Five parties
turn up to talk to poor
Sceptics see presence as an election stunt
Anchalee Kongrut and Pradit Ruangdit
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| Protesting villagers listen to
representatives of five political parties outline their policies
toward the poor on a make-shift stage outside Government House. _
APICHIT JINAKUL |
Politicians
from five parties yesterday met protesting villagers at their make-shift
village near Government House, in another step by the Assembly of the Poor
to promote "people's politics".
All political parties had been invited to present
their policy on the poor but only five parties sent representatives. No
one from the Democrat and Chart Pattana parties showed up.
Social activists and academics, however, were
sceptical about the motive of the parties, whether they were genuinely
interested in addressing the poor's problems or were they starting an
early election campaign.
Assembly leaders said they wanted to promote
"people's politics" as a new dimension of the political system
where poor villagers play a role in defining national policy affecting
their lives.
Similar forums to be called "The Assembly of
the Poor Meets Political Parties" will be organised during the next
election campaign, said Chaipant Prabhasavat, an assembly adviser.
They are aimed at making political parties
realise that they must have policies for the poor's problems just as they
do for agricultural exports or ailing financial institutions, Mr Chaipant
said.
The most senior politicians came from the New
Aspiration Party, which was represented by deputy leader Chingchai
Mongkoltham and deputy secretary-general Ekkaporn Rakkhwamsuk.
Making his speech in central Thai interspersed
with Isan dialect, Mr Chingchai told the mostly Isan audience that the
government must consider the people's problems rather than just adhere to
legal principles-apparently taking a shot at Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai.
He said the NAP when it was the ruling party in
the previous government allowed the poor villagers to participate in
solving their own problems.
If given another chance, Mr Chingchai added, his
party would try to continue its work in compensating villagers affected by
dam projects and seek new land for villagers evicted from forest reserves.
Nikorn Chamnong, representing Chart Thai, said
the party has a clear-cut policy to endorse the draft of the Community
Forest Bill, which allows people who settled in forests before they were
given reserve or protected status to remain.
If the bill is passed, "70% of forest
encroachment problems will be solved", he said.
Prapat Panyachatrak of Thai Rak Thai Party said
environmental and social impacts as well as cost-effectiveness of all dams
built in Thailand would be assessed.
Thai Rak Thai advocates land reform which allows
villagers to make use of forests in an environmentally-friendly manner, he
said. The party would encourage villagers to join a national committee to
form policies on water and forest management, Mr Prapat said.
Somyong Kaewsuphan from Seritham said the party
agreed with all recommendations made by the Banthorn-On dam committee
appointed by the government to recommend solutions to the protesters'
problems.
Mr Banthorn, a respected scholar, was sceptical
of the political parties' intentions.
He said all parties have written policies on the
poor but deep down the politicians did not believe in the potential of the
poor to help develop the country. "They only look at the poor as
beggars waiting for hand-outs. Politicians have to change their way of
thinking, that the poor lack the wisdom to develop the country," he
said.
Narong Phetprasert, an economics lecturer from
Chulalongkorn University, believed the political parties took the forum as
an opportunity to campaign early for the election.
The NAP, in particular, has its political base in
the Northeast and must do everything to maintain that base and thus could
not afford to be left out.
On the other hand, the Democrats might not see
the Northeast as an important base because it tried to cater to all levels
of society, he said.
Also, the Democrats' main focus was to strengthen
the mainstream capitalist institutions such as banks and large
corporations because it believed that was the way to distribute wealth,
and that was why it failed to send representatives to the assembly-organised
forum, Mr Narong said.
Bangkokpost 21 Aug 2000
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