[Vnbiz] Thai truckers join global fuel price protest

[Tran Dinh Hoanh]

Dear CACC,

The article below goes over sociopolitical problems generated by high fuel
price in Thailand and other countries in Asia and Europe.  I have the link
to Reuters website for the article.  At that page, there are links to other
articles about fuel protests throughout Asia.

Have a good day!

Hoanh
____________

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL0925462920080611?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews


Thai truckers join global fuel price protest
 By Nopporn Wong-Anan

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thousands of truckers went on a half-day strike in
Thailand on Wednesday demanding government help against rising fuel prices,
the latest in a series of protests that have swept across Asia and Europe.

Transport groups said they were ready to block roads into Bangkok next week,
piling more pressure on a government already facing a prolonged street
protest over its attempt to change the constitution.

The protest has sparked fears of a military coup less than two years after
the army booted out pro-business prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
 "If the government doesn't meet our demands by June 17, we will mobilize
our trucks in Bangkok," Thongyu Khongkan, secretary-general of the Land
Transport Federation of Thailand, which has 400,000 trucks under its banner,
told Reuters.

Specific demands included a discount of 3-baht ($0.09) per liter of diesel
for six months, as well as cheap loans to convert engines to compressed
natural gas, he said.
 State-run Thai refineries agreed last month to sell diesel to Bangkok bus
companies at an 8 percent discount. Other sectors, such as fishermen and
truckers, are expected to benefit from a similar arrangement.

The soaring cost of fuel, stemming from world crude prices that touched a
record $139 a barrel last week, has sparked protests around the world by
consumers and transport groups.

The national air carrier, Thai Airways International raised its fuel
surcharges by up to 64 percent on Wednesday due to the rising cost of jet
fuel.

The charges on tickets issued from June 25 range from $60 to $230 per
ticket. The airline also suspended its Bangkok-New York service from July 1
to cut costs.

PROTESTS

In Europe, Spaniards have started stockpiling food for fear a truckers'
strike that has disrupted deliveries could cause shortages. Traders at
Madrid's main food wholesale market said supplies of fresh food would start
to run out soon.

Portuguese drivers have joined the strike and there were also protests in
France.

In Asia, where many countries are net crude importers, governments have been
forced to cut fuel subsidies and let pump prices climb, putting a squeeze on
households already struggling with higher costs of basic food such as rice.

South Korea's cabinet offered to resign in the face of huge street protests
on Tuesday about the policies of its unpopular President Lee Myung-bak.
 Lee said Asia's fourth-largest economy could be heading into crisis because
of surging resource prices and slowing growth. Producer price inflation in
the world's fifth-largest crude oil importer was near a 10-year high last
month.

South Korean truck drivers voted to strike on Monday, ignoring a $10.2
billion government aid package designed to cushion the impact of fuel price
rises.
 Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Tuesday pledged 1 billion
ringgit ($306.6 million) in extra spending for the politically key state of
Sarawak, to shore up support there among lawmakers unhappy over a jump in
fuel costs.

The opposition is calling for protests later this week against the
government's decision to raise petrol prices by 41 percent and diesel by 63
percent.
 ($1 = 33.02 Baht)
 (Reporting by Nopporn Wong-Anan; Editing by Darren Schuettler and David
Fox)

--
Tran Dinh Hoanh, Esq., LLB, JD
Washington DC
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