Red Sunday group leader Sombat spearheads Thai rice-purchase plan

[Artisi]

Interesting to note the relative "quiet" over the past few days from what were prolific "pro-Govt" posters . . .

Wonder why?

[Emptyset]

Hahaha riiiiight! And you guys are helping the farmers out of the kindness of your hearts?

Your darling leader and his cronies came up with this idiot scam and rather than help the farmers, they ended up screwing them. How many more rice farmers have to kill themselves before you idiots admit this scheme is not only a failure but a monumental waste of tax payer money? PRDC use these farmers to overthrow the Poo government? How about the Shinawatras using them for their votes and then screwing them over?

Sombat isn't supporting the PTP and I doubt whether Kru Prateep is these days either. Just because they don't support Suthep and the old elites in their plans for an unelected council doesn't mean that Thaksin is their 'darling leader'. If you knew anything about either of them you wouldn't say that. You're talking about people who've worked their whole lives to support the poorest in society. If you were talking about Jatuporn or Nattawud, you might have a point.

The irony is that you'd support a corrupt politician who hasn't been noted for doing anything that's not in his own financial interests during his whole career over people like them. lol. Basically using the same justification people used previously for supporting Thaksin 'we know he's corrupt and a bad guy, but he got stuff done and helped us' ... you support Suthep despite knowing he's corrupt and self-serving because you think he'll achieve the goal you want to see. How then can you criticize others who've supported corrupt politicians for the same reasons?

[Emptyset]

I have always maintained that the rural poor in Thailand need a body that in some shape or form supports them.

The Red Shirts came the nearest to that - although they never captured the hearts of those outside the North and North East excluding the band along the west and a big nump of the lower north east.

The RS flew the flags of the farmers until they took the positively Orwellian step of trading their beliefs for the hard cash of politics.

The "breakaway" RS party will need some support and will also need to garner some friends in the south for it to be a success. It will also need leaders who can't be paid to crusade for somebody else's cause. With a decent set of national agricultural modernisation policies it could have a big role to play even as a coalition party.

The 2 bodies who are losing support from those who toil the earth and the RS and the PTP

Yes, I think there's some truth in that. Take Nattawud for example, in 2010 he had little to lose. Now he's made millions and has a cushy position as Dep Minister of Commerce. He's not going to put it on the line to fight for the rights of the poorest against his own party. I'd be surprised if he even stuck his neck out too much to fight the PDRC or military (in the unlikely event of a coup). Too much to lose.

[klauskunkel]

"They're exploiting the farmers' sentiment," he said, referring to the PDRC.

while the government has been exploiting the farmers livelihood and future.

[tonbridgebrit]

Yingluk publicly apologising for the stupid rice policy her brother created and ordered her to implement - that's likely, I don't think.

I'm afraid the humility gene is completely missing from the Shinawatra bloodline, and very rare in the rest of the Thai-Chinese ruling class.

Well, yes, the humility gene being very rare amongst the Chinese-Thai ruling class can be seen clearly when looking at the Democrats. Surely, we all accept that the Democrats are dominated by Thai people of Chinese descent.

[JRSoul]

Yingluk publicly apologising for the stupid rice policy her brother created and ordered her to implement - that's likely, I don't think.

I'm afraid the humility gene is completely missing from the Shinawatra bloodline, and very rare in the rest of the Thai-Chinese ruling class.

Well, yes, the humility gene being very rare amongst the Chinese-Thai ruling class can be seen clearly when looking at the Democrats. Surely, we all accept that the Democrats are dominated by Thai people of Chinese descent.

And how would you describe PTP, where one man calls the shots?

[tonbridgebrit]

Yingluk publicly apologising for the stupid rice policy her brother created and ordered her to implement - that's likely, I don't think.

I'm afraid the humility gene is completely missing from the Shinawatra bloodline, and very rare in the rest of the Thai-Chinese ruling class.

Well, yes, the humility gene being very rare amongst the Chinese-Thai ruling class can be seen clearly when looking at the Democrats. Surely, we all accept that the Democrats are dominated by Thai people of Chinese descent.

And how would you describe PTP, where one man calls the shots?

Yes, both parties are dominated by Thais of Chinese descent !

Let's look at their supporters (voters). Most people do feel that most of the elite and middle-class are actually Thais with Chinese ancestry. And some people do feel that the 'rural Thais' who mainly vote for PTP, well, they do look less Chinese than the elite and middle-class !

[rikkie]

Hahaha riiiiight! And you guys are helping the farmers out of the kindness of your hearts?

Your darling leader and his cronies came up with this idiot scam and rather than help the farmers, they ended up screwing them. How many more rice farmers have to kill themselves before you idiots admit this scheme is not only a failure but a monumental waste of tax payer money? PRDC use these farmers to overthrow the Poo government? How about the Shinawatras using them for their votes and then screwing them over?

Yes you can buy food, take care your kid, family.... in reality you are just a looser, just your fascist leader did this making the country looking like a third world, i hope you proud yourself.

nobody want to buy rice, because what you do to the country, and i see most people see now Yellow = just Be YELLOW means coward not responsible for actions happen

[Thait Spot]

I have always maintained that the rural poor in Thailand need a body that in some shape or form supports them.

The Red Shirts came the nearest to that - although they never captured the hearts of those outside the North and North East excluding the band along the west and a big nump of the lower north east.

The RS flew the flags of the farmers until they took the positively Orwellian step of trading their beliefs for the hard cash of politics.

The "breakaway" RS party will need some support and will also need to garner some friends in the south for it to be a success. It will also need leaders who can't be paid to crusade for somebody else's cause. With a decent set of national agricultural modernisation policies it could have a big role to play even as a coalition party.

The 2 bodies who are losing support from those who toil the earth and the RS and the PTP

Yes, I think there's some truth in that. Take Nattawud for example, in 2010 he had little to lose. Now he's made millions and has a cushy position as Dep Minister of Commerce. He's not going to put it on the line to fight for the rights of the poorest against his own party. I'd be surprised if he even stuck his neck out too much to fight the PDRC or military (in the unlikely event of a coup). Too much to lose.

Nattawut at least opposed the amnesty bill

[Bluespunk]

Hahaha riiiiight! And you guys are helping the farmers out of the kindness of your hearts?

Your darling leader and his cronies came up with this idiot scam and rather than help the farmers, they ended up screwing them. How many more rice farmers have to kill themselves before you idiots admit this scheme is not only a failure but a monumental waste of tax payer money? PRDC use these farmers to overthrow the Poo government? How about the Shinawatras using them for their votes and then screwing them over?

Yes you can buy food, take care your kid, family.... in reality you are just a looser, just your fascist leader did this making the country looking like a third world, i hope you proud yourself.

nobody want to buy rice, because what you do to the country, and i see most people see now Yellow = just Be YELLOW means coward not responsible for actions happen

PT and PT alone are responsible for the rice debacle.

[Pi Sek]

I have always maintained that the rural poor in Thailand need a body that in some shape or form supports them.

The Red Shirts came the nearest to that - although they never captured the hearts of those outside the North and North East excluding the band along the west and a big nump of the lower north east.

The RS flew the flags of the farmers until they took the positively Orwellian step of trading their beliefs for the hard cash of politics.

The "breakaway" RS party will need some support and will also need to garner some friends in the south for it to be a success. It will also need leaders who can't be paid to crusade for somebody else's cause. With a decent set of national agricultural modernisation policies it could have a big role to play even as a coalition party.

The 2 bodies who are losing support from those who toil the earth and the RS and the PTP

Yes, I think there's some truth in that. Take Nattawud for example, in 2010 he had little to lose. Now he's made millions and has a cushy position as Dep Minister of Commerce. He's not going to put it on the line to fight for the rights of the poorest against his own party. I'd be surprised if he even stuck his neck out too much to fight the PDRC or military (in the unlikely event of a coup). Too much to lose.

Nattawut at least opposed the amnesty bill

I might be wrong on this, but I thought his opposition to the Amnesty Bill resulted in an abstention? If I'm right, that was some pretty lame "opposition".

[EyesWideOpen]

Interesting to note the relative "quiet" over the past few days from what were prolific "pro-Govt" posters . . .

With the rice scheme going down in flames virtually on a daily basis,

it can only get quieter..... Rice for needy children ?? This is becoming

like a comedy show.....

[EyesWideOpen]

Interesting to note the relative "quiet" over the past few days from what were prolific "pro-Govt" posters . . .

With the rice scheme going down in flames virtually on a daily basis,

it can only get quieter..... Rice for needy children ?? This is becoming

like a comedy show.....

[gemini81]

Yingluk publicly apologising for the stupid rice policy her brother created and ordered her to implement - that's likely, I don't think.

I'm afraid the humility gene is completely missing from the Shinawatra bloodline, and very rare in the rest of the Thai-Chinese ruling class.

Well, yes, the humility gene being very rare amongst the Chinese-Thai ruling class can be seen clearly when looking at the Democrats. Surely, we all accept that the Democrats are dominated by Thai people of Chinese descent.

And how would you describe PTP, where one man calls the shots?

Yes, both parties are dominated by Thais of Chinese descent !

Let's look at their supporters (voters). Most people do feel that most of the elite and middle-class are actually Thais with Chinese ancestry. And some people do feel that the 'rural Thais' who mainly vote for PTP, well, they do look less Chinese than the elite and middle-class !

You can classify them however you want in terms of racial heritage, but you can't change the well documented fact that PTP stinks of an epidemic of unprecedented corruption and needs to be removed at all costs. They have done far more damage and stole tons more than the democrats ever have. The democrats had some good policies going that didn't finish materializing due to a capital under seize and rubber tire smoke. PTP have implemented only policies to bankrupt the country and benefit themselves.

A lot of BKK residents are part chinese, all posters are aware, but some are good and bad, kind and selfish among the ones I've known and worked with. Indigenous Thais kind of let things go them, due to work ethic, education, customs...less stingy..whatever. I always believed anyway, that there are just as many differences within a culture as there are across cultures.

[rogerdee123]

In other words, "Oh <deleted> why didnt we think of that first "

A cynical attempt to make it look like his group cares for the farmers.

I think Sombat and Khru Prateep's records speak for themselves in terms of what they've done for the poorest in society. Whereas Suthep on the other hand... in any case, even if I was charitable towards Suthep and said that this was a genuine attempt to help people he deeply cares for, the point is precisely as Thait Spot says, neither group will be able to do anything to help the majority who are owed. The only organization who will be able to help them is the next government with the power to borrow money. So the sooner that happens, the better for the farmers. Then after that farmers should come out and protest if they don't want the scheme to continue. Burn down the warehouses. But make sure everyone has their money first. PTP have exploited farmers, of course, but farmers have also used them to get what they want. If they hate this scheme, they won't vote for PTP again.

If these are legit registered charities or NGOs in Thailand and I guess Prateep's is ... don't know about Mirror..... there are also laws against their involvement in politics or political issues ... and I wonder if there will be investigations of them to see where the money is coming from to buy the rice.

If these two charities want to help poor farmers why don't they do projects to help poor farmers .... buying the rice is helping the Govt & PTP ... what will they do with the rice they buy? OK Prateep can give it away to the poor kids in Bangkok I guess as stated in the article ... but that won't be very much rice unless she gives every kid a tonne or two.

Prateep's foreign donors will probably have a lot of questions about the financial aspects of this activity ... and if registered they have to be audited by qualified auditors.

I foresee more lawsuits with this arrangement ...

Edited February 11, 2014 by rogerdee123

[Robby nz]

I doubt any farmer left destitute by the government's inability to pay will refuse help because it lacks 'sincerity'.

The PDRC are not helping them recover the money they're owned, only lengthening the time it'll take them to get paid. Can't you see that? This is true regardless of whether the rice scheme is a failure or not and whether it's the government's fault they didn't get the money before house dissolution (which it obviously is).

PDRC and the farmers have different objectives, but they coincide in putting pressure on the government to resolve the issue as soon as possible. What do you expect them to do, go home and eat grass (or hang themselves) while waiting for Yingluk to sort her mess? I hope they lodge personal suits against her and the relevant ministers.

BTW BP today has an article begins "Thaksin Shinawatra wants.........." WGAF what he wants?

I'm not blaming the farmers for protesting. Just pointing out that if they want the money faster, they're not going to get it by helping the PDRC. Quite the opposite. The govt is trying to resolve the issue as quickly as possible - they're just severely limited in what they can do. I don't think their response has been adequate, yet the point still stands, the longer the PDRC protest goes on, the longer it'll take for farmers to be paid. Unless of course the farmers want to resolve the situation very quickly by taking up arms and overthrowing the govt by force, because that's the only way it's going to happen any time soon.

I see emptyset you have been assigned to the defense on this one.

The only reason the farmers are not getting paid now is because Yingluck and Co are unwilling to take the risk of borrowing money.

Should they say 'yes we will take responsibility for any loans' then there would be no object to the banks lending the money.

At present any new borrowing would legally become the responsibility of the next government, however any payments to the farmers and anyone else associated with the scheme who hasn't been paid will also automatically become the responsibility of the next government.

That means that any borrowing now would only be borrowing against that future responsibility because for sure an incoming government would have to borrow to pay the farmers as there is no way enough rice could be sold quickly, if ever, to clear the debt. They have already tried and failed.

This only becomes a problem if there is a different government which wants to argue that the loans taken out now are not their responsibility.

Even if some outside entity wants to challenge the legality of a present loan if the next government accepts responsibility and repays the loan then there should be no problem.

That the caretaker government wont borrow only indicates they are not confident in becoming (controlling) the next government.

Your posts are just another blame PDRC attempt.

As for Suthep raising money for the farmers he is only helping them survive and take legal action against the Govt, that it raises his profile and helps him also is fine but help for the farmers is the main point.

As for the reds getting in on the act, fine also but, a little late if they really had the farmers interests at heart

[siampolee]

The Duang Prateep account will be used to purchase rice for needy children cared for by the foundation.

That comment alone is a sad and telling judgement on the P.T.P. puppet government.

A great deal of concern and effort concerning the puppet master and his well being . However it would seem as if there is little or no concern for those most in need by the Thaksin puppets.

Indeed a wonderful example of their concern for those in need that a charity foundation has to raise funds for needy children whilst the P.T.P. puppet government handed back enormous sums of money to its needy puppet master.Thaksin.

[pipkins]

Too late Sombat, the great reformer Suthep was there first and has already raised millions. Hey, it's taken the Democrats 13 years to catch up with Thaksin regarding public relations but they've finally made it.

Hmm 20 million for the farmers and 280 million for another land plot in the south.

Not doing bad there is he. Maybe I should go out, raise 1 million for them and pick up royalties of 12 million for my self.

The farmers will see through this as they spread the 20 million across the north. less than half a baht per person. Excuse them if they don't take Suthep Seriously in this.

[rogerdee123]

Why doesn't the Govt simply give the rice to the needy children .... if they are selling it to needy children, they should not be touting this as some kind of humanitarian project.

Edited February 11, 2014 by rogerdee123

[tingtongteesood]

The law suits should be made against specific persons directly rather than the government as a whole, I think they should be squarely placed against Yingluck as she is ( supposedly ) in charge. Let the farmers sue her for damages from her and her family's vast personal fortune a great deal of which ( allegedly ) and not allegedly has come from the tax payers.

[tingtongteesood]

Too late Sombat, the great reformer Suthep was there first and has already raised millions. Hey, it's taken the Democrats 13 years to catch up with Thaksin regarding public relations but they've finally made it.

Hmm 20 million for the farmers and 280 million for another land plot in the south.

Not doing bad there is he. Maybe I should go out, raise 1 million for them and pick up royalties of 12 million for my self.

The farmers will see through this as they spread the 20 million across the north. less than half a baht per person. Excuse them if they don't take Suthep Seriously in this.

That was a groundless accusation with the thinnest of circumstantial evidence which has been shown to be wrong, the land deal was made long before the protests started and it was made by a group of which Suteb's son was a member, Suteb himself had nothing to do with it.

So please show us some real proof or stop spreading your lies.

As for the amount of money donated being small, it is quite a lot considering it is being given by the so called 'elite' who the red shirt 'leaders' and media keep trying to encourage their followers to kill.....I wouldn't give them anything personally given what the red shirts did here in 2010...And this is 20 million after only 2 days, no doubt more can be raised and probably will, it is just the beginning.

Now please take your negativity elsewhere.

[Scamper]

" Don't be used by the PDRC. They're not truly sincere in helping you." He said whether the prime minister issued a public apology or not was up to her. "

Thaksin has been really slow in acknowledging the PR damage brought on by the rice scheme. It simply hasn't been at the top of his list - namely, himself. So now the sudden realization that the PDRC has taken the initiative - as have the Democrats, as well. Sombat's words simply reflect that the PDRC has beaten them to the post. But he's well behind with the idea. The PDRC is raising 20 million baht for the farmers. Actions speak louder than words. Sombat's comment on Yingluck is hilarious. Why wouldn't a public apology be appropriate ? Especially in relation to the rice scandal ? But Pheu Thai's problems with the word apology is that it implies wrong-doing. Yingluck has repeatedly said that nothing was done wrong. At the moment, she's a long way off from even admitting " honest mistakes ". Apology ? That's way over the top for a Shinowatra.

Edited February 11, 2014 by Scamper

[rubl]

Too late Sombat, the great reformer Suthep was there first and has already raised millions. Hey, it's taken the Democrats 13 years to catch up with Thaksin regarding public relations but they've finally made it.

Have the Dems announced a policy as well? What is it? Don't see any mention of it, or the Dems for that matter, in the article.

Mind, I do recall a plan they had a few years back that appeared to be working quite well, without destroying the rice industry. What ever happened to that now?

Scratched by the new government which said they had a mandate to print money?

[Pi Sek]

Hahaha riiiiight! And you guys are helping the farmers out of the kindness of your hearts?

Your darling leader and his cronies came up with this idiot scam and rather than help the farmers, they ended up screwing them. How many more rice farmers have to kill themselves before you idiots admit this scheme is not only a failure but a monumental waste of tax payer money? PRDC use these farmers to overthrow the Poo government? How about the Shinawatras using them for their votes and then screwing them over?

Sombat isn't supporting the PTP and I doubt whether Kru Prateep is these days either. Just because they don't support Suthep and the old elites in their plans for an unelected council doesn't mean that Thaksin is their 'darling leader'. If you knew anything about either of them you wouldn't say that. You're talking about people who've worked their whole lives to support the poorest in society. If you were talking about Jatuporn or Nattawud, you might have a point.

The irony is that you'd support a corrupt politician who hasn't been noted for doing anything that's not in his own financial interests during his whole career over people like them. lol. Basically using the same justification people used previously for supporting Thaksin 'we know he's corrupt and a bad guy, but he got stuff done and helped us' ... you support Suthep despite knowing he's corrupt and self-serving because you think he'll achieve the goal you want to see. How then can you criticize others who've supported corrupt politicians for the same reasons?

Bang on the mark. Again

Sombat is right that the PDRC is exploiting the farmers' plight and you are right that the farmers' objective is to get paid, not overthrow the government. Where I think Sombat is wrong is that the scheme has not been a failure. It's clearly a gargantuan failure. I've just sent him a message to question his ongoing support for a failed scheme, I wonder if he'll answer me. He knows I'm on the "other" side, but he knows I respect him as the most genuine of the Red Shirt leadership.

I do think you're giving Sombat a little too much credit if you think he's not supporting PTP. He is a critical and objective supporter, but still a supporter. He may not like it, but I think he is merely being used as a voice of democracy allied to an autocratic regime, thereby somehow adding to its legitimacy. Also, I'm surprised you even used the word "elite" as I know you accept that there are poor and rich, rural and urban, on both sides of the divide, regardless of any affiliations to old or new elite. I'm betting that you and I agree the various unmentionables have played roles for both sides too.

If I were to be tasked with setting up a Peoples' Council, though, Sombat would be one of my top choices (Anand Panyarachun and Surin Pitsuwan both spring immediately to mind). I just wonder if they'd ever agree on anything!

Perhaps you are tying the protesters a little too closely to "supporting Suthep and the old elites"? Obviously Suthep is at the centre of the protest, but most protesters wouldn't grant him overt levels of trust (even if they "like" him), and are fully aware of his background - they're just unhappy that unsustainable populist policies are bringing the country down and the incumbent government refuses to acknowledge they were wrong because they don't want to sow doubt on their right to govern after creating an environment that they expect at least a third of the country to accept their word as gospel (even if the opportunity to do so was granted to them by past governments' apathy).

That's why Suthep has felt the need to go public with "I'm just a regular guy these days" and the "no more politics" business (although personally I suspect he has his sights set on a Privy Council role or similar), along with the convenient excuse that all of Thai politics needs reform because even the Dems can't be trusted (so what chance do any of the "less genuine" parties like PTP have?). It's still ironic though, you're certainly right there.

I find Suthep's on-stage stance to be most admirable, although I (like most protesters) am skeptical as to how genuine he really is:

"We want good people to govern"

<insert firebrand speech about how the Shins are not good people>

"Suthep Thaugsuban will not be among the good people who will govern, because he is just one of The People"

"And if these good people betray The People, then we'll come back out and blow whistles at them"

I suppose the protesters feel he is the lesser of two evils before, and there's even a chance that he is genuine... but at the end of the day, Thais like having someone to follow and that's why Suthep is still important.

[seajae]

in other words, this red suckhole realizes suthep had a good idea trying to help the farmers so he wants to try to out do them and win back some support for him and his red/ptp sucks. They could have done this weeks ago but just didnt have the brains to think of it so they must copy suthep, truly pathetic but typical red shirt crap.

[siampolee]

rogerdee123 post # 49

Why doesn't the Govt simply give the rice to the needy children .... if they are selling it to needy children, they should not be touting this as some kind of humanitarian project.

There is no profit for the Shinwatra clan with freebies. Money rules compassion dies.

[douginbkk]

In other words, "Oh &lt;deleted&gt; why didnt we think of that first "

A cynical attempt to make it look like his group cares for the farmers.

I think Sombat and Khru Prateep's records speak for themselves in terms of what they've done for the poorest in society. Whereas Suthep on the other hand... in any case, even if I was charitable towards Suthep and said that this was a genuine attempt to help people he deeply cares for, the point is precisely as Thait Spot says, neither group will be able to do anything to help the majority who are owed. The only organization who will be able to help them is the next government with the power to borrow money. So the sooner that happens, the better for the farmers. Then after that farmers should come out and protest if they don't want the scheme to continue. Burn down the warehouses. But make sure everyone has their money first. PTP have exploited farmers, of course, but farmers have also used them to get what they want. If they hate this scheme, they won't vote for PTP again.

I have always maintained that the rural poor in Thailand need a body that in some shape or form supports them.

The Red Shirts came the nearest to that - although they never captured the hearts of those outside the North and North East excluding the band along the west and a big nump of the lower north east.

The RS flew the flags of the farmers until they took the positively Orwellian step of trading their beliefs for the hard cash of politics.

The "breakaway" RS party will need some support and will also need to garner some friends in the south for it to be a success. It will also need leaders who can't be paid to crusade for somebody else's cause. With a decent set of national agricultural modernisation policies it could have a big role to play even as a coalition party.

The 2 bodies who are losing support from those who toil the earth and the RS and the PTP

I agree, and they should first start by detaching themselves from current radical leaders such as Thida, Kwanchai, Arisman, Jatuphorn, Nattawut, and most importantly Thaksin. None of these so called leaders are farmers, so how can farmers truly believe that they could properly be represented by them? Getting rid of these leaders would allow other average citizens / middle class to give them more credibility and respect.

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[Jonmarleesco]

"They're exploiting the farmers' sentiment," he [sombat] said, referring to the PDRC. He also had a message to rice farmers: "Don't be used by the PDRC. They're not truly sincere in helping you."

Replace 'sentiment' with 'support' and he could be referring to PTP.

[bigbamboo]

If the road to hell is paved with "good intentions," just imagine where one with bad intentions leads you.

Pattaya ?

[douginbkk]

Yingluk publicly apologising for the stupid rice policy her brother created and ordered her to implement - that's likely, I don't think.

I'm afraid the humility gene is completely missing from the Shinawatra bloodline, and very rare in the rest of the Thai-Chinese ruling class.

Well, yes, the humility gene being very rare amongst the Chinese-Thai ruling class can be seen clearly when looking at the Democrats. Surely, we all accept that the Democrats are dominated by Thai people of Chinese descent.

Utter nonsense. Equal proportion of Thai Chinese on all sides. Try watching a parliamentary debate some time.

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