VZCZCXRO3128
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHBK #0495/01 0571102
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 261102Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY BANGKOK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6177
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHCHI/AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI PRIORITY 6213

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 000495 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP, DRL, IO; NSC FOR PHU 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PHUM PGOV EAGR ELAB TH
SUBJECT: THAI FARMERS: TRYING TO STAND OUT IN A SEA OF RED 
 
BANGKOK 00000495  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
SUMMARY AND COMMENT 
------------------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) Around 5,000 Thai farmers gathered in front of the 
Ministry of Agriculture and the Land Reform Office in central 
Bangkok on February 24 in an effort to place the concerns of 
farmers on the national agenda.  The weather-beaten and 
somewhat somber group contrasted sharply with the more 
affluent and upbeat throngs of anti-government protesters 
dressed in red elsewhere in Bangkok, who monopolized media 
coverage.  The farmers vowed to maintain political neutrality 
while asserting their message for debt forgiveness, despite 
the overlapping protest routes with the anti-government 
"Redshirts." 
 
¶2. (SBU) Comment:  Farmers in Thailand tend to protest at the 
start of any new government, and often around March when 
operational meetings of the Farmers' Rehabilitation and 
Development Fund resume.  Thai farmers have historically 
supported whichever political party offers the best 
short-term solution to their problems or financial terms. 
Nonetheless, there is the possibility that in 2009 farmers 
may join the ongoing Redshirt anti-government protests to 
place further pressure on the RTG if their demands are not 
met.  That said, we believe the farmers do not share the 
Redshirts' overall political agenda, but rather might welcome 
any other groups' willingness to show support for the 
farmers' cause.  End Summary and Comment. 
 
FARMERS STRUGGLE FOR SPOTLIGHT 
------------------------------ 
 
¶3. (SBU) Approximately 5,000 Thai farmers from the 
Northeastern Small Scale Farmers Association began a protest 
in front of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Land Reform 
Office on February 18.  As of February 26, this protest 
continued, with little media coverage and reduced numbers. 
The protest centers on rising levels of debt and bankruptcy 
among farmers.  Protest coordinator and association chairman 
Ronnachit Thummong, a farmer from Si Sa Ket province, told us 
the group placed four demands on the government, and that 
they would not leave Bangkok until all demands were met.  The 
demands were: to install the Prime Minister as the chairman 
of the Farmers' Rehabilitation and Development Fund; to add 
farmer representatives to the Fund management team; to force 
the Bank of Agriculture to stop accumulation of interest on 
loans made to them and to reduce their principal repayments 
by half; and to "place farmers' problems on the national 
agenda." (Note: The Farmers' Rehabilitation and Development 
Fund was established in 1999 with the primary purpose to 
purchase farmers' debts and operate programs to maintain 
farmers' land ownership.  End Note.)  Ronnachit added that 
260,000 farmers were currently indebted to the Bank of 
Agriculture, and 16,000 farmers had already declared 
bankruptcy or had their properties confiscated by the Bank of 
Agriculture. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Ronnachit also stressed to us that the farmers had 
no ties with the ongoing anti-government "Redshirt" protests, 
nor did they support the yellow-shirted People's Alliance for 
Democracy (PAD).  "Our color is black due to the depth and 
nature of our own problems," he joked.  However, he perceived 
that the RTG was not focusing on the association's demands 
because it was preoccupied by the challenge posed by the 
Redshirts.  Ronnachit and his associates praised the apparent 
sincerity of the current government, but feared that some 
political parties in the government's coalition would pose an 
impediment to the realization of farmers' goals.  For 
example, he viewed the Chart Thai Pattana party, one of whose 
members heads the Ministry of Agriculture, as comprised of 
"capitalists" who owned and operated agri-businesses or 
supported the sale of land to foreign investors.  He also 
said that most of the Farmers' Rehabilitation and Development 
Fund management team supported Chart Thai Pattana. 
 
SHORT-TERM SOLUTIONS PROLONG DEBT CYCLE 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Senior researcher at the Thai Studies Institute of 
Thammasat University Professor Wanwipha Burutattanaphan told 
us on February 24 that large amonts of debt remains the 
biggest problem facing Tai farmers.  She explained that 
farmers end up inebted after they borrow money in order to 
rent lnd, and their produce was often insufficient to coer 
their expenses.  A government program to provde farmers with 
free land had not been as effectve as intended, in part 
because farmers often too the opportunity to sell this 
granted land, althugh rarely accumulating enough capital to 
avoid  continued need for borrowing. 
 
 
BANGKOK 00000495  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) Wanwipha explained that farmers, who tended to be 
unable to engage in effective collective bargaining, were 
often compelled to sell their produce at low prices, partly 
because they lacked storage facilities to stockpile goods, 
and therefore were at the mercy of middle men/purchasers. 
She added that in 2006 the RTG planned to build a huge silo 
for rice storage to increase the bargaining power of the 
farmers.  However, the Council for Social and Economic 
Development blocked construction because advocates for 
merchants aimed to keep rice prices low.  Wanwipha also 
blamed poor management of the farmers' Fund for the cycle of 
debt.  She told us that the Fund had already been reduced by 
half since its establishment, with little apparent impact on 
debt reduction. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Wanwipha did not see any trends in the political 
leanings of the farmers, and pointed to a pattern of farmer 
protests emerging with each new government.  Thai 
governments, she noted, have always offered short-term 
solutions that did not break the cycle of debt.  She said 
that many farmers drawn to Thaksin's populist policies (one 
of which involved forgiving small amounts of farmer debt) 
soon realized that other parties could offer better populist 
programs, and farmers' loyalties hinged on lucrative 
short-term offers.  "They will shift allegiances for 500 Baht 
($15)," she explained.  She suggested the Democrat Party 
would be able to resolve the recent burst of farmer protests 
with short-term resolutions, but regretted that no government 
had been able to restructure management of the farmer's fund 
or offer other long-term solutions, such as storage 
facilities or marketing programs for produce, to ease the 
debt burden of farmers. 
JOHN