500 farmers join agricultural protest demanding government help on debts

BANGKOK, June 10 (TNA) - A group of 500 farmers carried in a convoy of 30 farm trucks and 60 pick-up trucks arrived in Bangkok Tuesday going to Government House to demand that the state's Farmers Rehabilitation and Development Fund solve their indebtedness problems. However, a unit of 100 police officers barricaded the access road to bar the farmers approach to Government House. Some of the group indicated the likelihood that they would join farmers protesting already, who are encamped outside the Bank of Thailand also urging the government to help solve their debt problems. They said their protest was not related to the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) which continues its anti-government protest at Makkawan Bridge on Ratchadamneon Nok Road. Meanwhile, a group of garlic growers in the northern province of Mae Hong Son blocked a highway between Pai and Chiang Mai, calling on the government to take immediate action to solve garlic price problem. Thousands of garlic growers gathered early Tuesday morning at three spots simultaneously -- Mae Hong Son City Hall, the Mae Sarieng district office and the Pai district office. Protesters in Pai district, however, decided to block the highway in the afternoon to paralyse the traffic. Nirand Chankaen, president of the Mae Hong Son Garlic Growers Network, said after submitting a complaint letter to Mae Hong Son's deputy governor that the network urged the government to guarantee purchase of 12,000 tons of dry garlic at an established price of 25 baht per kilogramme. "Unless the government issues urgent measures to help garlic growers, we will continue to protest at City Hall," Mr. Nirand said. Meanwhile, Thongyu Khongkhan, secretary-general of the Land Transport Federation, said that drivers of more than 700,000 trucks nationwide will stop work on Wednesday from 5 am-12 noon and park their trucks at roadsides near the offices of truck associations across the country to urge the government to help solving the problem of rising diesel price. Some 80 per cent of all of Thailand's commercially transported cargoes are called by trucks. He said the federation submitted their demand to the government after they couldn't shoulder the burden of the rising diesel price and wee not permitted to increase their transport service rate but the demand went unheeded. Drivers across the country threatened to move their trucks to Bangkok on June 17 if the government doesn't come up with tangible measures to assist them.