1,000 petition PM Yingluck in Phuket
PHUKET: More than thousand people from Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi and Ranong, mostly poor, gathered at Phuket International Airport this morning to petition Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on a variety of problems.
Monday 19 March 2012, 03:58PM
The PM flew into Phuket this morning for a mobile meeting of her Cabinet, due to begin early this evening at the Prince of Songkhla University Phuket campus.
The crowd assembled early this morning at the Thalang Technical College before walking to the airport escorted by 150 police officers.
The petitions covered four broad areas: Sea Gypsies wanting equal treatment with other Thai citizens; people wanting title to land they live on, including people living in Klong Koh Phee, the area around the new Rassada pier, Sapam, Tha Sak, Laem Lha and Pak Bang; excessive prices of water and electricity in communities; and help for people under pressure to move off land claimed by others.
The Prime Minister was not required to meet all 1,000 people. Instead, they chose a representative, Thutiporn Thipwong, who presented the various petitions to Ms Yingluck.
The prime minister accept the petitions and promised that she would try to solve all the problems described in them.
Later in the morning, Ms Yingluck travelled to Phang Nga to take a look at various projects and problems due to be discussed at the mobile Cabinet meeting.
