Activist defends rice venture as 'just making a living'
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ANTI-coup activist Sombat Boonngam-anong says his new fair-trade rice venture is genuine and sustainable and not driven by political motivation, as alleged by Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha.
Prayut yesterday slammed Sombat for buying unhusked rice for Bt15,000 per tonne, labelling it an impossible business model and questioning his motives.
Government spokesperson Maj-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd went further, warning that Sombat could be summoned again if the scheme was found to be politically driven.
Sombat told The Nation yesterday that the enterprise, which began less than 20 days ago, was a small-scale, sustainable attempt at fair trade.
“I think they’re still trapped with me,” said Sombat, who led a short-lived anti-coup movement right after the coup last May until he was arrested. “Whatever I do is perceived as being political. But they should give me a chance since they have frozen my bank account [after he failed to report to summonses]. They should let me earn a living.”
Sombat, who faces an appearance before a military tribunal, is selling husked Pathum Thani jasmine rice at Bt200 for a five kilogram bag.
He said business has been brisk with a tonne of rice sold per day over the past 17 days. He calculated that he was earning a profit of about 8 per cent after an initial investment of Bt100,000.
“I had no idea when I began [how it would go] but I admit that it now has a political repercussion,” said Sombat, in reference to the comparison between his venture to the controversial rice-pledging scheme under the previous Yingluck Shinawatra administration.
Sombat said instead of trying to prevent him from engaging in fair trade, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) and the government might want to collaborate with him to see how realistic the venture could be and expand it into a medium-scale venture while engaging in a wider discussion about fair-trade.
“They still have my money frozen in the bank,” said Sombat, referring to what he says is Bt1 million plus that has been frozen for more than 10 months. “Please just let me make a living and help the country this way.”
If the NCPO wanted to de-politicise the matter, Sombat said “I am ready to listen and cooperate”.
