GOVT TO RENEW TALKS WITH ASSEMBLY OF POOR, PM VOWS

       Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva will renew talks with the Assembly of the Poor in the next two weeks to solve their problems, he said yesterday.
       Members of the assembly met the prime minister at a learning centre in Phibun Mangsahan district, also the assembly's headquarters in the Northeast. He handed over a 1.2 million baht cheque to farmer Grandma Hai Khanjantha for the loss of opportunity she suffered over 32 years, after her land was submerged by the Huay La Ha reservoir, built as part of a new dam.
       "I will hold talks with you [the Assembly of the Poor] in the next two weeks.
       PM's Office Minister Sathit Wongnongtoey accompanied the prime minister to the province.
       Mr Abhisit said he had asked Mr Sathit to oversee the assembly's problems.
       The government was drafting a regulation on community land title deeds,allowing communal use of state land,he said.
       To solve the plight of farmers generally, the government and assembly met for talks three times in June and July.
       "The government has succeeded in solving only the case of Grandma Hai.Other problems have yet to be solved,"said Sawat Uppahat, a member of the assembly.
       The problems include a drastic drop in the number of fish in the Moon River caused by construction of the Pak Moon Dam in Khong Chiam district,and land disputes between villagers and state agencies. Sompong Viengchan, a villager hit by construction of the dam, said the government should order the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand to open the dam's sluice gates permanently to let fish from the Mekong River come in.
       At the moment it opens four months a year.
       "We want our lives back. The dam has ruined our livelihoods for over a decade," said Mrs Sompong.
       Farmers wanted the government to provide 15 rai of land for each family and grant them compensation.
       Thongcharoen Srihatham, another member of the assembly, warned the prime minister not to use the people's problems as a political tool to seek votes. Shortly after the prime minister left, about 1,000 red shirt protesters rallied at the centre. They swore, burned a coffin, and threw a bag of fermented fish at his poster.