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Thai: สมัชชาคนจน) is a non-governmental organization in Thailand. Its aim is to help those affected by development projects and industries to become involved inthe process of development, so that they benefit from those projects.

Thailand: Assembly of the Poor

The Assembly of the Poor was established in the 1990s after economic growth and devlopment in Thailand caused a shift in the middle class, that collided with rural farmers to create a "post peasanty" citizen. It is a non-governmental organization with an amalgamation of seven districts representing every region of Siam. It is composed of urban and rural small scale agriculturists and manual laborers. Due to this array of members, the Assembly is able to transcend regional, and more importantly, class divisions.

It's overall aim is to protect the rights of rural farmers, urban workers, and others who are affected by the industrial growth and development in Thailand.

Background

During the 1950's Thailand's Development Agenda was at the forefront of the goverment and was backed by the World Bank. The rapid industrialization around the world was the driving force behind it all. The World Bank decided to back Thailand because of the goverments substantial economic investment in urban infastructure, strong market orientation, and leading role in private sector and private investment. Starting in the 1950's and acclerating in the late 20th century, Thailand was becoming an "exempler for the rest of the developing world", according to the World Bank, IMF, and other mainstream economists. In the 20th century the foregin capital was contribuing so much to Thailand's growth that manufactoring was increasing, but in contrast the agriculture sector was rapidly declining. Due to the decline in the agriculture sector small-scale farmers and peasants were living in poverty. This made a large population of Thailand's people vulnerable to exploitation to the big cities such as Bangkok. It also excluded the rural farmers from rapid changes in the countries large cities as well. This began to irrate the Thai rural farmers and peasants creating a need for a vast social and enviormental transformation. Community leaders and NGO (non-govermental organizations) saw an urgent need to organize a fight for community rights at a National Level.

Previous Organizations

Prior to the formation of the Assembly of the Poor, other peasant based organizations emerged on behalf of the rural and poor. The Peasant Federation of Thailand was a more broad based but well organized association for the poor. However, during the 1970's the economic growth sihfted classes and created a more larger and diverse middle class and the Peasant Federation of Thailand eventually merged with the communist party.

Post Peasantry

In the 1970s,

Emergence

After the merge of the PFT to the communist party, NGO activists wanted to promote organization and "alternative development" during the 1990when development and globalization began to affect the natural resources rural farmers needed for their lifestyles.

During the mid-1990s, Assembly of the Poor became visible in Thailand, even as its origins began in the 1980s. The emergence began when NGO activists and village leaders' saw the need for a ore broadened campaign. It soon began to envelope not only the rural farmers of Thailand but the city workers as well. They came up with the idea of a conference to coincide with the ASEAN Summit scheduled for Bangkok on 14–15 December 1995. The Asian Cultural Forum on Development (ACFOD) and Friends of the People (Klum pheuan phrachachon, who support villagers’ groups facing dams and large-scale projects) were the main Bangkok-based NGOs that coordinated the conference.

The emergence of this organization has been one of the most striking political events to happen throughout Thailand in the 1990's. The group was established on 10 December 1995 on International Human Rights Day. The project was instigated by a group of villagers affected by the Pak Mun dam, but these have since been joined by people concerned about other projects in the country, and by factory workers suffering from industrial injuries.The inauguration of this assembly in December 95' was the first rural political voice that had been raised since the suppression of the Peasants' Federation twenty-years before.

Mun River Declaration

During the proceedings of its establishment on December 10th, a manifesto titled, “Mun River Declaration” was created to announce the formation of the Assembly of the Poor and to critique industrial development based on the rights to, “sustainable livelihoods and political participation of local communities” then declared itself the platform in which the disadvantaged could use to voice their problems due to being poor. Along with the Mun River Declaration, the Assembly sent a petition to the government detailing member’s grievances, quickly establishing their intent to create political participation.

Key Strategies

The Assembly of the Poos used significant and strategic steps to create the unified front enabling them to mobilize through rural villages. First and most importantly, the Assembly created an “over-arching ideological critique of development that connects specific local grievances to national government policies. Second, they have made a political and national identity out of being “poor” and “victims" of development creating a sense of shared struggle, and eventually, shared victory, and finally, within their tactics, the recognition that said political identity must be forged through conflict and struggle.

These strategies contribute to the solid unification the Assembly shows during campaigns and protests. Due to these strategies, the Assembly of the Poor is able to mobilize people quickly and efficiently when campaigning or protesting against government activity and continuing its platform as a voice for the poor and disadvantage.

Bangkok Protest

Utilizing these statergies, the Assembly of the Poor organized a massive rally in Bangkok that has become an historical rally in Thailand. The movement mobilized over 25, 000 people and attracted daily news coverage for over three months. Ordinary villagers who had not been given voice were now shown able to speak on national television and be quoted in newspapers. Beyond the media, rural villagers were also able to talk directly to their government.

The current administration, the Chavalit government, appeased the Assembly of the Poor by pledging to address all of their demands and stated the government would pay out over $652 million Baht in compensation for people affected by the large scale development. Unfortunately for the Assembly of the Poor, the Chavalit government soon resigned and the administration that followed went back on these pledges. However, the quick and ease of mobiliztion combined with villagers' being able to voice their demands and problems gave put made this a very historical and enfamous rally for the Assembly of the Poor and lead way for other protests that followed.

Original Leaders

Among the group's co-founders was Vanida Tantiwittayapitak, who was among the student activists at Thammasat University who fled Bangkok to the countryside after the brutal massacre of students during a right-wing coup. She became a leader of the Pak Mun fight in the 1990s. She died of breast cancer at age 52 on December 6, 2007

Recent Activities

The group's activities so far have included the organization of demonstrations and discussion forums; the drafting and presentation of letters of protest to the government; and the making of legislative proposals. On December 10th, 1995 there was a conference held at Thammasat University of Bangkok entitled "Assembly of the Poor: The consequences of Large-Scale Development Projects". Many AOP activists along with villagers and scholars brought speeches and participated in panels to shine light on the negative effects large-scale development has on Thailand's social and ecological factors. After days of discussion, the "Mun River Declaration" was formed. This signified the refusal of the Thai society to remain passive subjects of change in their own country. The Thai people wanted a say in what was going on in their land. Many days after the declaration was formed, hundreds of AOP activists and members marched through Bangkok to submit their declaration and list of demands to the Thai government.

According to the Bangkok Post the recent issues in Thailand have a lot to do with the political divisions trying to undermine the AOP. The lack of unity among the poor poses a major obstacle in the battle to a more democratic society. In the 21st century, political divisions in Thailand have weakened the movements of the Assembly of the Poor. In order for the NGO to stay in a positive direction the Bangkok Post states they must focused on;

1. Natural resources
2. Protection of local people's rights to manage those resources
3. They also to need to move certain issues to the forefront of their political voice. 4. Community rights
5. An aggressive tax rate on land holdings
6. Establishment of a land development fund
7. Fair land distribution

The rural farmers and peasants need to form a foundation of community rights that is the constitution of how they country should run. They need to do this to enhance the future of Thailand and it rank in the global economy and that of a developing nation.

The Impact of Globalization

Many of the members of the Assembly have been hit by pressure to modernize and the impact of globalization. In fact, thousands of families have been forcefully moved in order to build environmentally destructive dams. In other cases, local resources such as rain forest land,are being plundered by exports. The organization and victims of these changes demand compensation and right to use local resources for their own region. Other instances of protest that the organization works in do not always involve asking for things for self-interest, the ideology behind the organization is for a democratic and sustainable society that is just, participatory, transparent, compassionate, respectful and cooperative to the natural environment and the citizens.

References

• The Assembly of the Poor in Thailand, From Local Struggles to National Protest Movement, Bruce D. Missingham, ISBN 974-9575-28-8

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External links

• International Rivers information about the AOP