MEDIA IMMEDIACY: ASIA ONLINE

The Nation www.nationmultimedia.com/
Both major newspapers, The Nation and The Bangkok Post are notable for their attempts to give voice to the poor and disenfranchised.

Aug 18, 2000:  Pak Mool [dam project] has become a rallying point for people who want to stop this sort of destruction. Last week, this put five ministers, 200 aggrieved villagers, 20 television crews, and 1,000 observers into a Thammasat University auditorium for a "public forum" on the issues of dams, land and forests.

    ...The only way to oppose destructive development is public pressure. The little people are not admitted to the Assembly of the Gods. Over the last decade, they have created a parliament of the street ["The Assembly of the Poor"]. With the forum broadcast on live TV, this was elevated into a parliament of the airwaves.

The Assembly of the Poor www.hr-alliance.org/poor/poor.htm

On December 14, 1995, at the Dan Kao Village in Ubon Rachatani, Khongchiam District, the Pak Mool Declaration was proclaimed, a statement from the poor to the country's leaders and general public: “The people must set up the country's development direction. The people must be the real beneficiaries of development. And the poor must participate in decision-making involving development projects that will affect them.

    On March 25, 1996 more than ten thousand people from 21 provinces representing 4 groups of problems, demonstrated their strength in a huge rally. The "Village of the Poor" was established on the street opposite to the Government House. The protesters pledged they would not go home until their demands were met.

See also:
www.riverrevival.org/orgs/AotPinfo.htm
www.irn.org/programs/pakmun/assembly2.html

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