Thread: Rice farmers to protest against government

Farmers will be happy until, they find out last seasons crop at inflated prices are a thing of the past.

Originally Posted by hillbilly

Good point and will find out.

Yes, apparently there is a long line. We are number 3000 something and currently 2000 something is first in line. Was told next week will receive payment.

look at that what a coup, the new govt have finally caught on to thaksins populist policies, but will they be seen in the same light when the next crop comes???????????

Originally Posted by Yasojack

look at that what a coup, the new govt have finally caught on to thaksins populist policies, but will they be seen in the same light when the next crop comes???????????

Could well be right Jack.

Or, maybe the Thai people have wrestled back control of their country and now are attending to the most important to do thing on the list - feed their people.

All the money to pay them has been borrowed.

^
Like I said, they're not stupid, they can see clearly what happened.

Originally Posted by Albert Shagnastier

Originally Posted by Yasojack

look at that what a coup, the new govt have finally caught on to thaksins populist policies, but will they be seen in the same light when the next crop comes???????????

Could well be right Jack.

Or, maybe the Thai people have wrestled back control of their country and now are attending to the most important to do thing on the list - feed their people.

All the money to pay them has been borrowed.

Will the guns not be pointing at the farmers now then

hope no one had their grubby little fingers in the cookie jar

Ex-acting PM Niwattumrong faces probe on rice pledging scheme

The National Anti-Corruption Commission has decided to conduct a fact-finding investigation into the conduct of former deputy prime minister and commerce minister Niwattumrong Boonsongphaisan and former deputy commerce minister Yanyong Puangrach concerning corruption in the rice pledging scheme.

Four people are to be questioned regarding this probe. They are Internal Trade Department director-general Somchart Soithong, Finance Permanent Secretary Rangsan Sriworasart, Finance inspector-general Mr Kulis Sombatsiri and manager of the Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives or a representative.

NACC secretary-general Sansern Polajiak said that the NACC had decided to look into the assets and debts of the politicians involved with the rice pledging scheme and all former cabinet ministers.

He explained that the fact-finding probe was prompted by a finding of the sub-committee tasked with making an accounting of the rice scheme which showed that the loss from the scheme has soared to 500 billion baht.

____________

and some good news,........

Cash payment returns happiness to rice farmers

Payments to rice farmers nationwide continued smoothly with farmers expressing gratitude and people delivering flowers to soldiers to show their support to the military junta for the prompt action.

The Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives said all farmers will get their payment within June 20.

In Kalasin province, farmers in 18 districts of Kalasin province have been arriving at their local BAAC branch office to receive their money from the rice pledging under tight security by the soldiers.

In Ubon Ratchathani province, rice farmers from 25 districts presented flowers to representatives of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) present at their local BAAC, to express their gratitude and thanks to the council for compensating them for the rice scheme.

At the same time, the commander of the 22nd Military Circle of Ubon Ratchathani expressed confidence that every rice farmer there would be paid within two weeks’ time.

In the South Tuesday will be the first day of payment to farmers registered for the rice pledging scheme. In Songkhla province, rice farmers from five districts have been seen happily and eagerly waiting in line to receive their compensations.

Sing Buri province in the Central region also made payments to rice farmers for the first day as well, causing the farmers in the province to feel extremely happy and excited.

Farmers would be receiving a compensation of around 300,000 baht each.

Over in Phitsanulok province, more than 500 local residents have gathered at the province’s City Hall to present representatives of the NCPO there with flowers, fruits, rice, and beverages to say thanks to the council for aiding the farmers, as well as give moral support to soldiers.

The BAAC of Nakhon Ratchasima province, meanwhile, has launched the “Return Happiness to Rice Farms” scheme, in which they have prepared over 1.6 billion baht worth of compensations for rice farmers registered under the rice mortgage scheme.

The bank believes the payments should be done by the end of the week, while another 1 billion baht would be given back to the farmers by June 20.

Another stitch up probe, why don't they just arrest all the PT MPs and any supporters of PT lock them all up and game set and match to Padites.

Originally Posted by Tom Sawyer

Like I said, they're not stupid, they can see clearly what happened.

Sure they can Tom.
Under PT,

Originally Posted by S Landreth

loss from the scheme has soared to 500 billion baht.

500 billion???
5,000,000,000,000???

ALL THIS MONEY STOLEN

Yes Tom, they can see what happened.

That's why there will be no civil war,

exactly because

Originally Posted by Tom Sawyer

they're not stupid

^
Rice is barely fetching half the pledged price on the market. That isn't corruption.

A large quantity of rice is still sitting in warehouses, unsold. That isn't corruption.

Now apparently the farmers are going to be paid even though much of the rice hasn't been sold. If you want to see corruption watch what happens to the money when the rice is eventually sold and nobody is asking questions.....

Originally Posted by Thormaturge

Now apparently the farmers are going to be paid even though much of the rice hasn't been sold. If you want to see corruption watch what happens to the money when the rice is eventually sold and nobody is asking questions.....

Hopefully the banks who are managing the loans will have more than a passing interest in the rice mountain

^ Good point, I wondered why Prayuth summoned the bank CEO's for "softening up"

Anyone know why the military are guarding the Thai farmers Bank(BACC) are they taking over the Banking as well.?

Or is it the Bank is also corrupt.

Originally Posted by Yasojack

Anyone know why the military are guarding the Thai farmers Bank(BACC) are they taking over the Banking as well.?

Or is it the Bank is also corrupt.

Is TMB not Thai Military Bank? Don't they have their own bank?

talking about BACC.

Military has numerous businesses.

But will they be happy at next crop?

Cash payment returns happiness to rice farmers | Thai PBS English News

Cash payment returns happiness to rice farmers


Cash payment returns happiness to rice farmers Cash payment returns happiness to rice farmers Cash payment returns happiness to rice farmers
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Payments to rice farmers nationwide continued smoothly with farmers expressing gratitude and people delivering flowers to soldiers to show their support to the military junta for the prompt action.
The Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives said all farmers will get their payment within June 20.

In Kalasin province, farmers in 18 districts of Kalasin province have been arriving at their local BAAC branch office to receive their money from the rice pledging under tight security by the soldiers.

In Ubon Ratchathani province, rice farmers from 25 districts presented flowers to representatives of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) present at their local BAAC, to express their gratitude and thanks to the council for compensating them for the rice scheme.

At the same time, the commander of the 22nd Military Circle of Ubon Ratchathani expressed confidence that every rice farmer there would be paid within two weeks’ time.

In the South Tuesday will be the first day of payment to farmers registered for the rice pledging scheme. In Songkhla province, rice farmers from five districts have been seen happily and eagerly waiting in line to receive their compensations.

Sing Buri province in the Central region also made payments to rice farmers for the first day as well, causing the farmers in the province to feel extremely happy and excited.

Farmers would be receiving a compensation of around 300,000 baht each.

Over in Phitsanulok province, more than 500 local residents have gathered at the province’s City Hall to present representatives of the NCPO there with flowers, fruits, rice, and beverages to say thanks to the council for aiding the farmers, as well as give moral support to soldiers.

The BAAC of Nakhon Ratchasima province, meanwhile, has launched the “Return Happiness to Rice Farms” scheme, in which they have prepared over 1.6 billion baht worth of compensations for rice farmers registered under the rice mortgage scheme.

The bank believes the payments should be done by the end of the week, while another 1 billion baht would be given back to the farmers by June 20.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/28/wo...anda.html?_r=0

Anger Over Coup Trumps Payouts to Thai Farmers
By THOMAS FULLERMAY 27, 2014


CHIANG YUEN, Thailand — They emerged flush with cash, the rice farmers who traveled to a state-owned bank here to retrieve the money that Thailand’s military junta had ordered they be paid.

But if the country’s ruling generals expected gratitude, it was not on display on Tuesday in this northeastern town, a bastion of the former governing party, which the military overthrew in a coup last Thursday.

“I still have anger in my heart,” said Maitree Vichapa, a farmer and part-time carpenter who arrived with his wife and child to receive 27,000 baht, or around $850. “We should have had this money a long time ago.”

In what it described as one of its first priorities, Thailand’s military ordered that 92 billion baht ($2.8 billion) be disbursed to rice farmers, a huge sum that is more than the entire annual budget for the national police force. The payouts, meant to lift rural incomes, were twice the market price for the farmers’ rice.

The previous government tried but was unable to pay farmers in the face of debilitating protests. The Bangkok establishment called the subsidies a wasteful and corrupt scheme. But the new military rulers ordered that the payments be made, and that the country’s banks lend the government the necessary cash.



Farmers near Chiang Yuen received cash Tuesday that had been withheld by the previous government. The money was meant to lift incomes in rural provinces. Credit Adam Ferguson for The New York Times
The military also cranked up its propaganda machine, aided by the Thai news media, which has been largely subservient since the coup. “Farmers Receive Money With Tears of Joy,” ran the headline in a national newspaper, Ban Muang.

Other reports showed farmers marching to army bases to hand over red roses and holding up banners proclaiming appreciation for the general who led the coup, Prayuth Chan-ocha. Identical banners, featuring rice stalks and the same image of General Prayuth raising his hand in the air, were paraded by farmers in Phuket, Lopburi and Ubon Ratchathani, provinces that are separated by hundreds of miles.

Thai newspapers quoted farmers praising the military in highly formal language.

“We, on behalf of all farmers, would like to thank you for your true kindness and understanding of the hardship of the people,” a man who was described as a farmer was quoted by the ASTV Manager news website as saying. “We are here to offer moral support and flowers to thank you, the military of the entire people.”



In Chiang Yuen, though, where there was no visible military presence nearby, farmers chuckled over the reports.

“Real farmers wouldn’t come out and do those things,” said Duen Douangchansi, a farmer who received 280,000 baht (about $8,580) on Tuesday. “Real farmers would be too busy working.”

David Streckfuss, an expert in Thai politics who is based in the northeast, where the former government was popular, said the army was unlikely to win over many people in the region by handing out the rice money.

“Simply paying people for what they are owed is not going to buy the military any popularity, or somehow legitimize it,” Mr. Streckfuss said.

People collect rice money on Tuesday at the state-owned Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives in Chiang Yuen, Thailand. Credit Adam Ferguson for The New York Times
Mr. Streckfuss said that the army must address the fundamental issue of trust in democracy among the Thai citizenry.

The farmers in Chiang Yuen did not criticize the military on Tuesday, and some said they saw the army as a neutral force in the country. Even so, they said that a return to elections was imperative, and that they were confident that the ousted Pheu Thai party would win again. The party was founded by Thaksin Shinawatra, a former business tycoon and prime minister who is widely admired here for backing populist policies including universal health care, and his sister, Yingluck, was prime minister at the time of the coup.

In the months before the military stepped in, protesters backed by the Bangkok establishment blocked elections, which they saw as a threat to their traditional hegemony in Thai politics.

“The Bangkok establishment sees democracy as an unfair use of their tax money,” Mr. Streckfuss said. “They don’t see policies pursued by elected governments as benefiting them.” By contrast, he said, voters in the poorer northern provinces benefited from those policies, and “people in the northeast think democracy works for them.”

General Prayuth has said the country will return to democracy, but has not offered a timetable.

The rice payments were an apparent attempt by the ruling generals to show a compassionate side toward poorer provincial voters disenfranchised by the coup. But the junta also flashed its hard-line tactics on Tuesday when the country’s former education minister, Chaturon Chaisang, was arrested by soldiers at Bangkok’s foreign correspondents’ club soon after addressing journalists. Thai media reported he would be court-martialed for failing to surrender to the junta. And two Thai reporters who had asked General Prayuth about elections at a news conference were summoned to a meeting of junta leaders. “Being insistent with questioning is considered inappropriate,” said Maj. Gen. Pollapat Wannapaktr, a military spokesman.

In Chiang Yuen, Boonsri Pukongchana, 65, a former village headman, said that he was disappointed that the local talk radio station had stopped taking calls from people because of the coup, and that his neighbors were annoyed at having to seek permission to stay at a party later than the nationwide 10 p.m. curfew.

Farmers bank now paid 30 billion baht to farmers in five days

The Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperates said it has already paid farmers over 30 billion baht in five days after the military ordered immediate payment to ease the plight of troubled farmers.
BAAC said in the first day it paid 311.34 million baht to 3,544 cash-stricken farmers on May 26, following a decision made after Air Force Commander-in-Chief called a meeting with relevant government agencies and the bank executives to escalate the payment to farmers.

By now, it said 303,950 farmers were paid of over 30 billion baht in five days of payment.

It expected all unpaid farmers will get payment by June, in accordance with the queue numbers they obtained.

Remainder of item here: Farmers bank now paid 30 billion baht to farmers in five days | Thai PBS English News

^ So which independant transparent organisation is monitoring the distribution of the 50 billion?

In view of all the alleged corruption surely that would be the first thing the good people intentioned military would put in place?

They are referring to the Oxford Dic still to define