Thai farmers meet in Bangkok

Thai farmers meet in Bangkok

BANGKOK (Reuters): Farmers from Thailand's impoverished northeast converged on Bangkok yesterday demanding relief from billions of baht in debt owed to a state-owned bank.

About 2,500 farmers and their supporters, clad in traditional sarongs and carrying placards demanding social justice, gathered near parliament, witnesses said.

Protest leaders said about 20,000 could be expected later. Police intelligence sources said they thought the rally, set for three days, was unlikely to attract more than 5,000 thanks to a split in the ranks of protest leaders in dealing with the government.

Witnesses said the rally was orderly and relaxed with the only police in sight directing traffic. The farmers had threatened to bring Bangkok to a standstill by clogging up the capital, which is congested at the best of times.

They say that the government, in collaboration with the International Monetary Fund, is channeling financial aid to the country to rich business at the expense of the poor as the Thailand suffers its worst economic crisis in decades.