Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06CHIANGMAI5
2006-01-09 10:24:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Consulate Chiang Mai
Cable title:
ANTI-FREE TRADE GROUPS RALLY IN FRONT OF CONSULATE
how-toThis record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available. 091024Z Jan 06
UNCLAS CHIANG MAI 000005
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT PASS TO USTR AND DOC
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL ETRD TH
SUBJECT: ANTI-FREE TRADE GROUPS RALLY IN FRONT OF CONSULATE
UNCLAS CHIANG MAI 000005
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT PASS TO USTR AND DOC
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL ETRD TH
SUBJECT: ANTI-FREE TRADE GROUPS RALLY IN FRONT OF CONSULATE
1. SUMMARY. Representatives from NGOs gathered in Chiang Mai
to protest the ongoing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) talks between the U.S. and Thailand marched to the Consulate on the morning of Jan. 9. Calling the FTA a bad deal for Thailand, protest leaders demanded an immediate stop to the negotiations. Although large for a protest in Chiang Mai, the event was peaceful and police reported no arrests. END SUMMARY.
2. Arriving shortly before 11 a.m., some 3,000-5,000
protesters - mostly from an umbrella organization calling itself the "Network of Civic Organizations Against Globalization" - assembled in front of the Consulate after marching from the railway station. Protesters distributed pamphlets and listened to speakers criticize the perceived impact of the FTA on Thai people. A petition from the protesters addressed to U.S.
negotiators outlined their concerns that international property rights (IPR) would drive up the price for HIV/AIDS medication and adversely impact Thai farmers. ConOff accepted the petition and promised to pass their concerns and the letter on to USG officials involved in the FTA talks.
3. The protest, described by post's local staff as the
largest ever at the Consulate, ended calmly one hour after it reached the Consulate. The crowd cleared out by noon without incident, reassembling in the afternoon at the Imperial Mae Ping Hotel, site of the FTA talks. Police described the scene for both protests as peaceful and reported no incidents or arrests.
4. While IPR concerns over antiretroviral AIDS medication
topped the list of grievances, the groups involved in today's protest represented a wide segment of the Thai NGO community. In addition to AIDS activists, groups representing farmers are worried about the effects of IPR on plants and agricultural products, particularly regarding worries over genetically modified organisms affecting domestic seed prices. Farmers'
concerns have increased partly as a result of the Thai-Chinese Early Harvest agreement, described by many here as "a nightmare for Northern farmers." The NGOs present at the protest also expressed frustration over what they said was the Royal Thai Government's refusal to reveal details about the negotiations to the public and involve NGOs more deeply in the talks.
5. Anti-FTA campaigners had been active in Chiang Mai
throughout the weekend, handing out leaflets and stickers and broadcasting announcements from loudspeaker trucks and in shopping areas. Police report groups arriving from out of town, including the south. Major Thai media covered the protest. Early media reports from iTV and the Manager Online website pegged the crowd size at 10,000, which matched protest leaders' estimates.
CAMP
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT PASS TO USTR AND DOC
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL ETRD TH
SUBJECT: ANTI-FREE TRADE GROUPS RALLY IN FRONT OF CONSULATE
1. SUMMARY. Representatives from NGOs gathered in Chiang Mai
to protest the ongoing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) talks between the U.S. and Thailand marched to the Consulate on the morning of Jan. 9. Calling the FTA a bad deal for Thailand, protest leaders demanded an immediate stop to the negotiations. Although large for a protest in Chiang Mai, the event was peaceful and police reported no arrests. END SUMMARY.
2. Arriving shortly before 11 a.m., some 3,000-5,000
protesters - mostly from an umbrella organization calling itself the "Network of Civic Organizations Against Globalization" - assembled in front of the Consulate after marching from the railway station. Protesters distributed pamphlets and listened to speakers criticize the perceived impact of the FTA on Thai people. A petition from the protesters addressed to U.S.
negotiators outlined their concerns that international property rights (IPR) would drive up the price for HIV/AIDS medication and adversely impact Thai farmers. ConOff accepted the petition and promised to pass their concerns and the letter on to USG officials involved in the FTA talks.
3. The protest, described by post's local staff as the
largest ever at the Consulate, ended calmly one hour after it reached the Consulate. The crowd cleared out by noon without incident, reassembling in the afternoon at the Imperial Mae Ping Hotel, site of the FTA talks. Police described the scene for both protests as peaceful and reported no incidents or arrests.
4. While IPR concerns over antiretroviral AIDS medication
topped the list of grievances, the groups involved in today's protest represented a wide segment of the Thai NGO community. In addition to AIDS activists, groups representing farmers are worried about the effects of IPR on plants and agricultural products, particularly regarding worries over genetically modified organisms affecting domestic seed prices. Farmers'
concerns have increased partly as a result of the Thai-Chinese Early Harvest agreement, described by many here as "a nightmare for Northern farmers." The NGOs present at the protest also expressed frustration over what they said was the Royal Thai Government's refusal to reveal details about the negotiations to the public and involve NGOs more deeply in the talks.
5. Anti-FTA campaigners had been active in Chiang Mai
throughout the weekend, handing out leaflets and stickers and broadcasting announcements from loudspeaker trucks and in shopping areas. Police report groups arriving from out of town, including the south. Major Thai media covered the protest. Early media reports from iTV and the Manager Online website pegged the crowd size at 10,000, which matched protest leaders' estimates.
CAMP