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From: TVS <ngotvs@mweb.co.th>
To: <alalegre@fma.ph>
Sent: Monday, July 12, 2004 5:54 PM
BangkokPost 05/07/04
THAILAND-AUSTRALIA FREE TRADE AGREEMENT
Thaksin's family `biggest winner'
Members of the Campaign for Media Reform and the Federation for
consumer Protection demounce the government for signing a free trade
agreement with Australia. They claim the agreement places Thailand at a
trade disadvantage, with the main beneficiary being the telecom sector, in
which Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's Shin Corporation is the major
player. — Apichit Jinakul
Critics: PM milking FTA for personal gain
Post Reporters
Civic groups, activists and the opposition are allied against a free trade
agreement with Australia, and allege that Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra
is trading the country's economic sovereignty for investment opportunities
in the telecom sector, in which his family has vast interests.
The Campaign for Media Reform issued a strongly-worded statement, saying the
government had kept the contents of the agreement under wraps to evade
public scrutiny.
Mr Thaksin's preoccupation was to exploit the bilateral deal to maximise
benefits for the telecom sector in which his Shin Corporation is the
dominant player in the market. The government was securing investment in
Australian telecom conglomerates in return for letting Canberra flood the
Thai market with farm and food products that would ruin the local industry,
they charged.
The prime minister was bartering away the futures of millions of farmers in
exchange for opportunities to tap into the Australian telecom business.
``It is shameless and grossly unethical for a national leader to put
personal gains before those of the nation,'' said the statement released by
Vitthaya Wongkul, the campaign's deputy chairman.
The organisation appealed for the public to demand the free trade agreement
(FTA) be put to a referendum.
The organisation claimed Australia would allow unrestricted access to its
satellite use and liberalise investment by Thai firms in its telecom giants,
especially Optus, Vodafone and Telstra.
Local farm produce would take a battering once tariffs were lifted and quota
restrictions eased, it said.
Farm products were already facing stiff competition from China and the
situation would move from bad to worse with the FTA with Australia, it said.
The country was losing its economic sovereignty while Mr Thaksin was milking
the deal, the organisation alleges.
The Federation for Consumer Protection said under the FTA, Australia could
file legal action against the government in case of investment hindrance.
The arbitration committee would be off-limits, thus complicating the
negotiation.
The group added there was a likelihood Australia could use the FTA to dump
in Thailand inferior-quality meats carrying possible health risks or those
destined to be used in animal feed.
Opposition leader Banyat Bantadtan said particularly hard-hit would be the
mining, construction, retail, and dairy and meat product sectors. Australian
firms would be permitted to hold stakes of up to 62% in local mining firms
and 100% in construction firms and retail ventures. He said the FTA would
give Australian retailers a foothold in the Thai retail industry in which
local entrepreneurs were already struggling.
Mr Thaksin, meanwhile, promised the FTA would be free and fair to Thailand
and said the opponents may not thoroughly understand the information. The
FTA had been studied and discussed long before the two governments decided
to adopt it, he said.
Mr Thaksin is to sign the FTA during his official visit to Australia and New
Zealand which ends on Thursday.