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Protest leaders expect at least 3,000 more northeastern farmers today to join those already rallying outside Government House. The number of protesters could swell to about 6,000, they said. As many as 800 farmers were ready to stage a hunger strike if the recommendations of a government-appointed panel on how to tackle 16 major problems of the rural poor were rejected by the cabinet today. Sawat Suansuwan, a protest leader, said some 800 farmers from Surin, Roi-et and Si Sa Ket had already arrived yesterday morning. About 3,000 other members of the Assembly of the Poor from elsewhere were also coming to the capital, he said. More than 1,000 Pak Moon dam opponents from Ubon Ratchathani staged a marathon rally at Government House to demand the opening of the dam's sluice gates to allow fish to spawn upstream. The cabinet is expected to discuss all the aspects of the panel's recommendations today. However, several government officials including Interior Minister Banyat Bantadtan said the cabinet was unlikely to agree to all the recommendations. A special television broadcast has been arranged to allow cabinet members to explain to the general public the government side of the story regarding the Pak Moon dam protest. Mr Banyat yesterday repeated his statement that the cabinet would not agree to any of the panel's recommendations which contradicted existing laws and regulations. "Please understand that any democratically-elected government would want to satisfy people's demands whenever possible. But we won't be able to comply with demands for things which cannot be done," he said. Chaiwat Satha-anant, head of the Peace Information Centre at Thammasat University, said the planned hunger strike might fail to move the government, but it would create mounting pressure on the government if the middle class began to sympathise with the protesters. A group of businessmen yesterday donated 100,000 baht and 100kg of fish to the protesters after listening to their representatives talk about their problems. Prida Tiasuwan, executive chairman of Pranda Jewelry Pcl, challenged the government and other groups and individuals who claimed many of the protesters were hired to join the demonstration to reveal the names of those they believed to be behind the mass protest. |
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สมาคมแม่น้ำเพื่อชีวิต 138/1 หมู่ 4 ต.สุเทพ อ.เมือง จ.เชียงใหม่ 50200 |
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| ข้อมูลในเวปนี้สามารถนำไปเผยแพร่ได้โดยอ้างอิงแหล่งที่มา | ||||||||||
