children's Village School in Kanchanaburi, on August 9 began teaching 23 village children in a makeshift hut outside Government House. The school, made from bamboo and leaves, is similar to one erected at Mae Mun Man Yuen I, a temporary village on the banks of the Mun River. It had white boards and chairs, but there were no funds yet to provide lunch, books or toys. "The unfair development policy has hurt these children. In a way, it is destroying our nation since the children are our future. I can't let them sit idly by and do nothing," she said. Five parties turn up to talk to poor Politicians from five parties on August 20 met protesting villagers at their make-shift village near Government House, in another step by the Assembly of the Poor to promote "people's politics", even as sceptics saw their presence as nothing more than an election stunt. All political parties had been invited to present their policy on the poor but only five parties sent representatives. No one from the Prime Minister's Democrat and Chart Pattana parties showed up. Social activists and academics, however, were sceptical about the motive of the parties, whether they were genuinely interested in addressing the poor's problems or whether were they starting an early election campaign. Assembly leaders said they wanted to promote "people's politics" as a new dimension of the political system where poor villagers play a role in defining national policy affecting their lives. Similar forums to be called "The Assembly of the Poor Meets Political Parties" would be organised during the next election campaign, said Chaipant Prabhasavat, an assembly adviser. Their aim would be to make political parties realise that they must have policies for the poor's problems just as they do for agricultural exports or ailing financial institutions and the interests of Thailand's economic and political elite, Mr Chaipant said. The most senior politicians came from the New Aspiration Party, which was represented by deputy leader Chingchai Mongkoltham and deputy secretary-general Ekkaporn Rakkhwamsuk. Making his speech in central Thai interspersed with the dialect of Thailand's Northeast Region (Isan), Mr Chingchai told the mostly Isan audience that the government must consider the people's problems rather than just adhere to legal principles-apparently taking a shot at Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai. He said the NAP when it was the ruling party in the previous government allowed the poor villagers to participate in solving their own problems. If given another chance, Mr Chingchai added, his party would try to continue its work in compensating villagers affected by dam projects and seek new land for villagers evicted from forest reserves. Nikorn Chamnong, representing Chart Thai, said the party had a clear-cut policy to endorse the draft of the Community Forest Bill, which allows people who settled in forests before they were given reserve or protected status to remain. If the bill is passed, "70% of forest encroachment problems will be solved", he claimed. Prapat Panyachatrak of Thai Rak Thai Party said environmental and social impacts as well as cost-effectiveness of all dams built in Thailand would be assessed. Thai Rak Thai advocates land reform which allows villagers to make use of forests in an environmentally-friendly manner, he said. The party would encourage villagers to join a national committee to form policies on water and forest management, Mr Prapat said. Somyong Kaewsuphan from Seritham said the party agreed with all recommendations made by the Banthorn-On dam committee appointed by the government to recommend solutions to the protesters' problems. Mr Banthorn, a respected scholar, was sceptical of the political parties' intentions. He said all parties had written policies on the poor but deep down the politicians did not believe in involving Thailand's poor in the development of the country. "They only look at the poor as beggars waiting for hand-outs. Politicians have to change their way of thinking, that the poor lack the wisdom to develop the country," he said. Narong Phetprasert, an economics lecturer from Chulalongkorn University, believed the political parties took the forum as an opportunity to campaign early for the election. The NAP, in particular, has its political base in the Northeast and must do everything to maintain that base and thus could not afford to be left out. On the other hand, the Democrats might not see the Northeast as an important base because it tried to cater to all levels of society, he said. Also, the Democrats' main focus was to strengthen the mainstream capitalist institutions such as banks and large corporations because it believed that was the way to distribute wealth, and that was why it failed to send representatives to the assembly-organised forum, Mr Narong said.