AGRICULTURE / PROTEST OVER DEBTS

Farmers threaten to migrate

About 300 indebted northeastern farmers rallied near the Thai-Lao friendship bridge in Nong Khai yesterday and threatened to move to Laos if the government ignores their pleas for help.

The group, claiming to represent indebted farmers in 12 northeastern provinces, walked 1.5km from a public park in Nong Khai town to about 300 metres from the immigration checkpoint at the bridge.

About 140 local police and volunteers were on hand to keep them in order.

The farmers want the government to ease their debts through write-offs, moratoriums, long-term instalments or returning seized collateral, among other proposals.

Their leaders said they wanted the cabinet to give an indication of its intention to help them at its meeting today.

If it did not do so, then the farmers would cross over the bridge to Vientiane in a few days.

The group expects more than 1,000 peers from Nakhon Ratchasima and other northern provinces to join them.

Their move has put pressure on the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry to ask the cabinet to quickly give them help.

The ministry wants the cabinet to approve a central budget of 60 million baht to be used for the next election of farmers' representatives on June 3, so they can sit on the committee for the Farmers Rehabilitation and Development Fund and the group can gather a quorum.

This will enable the committee to make use of funds to help relieve the farmers' debts.

The farmers have also vowed to stage a rally in front of the ministry if the government fails to help them.

Bangkok Post

Last Updated : Tuesday April 10, 2007