Govt MPs put pressure on Chaiya, Olarn to quit
Written by Writer on Thursday, October 23rd, 2008
Govt MPs put pressure on Chaiya, Olarn to quit
POST REPORTERS
Bangkok Post
Thursday October 23, 2008
People Power party (PPP) MPs from the North and Northeast yesterday turned up the heat in their campaign to oust Commerce Minister Chaiya Sasomsab and Deputy Prime Minister Olarn Chaipravat for failing to shore up crop prices. Their move came amid growing dissatisfaction over the PPP-led government’s slow action.
Cholnan Srikaew, a Nan MP, yesterday stood up in parliament and shouted that the two ministers should step down.
He also threatened to lead a group of northern MPs away from the party if the ministers could not guarantee the corn price at 8.50 baht per kilogramme.
Roi Et MP Sakda Kongpetch, of the Isan Pattana faction, vented his anger at the PPP meeting on Tuesday, saying Mr Chaiya and Mr Olarn, who are in charge of economic affairs, were unresponsive to the plight of northern farmers beset with sharp drops in prices of corn and second-crop rice although they had full responsibility to deal with the problem.
”The steep decline in crop prices is a big issue for farmers. We, who represent them, have promised them that we will redress the problem. We can’t help but take some action if the higher-ups still sit on their hands,” he said.
Faction leader Paichit Sriworakhan, from Nakhon Phanom, and Lop Buri MP Amnuay Khlangpha decided to file a no-confidence motion against Mr Chaiya and Mr Olarn because they had been slow in responding to the problem.
If the commerce minister and the deputy prime minister failed to attend the party’s meeting again next week, the two MPs would approach Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat to have the two ministers removed from the cabinet.
Mr Chaiya and Mr Olarn did not show up at yesterday’s meeting to defend themselves against the criticism.
In Nan, disgruntled corn farmers blocked three main roads for the second day to protest against falling corn prices, paralysing traffic in the province.
Local people and businesses were badly affected as trucks carrying fuel oil, foodstuffs and other consumer goods could not enter downtown Nan.
Decha Siranaraset, chairman of the association of restaurant operators, said many restaurants could not run their business as usual because they ran out of vegetables and other fresh supplies.
They were planning to hold talks with the protesters to ask them to let cargo trucks through, he added.
Some petrol stations have begun to run out of stock, and many people have had to leave their cars at home.
Cherdchoo Tengtrairat, a petrol station operator in Muang Nan municipality, said the blockade had forced oil trucks to stop at Phrae’s Rong Kwang district for two days already.
Deputy provincial governor Suradet Suwanpakpreak yesterday called a meeting to find ways to persuade the protesters to end their road blockade.
