Protest rubber farmers degenerates into battle
The rubber farmers' protest in Nakhon Si Thammarat escalated into a full-blown battle yesterday, in which XNUMX policemen were injured, ten police cars were set on fire and two people were shot in the leg. The government is considering declaring a state of emergency.
At 7 o'clock in the morning, XNUMX riot policemen ended the roadblock at the Khuan Nong Hong intersection that had been set up on Saturday. That was not that difficult because there were only twenty to thirty farmers, who fled when they saw the police force.
About noon, some fifteen hundred demonstrators, mostly teenagers, showed up. They attacked the police with slingshots and stones. Police responded with tear gas and retreated around 2 a.m. Since then, the intersection has been occupied again.
According to Thawat Boonfueng, Secretary General of the Prime Minister, the situation has become unmanageable and the government is considering quelling the protests by enacting the Internal Security Law or the Emergency Decree.
Police commander Yongyuth Charoenwanich says that two rifles, a pistol, bullet vests and tear gas cartridges have disappeared from the police vehicles that were set on fire. One rifle was later returned.
The government does not intend to make any further concessions to the rubber farmers or to negotiate with them. She offered unsmoked rubber sheet for 90 baht per kilo and to give a subsidy of 2.520 baht per rai to the farmers.
The article does not mention spokespersons for the rubber farmers.
(Source: Bangkok Post, Sept. 17, 2013)