PHUKET: A rice rebellion was underway today in Thailand with angry farmers telling ministers that they intend to reclaim their produce from government warehouses.
The breakdown in negotiations between farmers and the Yingluck Shinawatra government came as the first protest leader was arrested on a charge of sedition.
With dangerous opposition now swelling on two fronts - among rice farmers and among the protesters already occupying central streets in Bangkok - the government has much to fear if both groups unite.
Calculations removing the cost of corruption and the flaws in the government system reduce the value of rice once worth 100 baht to 18 baht.
Today's walkout took the government and the rice farmers further apart when ministers from three departments said they could not satisfy the farmers' request to be paid for their rice within five days.
Many farmers are already destitute and suicides are becoming more frequent. Farming families are begging money for food from their neighbors in parts of central and norhtern Thailand.
Few believe the governments' claims that the rice subsidy has gone unpaid because of the Bangkok protests.
With the ''Shutdown Bangkok, Restart Thailand'' protesters now raising money for the rice farmers on their daily walks, uniting the twin protests against the government is no longer as far-fetched as it once seemed.
But the government shows no sign of conceding yet, with the arrest today of television station owner and protest leader Sonthiyarn Chuenruethai-naitham on a sedition charge.
Khun Sonthiyarn, who runs the T-News agency, was arrested while eating lunch at a shopping centre for having violated the Emergency Decree. Warrants remain outstanding for 18 other protest leaders.
The breakdown in negotiations between farmers and the Yingluck Shinawatra government came as the first protest leader was arrested on a charge of sedition.
With dangerous opposition now swelling on two fronts - among rice farmers and among the protesters already occupying central streets in Bangkok - the government has much to fear if both groups unite.
Calculations removing the cost of corruption and the flaws in the government system reduce the value of rice once worth 100 baht to 18 baht.
Today's walkout took the government and the rice farmers further apart when ministers from three departments said they could not satisfy the farmers' request to be paid for their rice within five days.
Many farmers are already destitute and suicides are becoming more frequent. Farming families are begging money for food from their neighbors in parts of central and norhtern Thailand.
Few believe the governments' claims that the rice subsidy has gone unpaid because of the Bangkok protests.
With the ''Shutdown Bangkok, Restart Thailand'' protesters now raising money for the rice farmers on their daily walks, uniting the twin protests against the government is no longer as far-fetched as it once seemed.
But the government shows no sign of conceding yet, with the arrest today of television station owner and protest leader Sonthiyarn Chuenruethai-naitham on a sedition charge.
Khun Sonthiyarn, who runs the T-News agency, was arrested while eating lunch at a shopping centre for having violated the Emergency Decree. Warrants remain outstanding for 18 other protest leaders.
rice rebellion ... what is the rice taking arms ?
Posted by chris on February 10, 2014 19:28