The Nation August 5, 2000

IN a controversial move, Senator Somkiat On-wimol said yesterday he would ask the Senate to hold a no-confidence debate against the government for failing to solve the Assembly of the Poor's grievances.

Under the present Constitution, the Senate can hold a no-confidence debate against the government but cannot remove it from office.

Somkiat's plan is likely to raise a few eyebrows as he is a political commentator with iTV, which is partly owned by Thai Rak Thai's Thaksin Shinawatra.

He was speaking after visiting the Assembly of the Poor protesters outside Government House.

Another 80 villagers joined the hunger strike yesterday and shaved their heads in protest, bringing the total to 92. The hunger strike started on July 26 with 30 volunteers, but the number fell as protesters gave up from exhaustion.

Somkiat said he wanted to know why the government had refused to solve any the problems put forward by protesters. He said he would ask the Senate to have senators and the Senate committees on agriculture and economics look into the problems facing the protesters in the Northeast.

He said the government should have accepted the suggestions from a neutral committee it set up to find solutions to the problems by paying additional compensation to the affected parties.

"Why does the government pay billions of baht to the Financial Restructuring Authority to help the rich but not offer any aid to poor villagers? The prime minister does not care about solving the situation and instead passes the problems on to government officials. If I was prime minister, the problems would have been solved a long time ago,'' he said.

The protesters have demanded that the government solve 16 issues, covering 45 grievances, caused by the construction of eight big and small dams, and encroachment on forest and public land.

The government has agreed to hold a public hearing to find solutions to their problems via Channel 11's "Krong Sathanakarn", but the protesters refused, saying they had not been included in the organisation of it.

They want all television channels to be able to broadcast the hearing, not just Channel 11, and want it to be held at an educational institution with Dr Chermsak Pinthong as moderator.

Somkiat disagreed with the government's proposal to hold a public hearing in Bangkok on television, saying it should be held at one of the dam sites.

The senator also disapproved of the verbal attack by police Special Branch Bureau Commissioner Lt-General Yothin Mathayomnan, who accused the protesters of being politically motivated and said certain politicians were behind the demonstrations. Somkiat said that Yothin's comments only harmed the government's image.

Alongkorn Palabut, the prime minister's secretary, insisted that the government would hold a public hearing on Channel 11 on Monday.

He said the Cabinet had decided to solve 75 per cent of the problems, including those regarding six of the eight dams.

Thai Rak Thai Party spokesman Suranan Vejjajiva yesterday rejected allegations by Alongkorn that his party was financially supporting the protesters, who are also demanding that Parliament be dissolved.

He said that although Uaychai Watha, an advisor to party leader Thaksin Shinawatra, was involved with the protesters but the party had nothing to do with his decision.