Bangkok Post : Thailand mulls rice shipments

HAITI

Thailand is considering shipping rice to Haiti rather than going through the World Food programme, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya says.

Elephants painted with signs appealing for donations for victims of the Haiti earthquake maketheir waydown Khao San Road. The Red Cross organised the appeal as part of a campaign called ‘HelpingHandfor Haiti from Khao San Road’. APICHART JINAKUL

Mr Kasit yesterday said sending the rice by air through the WFP would cost US$10 million (330 million baht), so the government was looking at sending it by ship.

Thailand will donate 20,000 tonnes of rice. It has also given $100,000 in humanitarian aid to help the quake-hit country. The money was handed over by Thai diplomats in Mexico City to the Haitian ambassador to Mexico, the minister said.

The Foreign Ministry will hold talks today with other government agencies on further assistance, including the possibility of sending army engineers, doctors and nurses to join United Nations effort to help rebuild the country.

Diplomats from six Latin American countries yesterday thanked the government for launching an assistance scheme to help quake victims.

"We want to thank the Thai government for the efforts to help Haitian victims affected by the earthquake," Argentine ambassador Felipe Frydman said after meeting with PM's Office Minister Veerachai Veeramatheekul.

"Haiti is the poorest country in the world, it is in Latin America and it has no embassy here in Thailand. Our meeting is to show our solidarity," Mr Frydman said.

Mr Veerachai oversees the government-backed centre to receive donations from people wanting to help Haiti.

The five other diplomats who met with Mr Veerachai were Peruvian ambassador Carlos Velasco Mendiola, Brazilian ambassador Edgard Telles Ribeiro, Cuban ambassador Lazaro Herrera Martinez, Chilean ambassador Alberto Yoacham and Mexican charge d'affaires Alfonso Ascencio Herrera.

Mr Frydman said the Latin American countries wanted to work with the government to help provide both short-and long-term assistance to Haiti.

"Thailand itself once faced the tsunami in 2004 and has had experience helping disaster victims, we believe," he said.

The Peruvian envoy said: "As part of the international community we feel morally obliged to join efforts with Thailand and its government to endeavour to find the best ways and means for the relief of our Latin American brothers in Haiti."

Mr Veerachai said he had donated an extra 50,000 baht to the centre after giving 3,000 baht on Wednesday when it was launched."At that time I had about 5,000 baht in my pocket," said the former son-in-law of Charoen Pokphand chairman Dhanin Chearavanont.

He said he had been uncertain on Wednesday whether he would break the law on political donations if he gave more than 3,000 baht.