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The Bangkok Post March 8 1999
Group links with global movements Move to strengthen bargaining power Naowarat Suksamran The Forum of the Poor is teaming up with international farmer movements to map out collective strategies to solve their problems.The Forum is organising a meeting in Maha Sarakham tomorrow to be attended by farmers' representatives from 11 countries that have been under IMF programmes. Designated "chefs", core members representing Forum-affiliated organisations, and leading advisers namely Bamrung Kayotha, Vanida Tantivithayapitak and Veerapol Sopha, will attend the meeting on the Thai side. Nitirat Sapsomboon, the Forum spokesman, said the "chefs" represent particular concerns for particular farmer groups and in all there were 121 issues broadly divided into seven problem areas which they would be pursuing. The landmark meeting involves the drawing up of plans to direct farmers' movements at the international level. One of the strategies would be to protest moves by agencies such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank whose policies were deemed detrimental to internal agricultural development. But despite its additional duty in the global arena, the Forum would retain momentum in pressing the government with its demands to alleviate the farmers' plight, Mr Nitirat said. The worldwide farmers' networking would mean greater bargaining power. The spokesman said the pact currently comprises 11 countries from East Asia, Asean, and Latin America. Mr Bamrung is the Forum's appointed representative in the movement. Tomorrow's meeting, a pre-session ahead of the third major assembly in Delhi, is expected to discuss farmers' grievances stemming from land ownership and natural resources management, to land reform. Equally important were problems of global and regional significance. These include policies passed by bodies such as the World Trade Organisation which adversely affected the lives of farmers. The situation on agricultural biodiversity and food supplies also needed to be assessed and required special attention. Hitting close to home, Mr Nitirat took the government to task for impeding efforts to tackle farmers' problems, adding that the Forum had decided to abort further talks after the progress made during the previous administration was snubbed. It was wrong to try to break the gridlock through permanent officials as this effectively rendered the resolutions reached in the previous government null and void. The resolutions required cabinet ministers to take a direct role over issues which come under their jurisdictions. The bureaucratic approach to problem-solving had caused needless delay, compounding the hardship of the people, he said. He said the government had "adopted as bible" the guidelines from the lending agencies, which have created more problems than they solved. Many projects initiated as a result of foreign loan conditions had widespread repercussions on farmers, Mr Nitirat said, citing a case in point being the Asia Development Bank loan which slaps taxes on water for irrigation. He said the Forum would call for parliament's dissolution to pave way for a more transparent and accountable government. Mr Bamrung said the farmers' representatives would today
submit an open letter to the government to protest against all the laws and bills
it claims are aimed at "selling Thailand out to foreigners".
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