Thai govt plays down Tuesdayis rubber protests

[webfact]

Govt plays down Tuesday's rubber protests
By English News



BANGKOK, Aug 31 – The planned multi-pronged protests against rubber price slump in different parts of Thailand on Tuesday will be weaker than earlier predicted, according to the Interior Ministry.

The special task force centre to monitor rubber growers’ demonstrations, set up by the Interior Ministry, reported that each protest in different regions would comprise not more than 2,000 people.

Rubber planters said they would hold simultaneous rallies in the northeastern, northern, eastern, central and southern regions. The special centre said the South would see about 5,000 protesters.

The authorities were optimistic that the protests would not escalate as most planters accepted the rubber purchase price at Bt80 per kg with financial assistance for fertilizer from the government.

They said Tuesday’s protests would merely be symbolic and many planters including those in Chiang Rai and Roi Et have decided not to join the demonstrations.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Pracha Promnok submitted an urgent letter to Parliament President Somsak Kiatsuranond, informing him that police in Nakhon Si Thammarat had not issued warrants to arrest Democrat MPs from the South, Nipit Intarasombate and Thaworn Senneam.

Witthaya Kaewparadai, Democrat MP from Nakhon Si Thammarat, claimed during a parliamentary debate that the authorities would soon issue arrest warrants for the two opposition MPs.

Both men were seen meeting with rubber planters in Nakhon Si Thammarat. (MCOT online news)


-- TNA 2013-08-31

[Soi Sauce]

Why aren't Democrat MPs allowed to meet with people with a genuine grievance?

[culicine]

Why aren't Democrat MPs allowed to meet with people with a genuine grievance?

Yep. And all those PT pollies meeting with a known criminal to air their grievances too:) Dirty scum the lot of them..

[billd766]

The rubber planters may even be the constituents who voted the Democrat MPs into parliament.

[Emptyset]

Why aren't Democrat MPs allowed to meet with people with a genuine grievance?

Where does it say they're not?

[Baerboxer]

Why aren't Democrat MPs allowed to meet with people with a genuine grievance?

Where does it say they're not?

On what basis do you think the arrest warrants are to be issued then?

Will an arrest warrant be issued for the arrest of the FM who illegally issued a passport to his criminal fugitive cousin? Or any of the MPs who have been pictured openly cavorting with said fugitive?

Double standards all the time. One rule of everybody, apart from us of course!

[Emptyset]

Why aren't Democrat MPs allowed to meet with people with a genuine grievance?

Where does it say they're not?

On what basis do you think the arrest warrants are to be issued then?

Will an arrest warrant be issued for the arrest of the FM who illegally issued a passport to his criminal fugitive cousin? Or any of the MPs who have been pictured openly cavorting with said fugitive?

Double standards all the time. One rule of everybody, apart from us of course!

Only the Democrat MP is suggesting that there'll be arrest warrants. Doesn't mean it's true - especially as a senior member of the government sent an 'urgent letter' to the house speaker claiming that no warrants have been issued. Of course that doesn't necessarily mean there won't be warrants in future, but why would he go to the trouble of the letter if there were going to be warrants? And why should we automatically assume the Democrat MP is telling the truth and not exaggerating things to make the government appear more authoritarian?

[up-country_sinclair]

I don't have a link or anything, but I heard that a couple of protesters in Nakhon Si Thammarat got shot this afternoon.

If true, it's going to be hard for the government to play that down.

[NeverSure]

When did the world slump in rubber prices become the government's fault or responsibility? Are we going to have a rubber scheme?