'No more talk over subsidies'
Play
Govt says it won't raise its offer to growers blocking roads in south
The government will not negotiate anymore with protesting rubber growers but stick to its previously agreed subsidy of Bt2,520 per rai for rubber farms or households – for up to 25 rai for seven months, PM’s Deputy Secretary-General Thawat Boonfeung said yesterday.
Meanwhile, PM Yingluck Shinawatra has urged protesters not to block roads, saying it could adversely affect the economy.
Rubber and oil palm growers blocking two sections of highway number 41 in Nakhon Si Thammarat yesterday presented six demands to the government. They also cancelled a roadblock in Chulabhorn district to join the roadblock protest at Kuan Nong Hong Intersection in Cha-uat district instead.
The Chulabhorn demonstrators demanded a government guarantee a price of Bt100 per kilogram for rubber sheets, Bt50 per kilogram for cup lumps, and to ensure Bt6 per kilogram for oil palm.
They demanded a reply in seven days – or else they would scale up the protest and join with Ramkhamhaeng University students to rally in front of Government House. They also called on the government to pardon demonstrators and pay compensation to those affected by protest crackdowns – be they state officials or protesters.
Meanwhile, Nakhon Si Thammarat governor Viroj Jivarungsan and provincial police deputy chief Pol Col Suthat Chansawat joined in a video conference with deputy prime minister Pol General Pracha Phromnog and national police chief Pol General Adul Saengsingkaew to monitor the protest.
Pracha instructed officials to watch the situation closely and to provide aid and learn about protesters’ demands in order to help the government propose support measures later.
Viroj said the province had tried to make urgent contact with the rubber growers and bring everyone on to the same page. He advised the public and motorists to avoid protest sites while police set up checkpoints on routes to the protest sites to provide security and stop smuggling of illegal items.
Earlier yesterday, Thawat Boonfeung said he reported to PM Yingluck about talks on Saturday with rubber growers from 11 southern provinces who blocked Kuan Nong Hong Intersection.
The protesters divided into two groups – Nakhon Si Thammarat farmers who agreed to the state aid, and those from other provinces wouldn’t end their protest.
The latter group insisted the government must help all rubber plantations, legal or illegal and keep price at rubber sheets at Bt120 per kilogram. They also wanted Bt2,520 per rai, for up to 25 rai for seven months per individual, not per household, which was unacceptable, he said.
Thawat said the government would insist on the previous “agreed offer”, as other farmers had agreed not to close borders or international roads. He added that he had talked with Pracha and the national police chief on proceeding with legal action against protesters blocking roads.
