UN commends Assembly of Poor struggle
the Nation, Aug 27, 2000
THE protest of the Assembly of the Poor (AOP) has
gone global as the UN Development Programme (UNDP) has picked it as a
model for grass-roots struggles for sustainable development.
The high-profile case was highlighted in this year's
edition of the organisation's annual publication, The Human
Development Report 2000, UNDP development analyst Parichart Sivalaksa
said.
"It is a unique case which for the first time
shows the power of the grass roots and poor people to survive by
struggling to expose structural problems," Parichart said.
"It is a good expression of civil society's
goals," she said.
The situation of the poor in Thailand looks positive
in comparison to other countries, she said. At least the response from
the government has not been repressive, she added.
However, such international kudos will do little to
help a domestic crisis, according to about 30 leading academics from
various fields who gathered yesterday at Chulalongkorn University.
Representing academic institutions nationwide, the
lecturers gathered to ponder the future role of the academic in social
development.
The country's development is at a crossroads and
urgently needs to develop new ways of thinking, they said. And the
academic's role must be strengthened as part of the social momentum.
"The old paradigm [of paternalistic leadership
by government and academics] has proven to be dysfunctional. It is
strongly being challenged. And the country can go nowhere without a
new paradigm that focuses on public participation," Parichart
said.
"The new role of academics is to become part of
the social movement, to lead public discussion and development in the
right direction - not limit it only to the research level as it has
been," she said.
Through the struggle of poor protesters, many
mistakes in the current social mechanism have been exposed, the
academics said.
The proposed Kaeng Sua Ten dam project is one good
example, said Suthawan Sathianthai of Chula's Faculty of Economics.
"Once the social and environmental costs of
such projects were examined and revealed to the public, the project
was clearly not viable economically," she said.
"The environmental impact assessment mechanism
is frequently found to be unable to function efficiently,"
Parichart added.
The decision-making process is even worse, said
Kasetsart University's Dejrat Sukkamnert.
"Today's process is part of the DAD syndrome
(design, announce and defend) which has caused hundreds of conflicts.
The new processes should begin with announcement, then discussion and
later design. It should be included in the new paradigm."
AOP advisor Wanida Tantiwittayapitak said that
academics alone can not create enough momentum to bring about social
change. Proponents of change need mass-media exposure, which can not
occur without widespread public sympathy and understanding, she
said.The Academic Alliance for Monitoring Natural Resources and
Environment Problems yesterday resolved to produce a framework for
their new mission.
They are scheduled to continue their activities next
week by organising a brainstorming session on social and national
security issues, as part of this new plan.
BY KAMOL SUKIN
The Nation
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Depleted AOP asks public for aid
THE Assembly of the Poor (AOP) has appealed for aid,
saying 44 days of protests have depleted its resources.
In an open letter to the public, the assembly said
it needed to continue with the protests but was running short of food,
clothes and money.
The letter asked the public to make straight
donations or hire assembly members for any kind of odd job or
subcontracting work, such as sewing, construction, security, gardening
and factory work. More than 130 villagers between the ages of 20 and
80 have stated their interest in any lawful odd jobs.
"Many have stated that they can work as
security guards. If the police officers in front of the Government
House think their work is hard and tiring, they can consider hiring
villagers instead. I can guarantee that nobody will climb the
Government House wall," assembly adviser Wanida Tantiwithyapitak
said.
Wanida acknowledged that many of the villagers were
old and perhaps unwanted. But six younger members of the assembly,
each under 20, have been hired at a car repair shop, she said.
Home-made tiger balm and herbal shampoos will be sold in front of
Government House, she said. Traditional massages will also be offered
at the protest site for Bt50 a session, she added.
Pharmaceutical students from Chulalongkorn
University yesterday donated some basic medicine, Wanida said. Singer
Todd Thongdee was seen entertaining the protesters. The assembly is
willing to help find work for Thai Durable Textile workers who are
also protesting in front of Government House, Wanida said.
In a related development, nine AOP representatives
visited Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai's mother in Trang province
yesterday.
The group, led by Bhikku Phichaet Yasintharoe, told
Thuan Leekpai that they had no intention of destroying her son's
administration and only wanted the government to solve the 16
problems.
The group gave a letter to Thuan saying that if
Chuan managed to solve the problems, his name would go down in
history.
The Nation
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Pak Mool protest a 'turning point in Thai history'
NOTED
social critic and former student activist Thirayuth Boonmee yesterday
said the struggle by the Assembly of the Poor (AOP) is a turning point
in Thai history that may ultimately bring justice to society.
Calling the AOP's cause
a struggle to reform the distribution of power and create justice,
Thirayuth said the fight by the poor had given much more to society than
the group demanded from society.
The former activist
spoke yesterday at a Bangkok hotel celebration of the 60th birthday of
Saeng Sa-nguanraung, a famous democratic fighter. Thirayuth, who works
at the Thai Khadee Research Institute at Thammasat University, said the
current struggle of the poor might have had its genesis back in 1977
with the rise of non-governmental organisations.
The rise of NGOs and the
fight of the poor, he said, have complimented the political fight of
civic organisations in the country.
From the student
uprisings of 1973 and 1976 to the May Bloodshed of 1992, several NGOs
have fought for collective rights of women, children, the disabled and
the environment while poverty groups have fought for social justice,
said Thirayuth, who rarely speaks in public.
This fight, he said,
creates "social and political capital" which is of great value
to Thai society and should not be considered an attempt to destabilise
the government, nor should these struggles be dismissed as the result of
foreign cash donations, as several governments have alleged in the past.
The academics also said
the struggle of villagers affected by the Pak Mool dam in Ubol
Ratchathani province was very important because all the problems
revealed by the villagers exposed the unjust development policies that
the country had pursued for more than 40 years.
However, it was
emphasised that the villagers had not demanded a change in the system
and merely want to see a model of development that did not overlook,
suppress or otherwise harm them.
Several land disputes
and forest conflicts in the Northeastern provinces present a complex set
of problems because they reflect both local and structural injustices.
Structural injustice is
a product of historical experience and is more difficult to solve, the
academics agreed, but that does not mean it is not important to solve
it. Thirayuth said it was high time that all Thais decided whether to
allow the state sole control of power or to change the philosophy of
administration to a model that shared power between the state and the
people.
The Nation
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