Farmers cancel Suvarnabhumi Airport protest plan

[casualbiker]

why is everyone blaming the Yingluck administration for the governments inability to pay?

The rice farmers were not in financial straits before the protesters and democrats forced Yingluck into caretaker status, limiting them governments ability to fund the program, and then the PAD/PDRC staff and pro PAD/PDRC boycotters are sabotaging the lending of funds.. then they use it to blame the govt.

BTW the rice subsidy is less than 8% of the national budget so spare me the she's bankrupting us bit.

Here is a breakdown of the 2013 budget. So 8% is the total spending for social security compensation.

the 2014 budget is even higher at 2.52 trillion baht.. 2009 budget was 1.8 trillion, the 2010 1.7tb, 2011 2.07tb, 2012 2.25tb and the 2013 in the graph,

source : http://thailand.prd.go.th/view_news.php?id=6639&a=2

[SABloke]

why is everyone blaming the Yingluck administration for the governments inability to pay?

The rice farmers were not in financial straits before the protesters and democrats forced Yingluck into caretaker status, limiting them governments ability to fund the program, and then the PAD/PDRC staff and pro PAD/PDRC boycotters are sabotaging the lending of funds.. then they use it to blame the govt.

BTW the rice subsidy is less than 8% of the national budget so spare me the she's bankrupting us bit.

They're prevented from loaning money true BUT answer this simple question: If you blame the protesters for preventing payment NOW, who do you blame for them not receiving payment BEFORE the house was disolved?

The blame must lie with someone, so who then? If you cannot answer this question then you shouldn't bother getting involved in any discussion since ignoring certain facts to support your argument makes you look ignorant. Maybe not a bad thing...I've heard that ignorance is bliss...

Sent from my GT-S7270 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Edited February 21, 2014 by SABloke

[icommunity]

The farmers made a wise decision. Don't be used by the dem's pdrc/pcad to seize airports. They should do it if they want and face the rule of law. May be that will force the CC to dissolved PTP immediately. Just like previously they dissolved PPP and its coalition partners without calling 300 defense witnesses and the right for the accused to defense.

[drand11]

Its amazing. Dems continue to use every trick in the book to block loans to Gov to pay farmers, yet members keep blaming govt and imply the farmers will not get paid

FOR SURE, farmers will get paid

FOR SURE, its in Yingluks favor to pay farmers

FOR SURE, Dems are behind the blocking of payment

Sent from my SM-N900 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[geriatrickid]

Well looks like they just got lied to again, right into their faces. And they still believe they're going to get paid by this government. I guess you can't blame the desperate for having hope. It's the same as buying a lottery ticket and hoping to strike it rich.

Nope. They were given a face saving way out of being used by Suthep.

The farmers have a legitimate gripe, but they realize that the government has done its utmost to get them their money. It doesn't take a genius to realize that Suthep has done everything he can to block their payment.

The rice farmers may not have much love for the government, but they are not about to help a group of thugs who ridicule them and that has the potential to hurt them more.

Outrageous claims that he is behind this. Utter rubbish as usual. PTP had a long, long time to set this straight months before any protests. they have done NOTHING to get the money, have the original funds investigated, tracked...just wanna borrow from banks so they don't have anyone tracking the whereabouts of all that graft. where did all the billions go for crying out loud?

Really low for an expat on a forum defending all of this corruption on the back of farmers..at the expense of tax payers, for months and months this went on..make suthep the scapegoat and allow PTP to never take responsibility for their dishonesty.

Only reason they went begging to the banks was to save face, intimidated and wanting to cover tracks so the real money that pumped into it isn't found to be in offshore accounts.

Hello? Where have you been for the past 3 months as Suthep has intimidated and threatened anyone and any financial institution that would have provided the bridge financing? He's offered rhetoric to incite the mob. Your argument denies that Suthep has taken every possible measure that he could to block the payments. You are all over the place with your argument. First claiming he hasn't sabotaged the efforts to pay, then claiming wide scale corruption and then claiming the money is in offshore bank accounts and now you claim that the bridge financing is a plot to "cover tracks".

The fact of the matter is that rice program is essentially a hedging investment that delivered a farm subsidy. Hedging programs do not always show "profits" at the start, nor are farm subsidies anything but red ink. Thailand's farm subsidies have always been tainted with corruption. That doesn't excuse corruption, but it's nothing new and was present when Suthep was deputy PM and throwing agricultural subsidies to his support base in the south. The issue here is the payment of funds to the farmers under the program. The fact is that Suthep and his allies did not want the payments made because they knew it would cause a political crisis. It was a smart political move. Whatever Suthep's faults, he is one of the best political strategists in Thailand. He knows the government's weaknesses and has consistently targeted those weaknesses.

The downside of his strategy is that the farmers can see that it is Suthep blocking the payments. The rice farmers knew they were being used. In all the years Suthep was in power, he never spoke up on behalf of the rice farmers. His cause celebre was palm oil and latex which made sense since that is what the southern farmers produce. Like Paul on the road to Damascus, he had an epiphany. Suthep the self anointed saviour of Thailand would "take care" of the rice farmers. Unfortunately, much like many cult leaders, the man has actually started to believe his own speeches as to his omnipotence and divine right to rule.

[SICHONSTEVE]

Its amazing. Dems continue to use every trick in the book to block loans to Gov to pay farmers, yet members keep blaming govt and imply the farmers will not get paid

FOR SURE, farmers will get paid

FOR SURE, its in Yingluks favor to pay farmers

FOR SURE, Dems are behind the blocking of payment

Sent from my SM-N900 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Are you Irish by any chance??

[lostinsurin]

why is everyone blaming the Yingluck administration for the governments inability to pay?

The rice farmers were not in financial straits before the protesters and democrats forced Yingluck into caretaker status, limiting them governments ability to fund the program, and then the PAD/PDRC staff and pro PAD/PDRC boycotters are sabotaging the lending of funds.. then they use it to blame the govt.

BTW the rice subsidy is less than 8% of the national budget so spare me the she's bankrupting us bit.

Get your fact rights.

She was the one who foolishly dissolved parliament and put it into caretaker status. As if that was going to solve the problem and send the protestors home. She got the GSB to lend the government some funds to pay off the farmers. However, the people didn't trust their money in a bank that would put their savings at risk lending money to a government that can't seem to cover their debts and obligations. So came the bank run up to a tune of 100 billion baht and counting. You going to blame the PAD/PRDC of that too?

Oh it's ONLY 8% of the national budget. A failed scam that ONLY cost 8% of the budget. Talk about spin doctoring.

ONLY!

Gerry, I told you the farmers have gone home! Taken their tractors with them.

It would have been great PR for your leader.

Now tell us about the great things your leader Suthep is going to do for us.

Remember Hitlers last days when the support didn't arrive?

So now Mr Suthep is waiting for the guys with the tractors to come to his aid,(he can't believe they have left him)

whats he going to say tonight?

You lost today in the battle of TV, Red v Yellow.

See you tomorrow for a new battle. Sleep tight.

[Dogmatix]

Mr Chada is a coalition MP and I am sure his boss, Banharn, had some words with him after Thaksin or someone else in PT had some words with him. I think the person who received convincing assurances that he would be paid for calling off the rally is more likely to be Mr Chada than any of the farmers.

[AleG]

why is everyone blaming the Yingluck administration for the governments inability to pay?

The rice farmers were not in financial straits before the protesters and democrats forced Yingluck into caretaker status, limiting them governments ability to fund the program, and then the PAD/PDRC staff and pro PAD/PDRC boycotters are sabotaging the lending of funds.. then they use it to blame the govt.

BTW the rice subsidy is less than 8% of the national budget so spare me the she's bankrupting us bit.

No, you are wrong, the rice scheme ran out of money before the protest kicked in. it's an incontrovertible fact:

BANGKOK, Sept 12 – The Finance Ministry is responsible for finding funding, be it through domestic or foreign loans, for the new round of rice pledging scheme which will cost the government Bt270 billion, according to the deputy prime minister/commerce minister.

Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisan was referring to an earlier statement by the Finance Ministry that it ran out of budget for rice purchase from farmers, starting October 1.

Reiterated here "Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisan was referring to an earlier statement by the Finance Ministry that it ran out of budget for rice purchase from farmers, starting October 1."

Parsed here: the Finance Ministry itself admitted to have run out of money to pay the farmers in October 2013, a whole month and a half before the protests started due to the passing of the "Amnesty" Bill.

Even before that, in June 2013, the PTP government tried to change the Rice Scheme because they could see the writing on the wall, but the farmers rumbled and the government chickened out:

As the political and economic fallout worsened this year, Ms Yingluck faced the stark choice of continuing to pay the subsidy to farmers or cut the payment and risk losing their political support.

Last month she earned praise from economists by announcing that from July 1 the amount paid to farmers would be cut 20 per cent to 12,000 baht ($420) a tonne.

But when the announcement brought protesting farmers to the streets of Bangkok, Ms Yingluck reversed the decision and sacked Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/thailands-failed-rice-scheme-creates-moulding---mountains-of-grain-20130724-2qjdy.html#ixzz2txzcy6FL

The funny thing is that EVERY single time I have corrected someone claiming everything was just peachy until Suthep came along, by citing to actual facts, I get nothing in reply, nada, zip, bugger all.

Would be nice if for once I'd get a "Gee, seems that I was wrong, thanks".

[nong38]

Last seen heading for Pattaya for some well needed rest and relaxation, look out Soi Buckhao!

[lostinsurin]

So what's Suthep up to tonight?

Dreaming of tractors boys, dreaming of tractors.

[northernjohn]

Well looks like they just got lied to again, right into their faces. And they still believe they're going to get paid by this government. I guess you can't blame the desperate for having hope. It's the same as buying a lottery ticket and hoping to strike it rich.

Nope. They were given a face saving way out of being used by Suthep.

The farmers have a legitimate gripe, but they realize that the government has done its utmost to get them their money. It doesn't take a genius to realize that Suthep has done everything he can to block their payment.

The rice farmers may not have much love for the government, but they are not about to help a group of thugs who ridicule them and that has the potential to hurt them more.

Outrageous claims that he is behind this. Utter rubbish as usual. PTP had a long, long time to set this straight months before any protests. they have done NOTHING to get the money, have the original funds investigated, tracked...just wanna borrow from banks so they don't have anyone tracking the whereabouts of all that graft. where did all the billions go for crying out loud?

Really low for an expat on a forum defending all of this corruption on the back of farmers..at the expense of tax payers, for months and months this went on..make suthep the scapegoat and allow PTP to never take responsibility for their dishonesty.

Only reason they went begging to the banks was to save face, intimidated and wanting to cover tracks so the real money that pumped into it isn't found to be in offshore accounts.

Hello? Where have you been for the past 3 months as Suthep has intimidated and threatened anyone and any financial institution that would have provided the bridge financing? He's offered rhetoric to incite the mob. Your argument denies that Suthep has taken every possible measure that he could to block the payments. You are all over the place with your argument. First claiming he hasn't sabotaged the efforts to pay, then claiming wide scale corruption and then claiming the money is in offshore bank accounts and now you claim that the bridge financing is a plot to "cover tracks".

The fact of the matter is that rice program is essentially a hedging investment that delivered a farm subsidy. Hedging programs do not always show "profits" at the start, nor are farm subsidies anything but red ink. Thailand's farm subsidies have always been tainted with corruption. That doesn't excuse corruption, but it's nothing new and was present when Suthep was deputy PM and throwing agricultural subsidies to his support base in the south. The issue here is the payment of funds to the farmers under the program. The fact is that Suthep and his allies did not want the payments made because they knew it would cause a political crisis. It was a smart political move. Whatever Suthep's faults, he is one of the best political strategists in Thailand. He knows the government's weaknesses and has consistently targeted those weaknesses.

The downside of his strategy is that the farmers can see that it is Suthep blocking the payments. The rice farmers knew they were being used. In all the years Suthep was in power, he never spoke up on behalf of the rice farmers. His cause celebre was palm oil and latex which made sense since that is what the southern farmers produce. Like Paul on the road to Damascus, he had an epiphany. Suthep the self anointed saviour of Thailand would "take care" of the rice farmers. Unfortunately, much like many cult leaders, the man has actually started to believe his own speeches as to his omnipotence and divine right to rule.

You are becoming more and more like Chalerm. Do you believe your nonsense. How can a man stand on a stage and call a government corrupt when it is a proven fact and be blamed for that country not paying it's bill's. Bills that it had for quite a while before he came on the scene. The only power he has is the power the grass roots voters have given him.

You do remember that 52% of the people did not want the Shinawatra's. The rice scam among others is exactly the reason they did not want them.

The 48% consists of people willing to drive a farm vehicle for two or three days to get to Bangkok to face the Prime Minister if not protest at the airport not occupy. Yingluck has no time for them so she sends out a flunky to tell them she is going to pay them so they abandon the airport protest idea because a flunky told them some thing get on their farm vehicles and start for home.

You make quite a bunch of Einstein's.

[metisdead]

An insulting post has been removed as well as the replies.

[SICHONSTEVE]

why is everyone blaming the Yingluck administration for the governments inability to pay?

The rice farmers were not in financial straits before the protesters and democrats forced Yingluck into caretaker status, limiting them governments ability to fund the program, and then the PAD/PDRC staff and pro PAD/PDRC boycotters are sabotaging the lending of funds.. then they use it to blame the govt.

BTW the rice subsidy is less than 8% of the national budget so spare me the she's bankrupting us bit.

No, you are wrong, the rice scheme ran out of money before the protest kicked in. it's an incontrovertible fact:

BANGKOK, Sept 12 – The Finance Ministry is responsible for finding funding, be it through domestic or foreign loans, for the new round of rice pledging scheme which will cost the government Bt270 billion, according to the deputy prime minister/commerce minister.

Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisan was referring to an earlier statement by the Finance Ministry that it ran out of budget for rice purchase from farmers, starting October 1.

Reiterated here "Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisan was referring to an earlier statement by the Finance Ministry that it ran out of budget for rice purchase from farmers, starting October 1."

Parsed here: the Finance Ministry itself admitted to have run out of money to pay the farmers in October 2013, a whole month and a half before the protests started due to the passing of the "Amnesty" Bill.

Even before that, in June 2013, the PTP government tried to change the Rice Scheme because they could see the writing on the wall, but the farmers rumbled and the government chickened out:

As the political and economic fallout worsened this year, Ms Yingluck faced the stark choice of continuing to pay the subsidy to farmers or cut the payment and risk losing their political support.

Last month she earned praise from economists by announcing that from July 1 the amount paid to farmers would be cut 20 per cent to 12,000 baht ($420) a tonne.

But when the announcement brought protesting farmers to the streets of Bangkok, Ms Yingluck reversed the decision and sacked Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/thailands-failed-rice-scheme-creates-moulding---mountains-of-grain-20130724-2qjdy.html#ixzz2txzcy6FL

The funny thing is that EVERY single time I have corrected someone claiming everything was just peachy until Suthep came along, by citing to actual facts, I get nothing in reply, nada, zip, bugger all.

Would be nice if for once I'd get a "Gee, seems that I was wrong, thanks".

Facts don't mean anything to these ignoramuses they spout the same old rubbish what ever you present them with - I wouldn't bother trying to educate them if I was you as you are wasting your time on them!!

[lostinsurin]

Drand11,

You know, I know it, But the yellows don't want to know it,

but lets face it they have had a hard day.

It started so well with lots of tractors god, I love Thailand..

[Jip99]

So what's Suthep up to tonight?

Dreaming of tractors boys, dreaming of tractors.

You are indeed lost.

As will the farmers be when the next promised payment from this bankrupt government fails to appear.

[ponchi]

i think thaksin he pay the farmer for youturn

[Hulkster]

So what's Suthep up to tonight?

Dreaming of tractors boys, dreaming of tractors.

You are indeed lost.

As will the farmers be when the next promised payment from this bankrupt government fails to appear.

Not bankrupt. Money is everywhere in Thailand. The country is booming. Jobs everywhere. The baht even strengthened today. The market has zero fear that the government won't come up with the money.

Of course if the democrats, suthep, the courts and their Sino-Thai backers don't stop pouring fuel on this fire and a civil war erupts, then the market will see things differently. But that will be the fault of the Bangkok elite.

[JohanB]

Mr Chada is a coalition MP and I am sure his boss, Banharn, had some words with him after Thaksin or someone else in PT had some words with him. I think the person who received convincing assurances that he would be paid for calling off the rally is more likely to be Mr Chada than any of the farmers.

Of course Mr Chada as a coalition party member must have been paid and threatened by Yingluck to stop the farmers protest.

Yesterday he stated that:

“We are not sure where we will set up camp, but we will not leave the capital until we are paid for every grain of rice sold,” former member of parliament Chada Thaiseth said on Thursday."

[drand11]

Well looks like they just got lied to again, right into their faces. And they still believe they're going to get paid by this government. I guess you can't blame the desperate for having hope. It's the same as buying a lottery ticket and hoping to strike it rich.

Nope. They were given a face saving way out of being used by Suthep.

The farmers have a legitimate gripe, but they realize that the government has done its utmost to get them their money. It doesn't take a genius to realize that Suthep has done everything he can to block their payment.

The rice farmers may not have much love for the government, but they are not about to help a group of thugs who ridicule them and that has the potential to hurt them more.

Outrageous claims that he is behind this. Utter rubbish as usual. PTP had a long, long time to set this straight months before any protests. they have done NOTHING to get the money, have the original funds investigated, tracked...just wanna borrow from banks so they don't have anyone tracking the whereabouts of all that graft. where did all the billions go for crying out loud?

Really low for an expat on a forum defending all of this corruption on the back of farmers..at the expense of tax payers, for months and months this went on..make suthep the scapegoat and allow PTP to never take responsibility for their dishonesty.

Only reason they went begging to the banks was to save face, intimidated and wanting to cover tracks so the real money that pumped into it isn't found to be in offshore accounts.

Hello? Where have you been for the past 3 months as Suthep has intimidated and threatened anyone and any financial institution that would have provided the bridge financing? He's offered rhetoric to incite the mob. Your argument denies that Suthep has taken every possible measure that he could to block the payments. You are all over the place with your argument. First claiming he hasn't sabotaged the efforts to pay, then claiming wide scale corruption and then claiming the money is in offshore bank accounts and now you claim that the bridge financing is a plot to "cover tracks".

The fact of the matter is that rice program is essentially a hedging investment that delivered a farm subsidy. Hedging programs do not always show "profits" at the start, nor are farm subsidies anything but red ink. Thailand's farm subsidies have always been tainted with corruption. That doesn't excuse corruption, but it's nothing new and was present when Suthep was deputy PM and throwing agricultural subsidies to his support base in the south. The issue here is the payment of funds to the farmers under the program. The fact is that Suthep and his allies did not want the payments made because they knew it would cause a political crisis. It was a smart political move. Whatever Suthep's faults, he is one of the best political strategists in Thailand. He knows the government's weaknesses and has consistently targeted those weaknesses.

The downside of his strategy is that the farmers can see that it is Suthep blocking the payments. The rice farmers knew they were being used. In all the years Suthep was in power, he never spoke up on behalf of the rice farmers. His cause celebre was palm oil and latex which made sense since that is what the southern farmers produce. Like Paul on the road to Damascus, he had an epiphany. Suthep the self anointed saviour of Thailand would "take care" of the rice farmers. Unfortunately, much like many cult leaders, the man has actually started to believe his own speeches as to his omnipotence and divine right to rule.

But realize that this whole program is setup to lose some money. It is a true subsidy program and it is designed to lose money. All countries do it, though, I personally think it may go too far. Regardless, it is a Gov't program. If people don't like it, they just show their disapproval through their votes at the next election. It is also fine to protest the program. BUT...you do not attempt to shutdown/take over Gov't or hold the farmers themselves hostage due to your dislike of the program. Lets all be real, the Dems had the farmers. They don't care if they suffer. Fact is, they want the farmers to suffer.

Yingluk has NO REASON to want to see these farmers suffer. It is only to Yingluk's advantage to get these farmers paid. The only reason the farmers are not paid is due to the blocking of the Dems. I hope the Farmers can look beyond their anger/suffering and point their anger towards the Dem Party, where the frustration belongs.

[gadeloo]

So what's Suthep up to tonight?

Dreaming of tractors boys, dreaming of tractors.

You are indeed lost.

As will the farmers be when the next promised payment from this bankrupt government fails to appear.

Not bankrupt. Money is everywhere in Thailand. The country is booming. Jobs everywhere. The baht even strengthened today. The market has zero fear that the government won't come up with the money.

Of course if the democrats, suthep, the courts and their Sino-Thai backers don't stop pouring fuel on this fire and a civil war erupts, then the market will see things differently. But that will be the fault of the Bangkok elite.

I don't usually comment. but gees, what are you smoking? baht is strengthened today? for how much? compared to the last 3 months? try google "thai baht" and look at the graph. i do really hope that your post was a sarcasm.

Edited February 21, 2014 by gadeloo

[northernjohn]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

You are indeed lost.

As will the farmers be when the next promised payment from this bankrupt government fails to appear.

Not bankrupt. Money is everywhere in Thailand. The country is booming. Jobs everywhere. The baht even strengthened today. The market has zero fear that the government won't come up with the money.

Of course if the democrats, suthep, the courts and their Sino-Thai backers don't stop pouring fuel on this fire and a civil war erupts, then the market will see things differently. But that will be the fault of the Bangkok elite.

I believe the fire was started by the PTP and fueled by them with their insistence on white washing Thaksin before they paid the farmers.

Now along comes a group of people who voted against the Shinawatra's and want to see the government govern. The government does not have time for that as it is busy white washing Thaksin so they get even more irate and join forces. Now along comes Suthep and says you people are right but you need a leader if you will let me I will do that.

They then proceed to demonstrate against not only the attempt to legalize crime by a certain individual but against corruption in general. They persist with this idea. Along comes a lot of people that used to be on Thaksin's payroll and say the government is a good one even though it is a proven fact they are corrupt.

The battle has been joined. Now you come along and say "that will be the fault of the Bangkok elite."

Always the nameless ones. Conspiracies' by nameless individuals. Scarry

Please tell me why we the anti government people both in the streets and behind are keyboards have no trouble blaming the Shinawatra's but you PTP red shirt backers blame a nameless bunch. When in fact if you look at the record it was started by grass roots people. Also they started their part in it long after the PTP lit the fire.

Well that is all I have to say on the matter. Like an earlier poster said trying to get the truth through to some people is a waste of time. I do not believe all of the pro government posters believe what they post they just want the reaction.

[TVGerry]

But realize that this whole program is setup to lose some money. It is a true subsidy program and it is designed to lose money. All countries do it, though, I personally think it may go too far. Regardless, it is a Gov't program. If people don't like it, they just show their disapproval through their votes at the next election. It is also fine to protest the program. BUT...you do not attempt to shutdown/take over Gov't or hold the farmers themselves hostage due to your dislike of the program. Lets all be real, the Dems had the farmers. They don't care if they suffer. Fact is, they want the farmers to suffer.

Yingluk has NO REASON to want to see these farmers suffer. It is only to Yingluk's advantage to get these farmers paid. The only reason the farmers are not paid is due to the blocking of the Dems. I hope the Farmers can look beyond their anger/suffering and point their anger towards the Dem Party, where the frustration belongs.

Please spare us the typical red spin.

Yes, it's probably true Poo wants to pay the farmers as you said, it's too her advantage. But the problem is, the whole scam is so screwed up, she has no money to pay them with. Her government did not have the money all the way back BEFORE the protests started.

And don't blame the Dems because only an idiot would lend her money. The people who have money in GSB have spoken through their 100 billion and growing bank run. They will not trust their money with any idiot organisation that is foolish enough to lend money to a government that can't settle its debts and obligations. Don't try to spin it and blame the Dems for that. The depositors have spoken.

[fab4]

This was staged. A very elaborate con-trick which explains why all the tractors were new. The tractors were part of the bribe, and they can now keep them down on the farm--a free gift for earning a Thai Bafta.

Dubai shenanigans know no bounds. What about the people who are hanging themselves or are unable to trek down from Isaan?

Disgusting and totally corrupt. What will be the next snake oil trick to save their skins?

Eddy

I don't know, eddy.

What will be the next snake oil trick?

Why don't you tell us just as soon as you've made it up.

Once all the children have finished posting I might see if the forum is worth reading - it hasn't been for some time now.

[surangw]

who will take the blame once the rice is discovered to be moldy?

( or that there is not as much in storage at the records show)

[Hulkster]

So what's Suthep up to tonight?

Dreaming of tractors boys, dreaming of tractors.

You are indeed lost.

As will the farmers be when the next promised payment from this bankrupt government fails to appear.

Not bankrupt. Money is everywhere in Thailand. The country is booming. Jobs everywhere. The baht even strengthened today. The market has zero fear that the government won't come up with the money.

Of course if the democrats, suthep, the courts and their Sino-Thai backers don't stop pouring fuel on this fire and a civil war erupts, then the market will see things differently. But that will be the fault of the Bangkok elite.

I don't usually comment. but gees, what are you smoking? baht is strengthened today? for how much? compared to the last 3 months? try google "thai baht" and look at the graph. i do really hope that your post was a sarcasm.

That's more to do with the USD strengthening. The rupiah and ringgit have similarly weakened. The baht is still strong.

The market is not worried. The government is not broke.

[Thunder26]

Well looks like they just got lied to again, right into their faces. And they still believe they're going to get paid by this government. I guess you can't blame the desperate for having hope. It's the same as buying a lottery ticket and hoping to strike it rich.

Nope. They were given a face saving way out of being used by Suthep.

The farmers have a legitimate gripe, but they realize that the government has done its utmost to get them their money. It doesn't take a genius to realize that Suthep has done everything he can to block their payment.

The rice farmers may not have much love for the government, but they are not about to help a group of thugs who ridicule them and that has the potential to hurt them more.

Outrageous claims that he is behind this. Utter rubbish as usual. PTP had a long, long time to set this straight months before any protests. they have done NOTHING to get the money, have the original funds investigated, tracked...just wanna borrow from banks so they don't have anyone tracking the whereabouts of all that graft. where did all the billions go for crying out loud?

Really low for an expat on a forum defending all of this corruption on the back of farmers..at the expense of tax payers, for months and months this went on..make suthep the scapegoat and allow PTP to never take responsibility for their dishonesty.

Only reason they went begging to the banks was to save face, intimidated and wanting to cover tracks so the real money that pumped into it isn't found to be in offshore accounts.

Hello? Where have you been for the past 3 months as Suthep has intimidated and threatened anyone and any financial institution that would have provided the bridge financing? He's offered rhetoric to incite the mob. Your argument denies that Suthep has taken every possible measure that he could to block the payments. You are all over the place with your argument. First claiming he hasn't sabotaged the efforts to pay, then claiming wide scale corruption and then claiming the money is in offshore bank accounts and now you claim that the bridge financing is a plot to "cover tracks".

The fact of the matter is that rice program is essentially a hedging investment that delivered a farm subsidy. Hedging programs do not always show "profits" at the start, nor are farm subsidies anything but red ink. Thailand's farm subsidies have always been tainted with corruption. That doesn't excuse corruption, but it's nothing new and was present when Suthep was deputy PM and throwing agricultural subsidies to his support base in the south. The issue here is the payment of funds to the farmers under the program. The fact is that Suthep and his allies did not want the payments made because they knew it would cause a political crisis. It was a smart political move. Whatever Suthep's faults, he is one of the best political strategists in Thailand. He knows the government's weaknesses and has consistently targeted those weaknesses.

The downside of his strategy is that the farmers can see that it is Suthep blocking the payments. The rice farmers knew they were being used. In all the years Suthep was in power, he never spoke up on behalf of the rice farmers. His cause celebre was palm oil and latex which made sense since that is what the southern farmers produce. Like Paul on the road to Damascus, he had an epiphany. Suthep the self anointed saviour of Thailand would "take care" of the rice farmers. Unfortunately, much like many cult leaders, the man has actually started to believe his own speeches as to his omnipotence and divine right to rule.

My question is how Suthep stopped the government to pay the farmers? I don't think it is correct to get loans from banks to pay the farmers, you should pay from reselling rice. In normal terms the government as a body became responsible in buying rice from the farmers (using tax money from Thai people) and then logically you would expect the government to sell it for profit. Selling rice for profit didn't work because the international price of rice was lower than what the government had expected. During the rice scheme a few countries got fed up with the low quality of rice Thailand had to offer and the problems started.

As a person living in Thailand I am concerned and I can see that the rice scheme was a very big mistake. The current government made Thailand fell in ratings regarding the export of rice. The quality of rice it is not what it used to be, some countries (Ex: Cot d'Ivoire) refuse to buy rice from Thailand again after poor rice delivery.

The present government showed itself incompetent in managing the rice scheme which was riddled with corruption.

Edited February 21, 2014 by Thunder26

[Baerboxer]

This was staged. A very elaborate con-trick which explains why all the tractors were new. The tractors were part of the bribe, and they can now keep them down on the farm--a free gift for earning a Thai Bafta.

Dubai shenanigans know no bounds. What about the people who are hanging themselves or are unable to trek down from Isaan?

Disgusting and totally corrupt. What will be the next snake oil trick to save their skins?

Eddy

I don't know, eddy.

What will be the next snake oil trick?

Why don't you tell us just as soon as you've made it up.

Once all the children have finished posting I might see if the forum is worth reading - it hasn't been for some time now.

Glad you're disappointed. Always hard to take the truth when it's so opposite to your own views.

Lot of spin and crap from both sides. But most of the TV regular red brigade now seem to have lost contact with reality.

Ask yourself why Poo meets this nice chap who returns and leads these irate farmers back home, as they trust her vow to pay them next week. Yet she won't meet any of the previous groups of farmers in person. Oh yes, that's right - they're fake farmers and these are the real McCoy. Oh but wait, earlier this week all the red brigade PTP supporters here posted that this lot were fake, paid by Suthep, and driving new tractors supplied by elite corporate backers.

Hard to keep the spins on track with so many twists isn't it.

Wonder how these real or fake farmers will react if and when this vow is broken just like all her previous promises. Time for a sharp exit maybe?

[englishoak]

Seems to me a point was made as intended and then they went home as it got the attn they wished.

So basically like the bank run will destroy GSB the D day V day BBS and ITV days and all the other daily headline sensationalism we see all the time ... the truth is it was actually not a farmers take down the airport or government day at all.

They had a point to make and they seemed imo to make it rather well, respect to the farmers for knowing where to stop and getting the attn of all the right people.

The press do love to wind everyone up ... great entertainment but thats about it ... next epic BS headline story the Nation please.

Edited February 21, 2014 by englishoak

[telecom]

Anyone stopped to consider that Chada Thaiseth may have set this motorized march up for his own gain from the very start?

Think about it.

Assemble the farmers and help to organize this huge protest and then on the final day before they reach BKK drop the bomb shell declaring that their destination is Swampy, knowing that this would strike terror in quite a lot of hearts. Then just before they reach their destination and objectives, strike a deal for an 'undisclosed' amount, probably from a bank account in Dubai.

He would have known that a negotiation would have been forthcoming. Surely he would have also known that a cash settlement to turn the mob around would be equally forthcoming seeing as he is an ex-MP and all that, so he knows how it works.

Agreed to feed the farmers a BS story on behalf of the govt and offer to pay all their diesel and expenses for the return trip.

This was all too sudden for comfort.

This is Yingluck and the PTP so we have to assume that cynical and underhand methods have been employed, because without a nice backhander, I doubt these farmers would have swallowed this BS about being paid next week again.

Maybe all the farmers have had their voucher numbers taken by the finance ministry, and promised they will be paid in full (only those farmers in the march) in which case a few thousand rice pledging vouchers may only come to a few hundred million, which may not be much of an ask from the government who is actually selling a bit of rice at the moment in their auctions.

Makes sense, but if it breaks that the protesting farmers all got their money, I can see a swarm heading for the airport.