Forum
on poor unlikely to yield solutions
BY KAMOL SUKIN, The
Nation , Aug 16, 2000
IT MAY not be too much to
describe today's public hearing
of the Assembly of the Poor's
(AOP) grievances at
Thammasat University as
'historic', considering the way
in which it came about. But it is
probably too much to expect it
will find answers to all of the
poor people's demands.
The forum is a good sign for
grassroots politics as it is the
first time a government has
agreed to a debate with
common people and farmers.
It has also received a positive
response from the media.
However, the different
expectations of the two sides
of the conflict, the government
and the assembly, make a
positive result unlikely unless
there is the patience to hear
the long and complex history of
the poor.
Even though the middle class
have learnt more about the
protesters' complaints through
the media, many of them may
echo the government line that
the forum will provide a
solution to the long-drawn
conflict. Some even expect
that the protest will be called
off following the debate.
Cabinet spokesman Alongkorn
Pollabutr said yesterday that all
the problems would be solved
today.
On the other hand, the AOP
sees the forum as only a
means to communicate with
the public. Even though the
assembly is hoping the forum
will be fruitful and lead to
"correct" decision-making by
the government, even the most
optimistic say it is hardly likely.
There are several reasons
why too much cannot be
expected of the forum.
First, there is the time
constraint. There are only four
hours to present, discuss and
argue all 16 cases related to
the three biggest issues -
forests, land and dams. It is
highly doubtful that these
complex issues can be
explained clearly in four hours.
Second is the inflexible pattern
that the forum will follow. It will
be difficult for the moderator to
lead the debate in the right
direction. Having a fixed time
period for each side to voice
its views cannot stop the forum
from developing into a "talk
show" or war of words.
Sadly, there was a bad sign
yesterday when a rumour
broke out of a government
tactic to ignite a war of words.
The Royal Forestry
Department it is being said has
brought in Prapas
Ruankhamfoo, a former
teacher interested in entering
politics on the platform of
driving tribal people out of
forest areas.
Prapas is an opponent of the
tribal and farmer groups in the
North and it is said he will be at
the forum to support the
government against the AOP's
proposals on issues related to
community forests.
There is little doubt that today's
forum will be concluded at 4pm
as scheduled and that it will
provide an exciting diversion.
There is also little doubt that
the farmers and poor will then
continue their protest.
In this case, the public might
lose their interest in listening to
the arguments of the poor.
Worse still, the protesters will
be dubbed a "stubborn" and
"unreasonable" group, as they
have been before.
This would mean that the public
has lost a chance to learn
about the country's real
problems, which sooner or
later will affect their daily lives.
Today will prove how mature
and strong our social
mechanism is in dealing with
conflict.
The forum may only acquaint a
few ministers and some of the
public with the problems of the
poor. Or it may yield a more
fruitful result. It depends on
how broad-minded the
government is.
LAST MODIFIED: Wednesday,
16-Aug-2000 13:30:54 EDT
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